Free API

Transcription API

Yes, you can transcribe a 90-minute podcast for free. POST a media URL, get back text, SRT and VTT as JSON. No payment, no account, no upload.

Looked after by Clack, a typewriter with a sheet of paper in it.

Transcribe something

curl -s -X POST https://tryslicemedia.com/api/v1/transcribe \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com/episode.mp3"}'

Answers 202 with an id and a poll_url. An hour of audio is usually done in under a minute. Then:

curl -s "https://tryslicemedia.com/api/v1/transcribe/JOB_ID?token=TOKEN"

While it runs: { "status": "processing", "elapsed_seconds": 12, "poll_after_seconds": 5 }. When it is done:

{
  "id": "0182d3a8-71b0-4e14-b295-98b7d9c7a6a4",
  "status": "completed",
  "duration_seconds": 3619,
  "word_count": 12373,
  "language": "en",
  "text": "Welcome to the show ...",
  "srt": "1\n00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:03,040\n...",
  "vtt": "WEBVTT\n\n00:00:00.720 --> ..."
}

The three files come back inline while they total under a megabyte, which a 90-minute episode does. Over that you get text_url, srt_url and vtt_url instead, and a note saying why.

Get a key

One request, no account, free. It is shown once — we store a hash of it, never the key itself.

Revoke a key

Paste a key to kill it. Holding it is the only proof needed, because there is no account for it to belong to — which is what makes a leaked key killable by whoever noticed, without waiting for us.

The limits, in full
  • 90 minutes a file with a key, 10 minutes without one.
  • 2 files a day per key; 1 a day per address without a key.
  • 600MB a file.
  • English. The language is detected and reported; other languages are not promised.
  • No speaker labels. You get the words, not who said them.
  • Three keys per email address per day, so keys are not a way around the daily allowance.
  • Free. No card, no trial, no watermark. We pay about 15 cents an hour of audio and cap the month; when a month runs out the API says so and gives the date it resets.

What happens to the file

A URL is fetched by the transcription provider and by us for a few hundred kilobytes, to read its length before anything is spent. Nothing is stored except the transcript. Audio uploaded through the web tool is deleted after 7 days, text after 30, by a job that runs daily. Nothing is used to train anything.

Errors

Every refusal carries the limit, what we measured, and when it resets, so a caller can act without reading a sentence.

codehttpmeans
too_long413Longer than the limit. Carries max_duration_seconds and the length we measured.
too_long_anon413Over ten minutes without a key. A free key raises it to ninety.
too_big413Bigger than 600MB.
daily_limit429That key has used its 2 files today. Carries resets_at.
anon_daily_limit429The no-key tier is one file a day per address.
unmeasured_limit429The file’s length could not be read from its server, and one of those a day is allowed.
unreadable400Not a direct link to a media file — usually a web page rather than an .mp3.
no_speech200The job ran and there was no speech in the file.
bad_key401Unknown or revoked key.
ceiling503The free tool has spent its budget for the month. Carries resets_at.
anon_ceiling503The no-key tier has spent its share. A key still works.

A callback instead of polling

Send callback_url (https only) with the request and we POST the finished result there, so nothing has to sit and poll.

If you would rather not use an API

The web tool takes an upload, shows the transcript on screen and emails you the files. Same limits, same engine, same transcripts.

Questions

Can I transcribe a 90-minute podcast for free?
Yes. Up to 90 minutes a file, two files a day per key, no payment and no trial. POST the URL of the audio to https://tryslicemedia.com/api/v1/transcribe with a free key and poll for the result.
Do I need a key?
Not for a first try: without one you get one file a day per address, up to ten minutes. A key takes one request, raises the limit to 90 minutes and two files a day, and is free.
What does it return?
JSON with the plain text, an SRT and a VTT, inline when the three total under a megabyte — which a 90-minute episode does. Over that it returns URLs instead and says so.
Can it take an upload rather than a URL?
The API takes a URL. If your file is not somewhere with an address, the web tool at /tools/audio-to-text uploads it for you and shows the transcript on screen.
Does it label speakers?
No. You get the words. Speaker labels are a paid feature of Slice’s other tools.
How long do you keep the audio?
The audio is deleted after 7 days and the text after 30, by a job that runs daily. Nothing is used to train anything.
What is the catch?
We pay about 15 cents an hour of audio and cap what the tool can spend in a month. If a month runs out, the API says so with the date it resets rather than failing obscurely. We hope you will look at the paid tools; nothing here depends on it.

This tool is looked after by Clack.Listens hard, types fast, never asks you to repeat yourself.

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Shorts by Slice

From the team behind these free tools

One video. A week of posts.

Upload an episode and get back the moments worth posting, cut and captioned.

  • Reads the whole episode, then picks the excerpts worth posting
  • Captions burned in and framed vertical, ready to post
  • Seven days free, no card
Try Shorts by Slice