transcribe.so

Transcribe YouTube videos, podcasts, meetings and files into speaker-labelled, timestamped transcripts. Search who said what, ask cited questions, export chapters, subtitles and captions. Hosted remote server with OAuth.

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Hosted MCP Server

npx add-mcp 'https://transcribe.so/mcp'

Installs into Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and more

Documentation

transcribe-agent

Make any agent transcribe. One repo with three ways in: a pure-JSON CLI (transcribe-so), an agent skill for npx skills add, and a Claude Code plugin bundling the transcribe.so remote MCP server.

transcribe.so turns YouTube videos, podcasts, direct media URLs, and local files into speaker-labelled transcripts with timestamped segments, chapters, sections, cited Q&A, subtitle files (SRT, VTT, karaoke VTT), full transcript exports, segment search, and paste-ready captions for Instagram, X, Threads, LinkedIn, YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Install

Keep a human in the loop: every paid call takes a max_charge_usd ceiling, and a free quote comes first.

1. Agent skill (Claude Code, OpenClaw, any skills.sh-compatible agent)

npx skills add shsunmoonlee/transcribe-agent

This installs SKILL.md, which teaches the agent the CLI workflow, hard rules, and exit codes.

2. Claude Code plugin (remote MCP server + skills + /transcribe command)

/plugin marketplace add shsunmoonlee/transcribe-agent
/plugin install transcribe-so@transcribe-agent

The plugin connects Claude to the remote MCP server at https://transcribe.so/mcp (21 tools) and bundles the transcribe-audio and get-transcript skills plus a one-shot /transcribe command. First tool call triggers the OAuth browser flow; alternatively authenticate with a tsk_live_* API key via /mcp.

3. CLI (any script, cron job, or agent with a shell)

npm install -g transcribe-so     # or: pnpm install -g transcribe-so
export TRANSCRIBE_API_KEY=tsk_live_...   # https://transcribe.so/settings/api-keys
transcribe-so me

Codex

As a plugin (remote MCP server plus the skills):

codex plugin marketplace add shsunmoonlee/transcribe-agent
codex plugin add transcribe-so@transcribe-agent

Or just the MCP server:

codex mcp add transcribe --url https://transcribe.so/mcp

Codex opens the OAuth flow on the first tool call. The plugin ships .codex-plugin/plugin.json and .agents/plugins/marketplace.json.

Grok

This repo ships .grok-plugin/plugin.json; Grok Build reads the root .mcp.json and skills/ from it.

Cursor

From the marketplace or the Customize panel: find transcribe-so and click Install. Or add it to .cursor/mcp.json by hand:

{"mcpServers":{"transcribe":{"url":"https://transcribe.so/mcp"}}}

Gemini CLI

gemini extensions install https://github.com/shsunmoonlee/transcribe-agent

The extension ships gemini-extension.json, which points Gemini CLI at the hosted MCP server. It opens a browser to sign in on first use.

ChatGPT

Settings, Connectors, Developer mode, then add https://transcribe.so/mcp. Or use the public Custom GPT linked from https://transcribe.so/agent, which needs no setup.

OpenClaw and any skills.sh agent

npx skills add shsunmoonlee/transcribe-agent

Same command as entry 1 above: the skill is runtime-agnostic and teaches the CLI workflow, hard rules, and exit codes.

CLI in 30 seconds

# Price it (free), then transcribe under an explicit budget
transcribe-so quote --source youtube --url "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=..."
transcribe-so run   --source youtube --url "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=..." --max-usd 2

# Local file
transcribe-so upload ./interview.mp3         # prints upload_id (+ ffprobe duration)
transcribe-so run --source upload --upload-id <id> --duration <s> --max-usd 5

# Artifacts
transcribe-so result <id> | jq '.chapters[]'
transcribe-so transcript <id> > out.txt                      # the whole transcript, never capped
transcribe-so subtitles <id> --format srt > out.srt
transcribe-so captions <id> --for instagram --variant highlights
transcribe-so search "pricing" | jq -r '.hits[] | "\(.speaker): \(.text)"'
transcribe-so ask <id> -q "What did the guest say about pricing?"

Commands

CommandWhat it does
auth:statusIs TRANSCRIBE_API_KEY valid?
meAccount, wallet balance, plan limits, API-key scopes and spend
capabilitiesOne JSON object: account + pipeline catalog + every format enum + exit codes
pipelinesPer-minute pricing and supported languages
quoteFree price preview (does not queue anything)
createSubmit a job. --max-charge-usd <n> caps the charge server-side
runquote → budget gate → create → wait → result, in one command
wait <id>Long-poll to a terminal status
result <id>Chapters, sections, Q&A (--include, --segments-offset, --segments-limit)
transcript <id>Raw: the complete transcript, txt or md, never capped
subtitles <id>Raw: SRT / VTT / karaoke VTT / JSON
captions <id> --for <dest>Raw: paste-ready caption or chapter timestamps per platform
search <q>"Who said X, and when", library-wide or --id-scoped
ask <id> -q "..."Cited Q&A (daily allowance, never the wallet)
list / get <id>Browse jobs; status/stage/progress snapshot
upload <file>Presigned PUT for a local file; prints upload_id
retry <id> --yesNew paid attempt (pass --max-charge-usd again)
delete <id> --yesIrreversible

Design contract, made for agents:

  • stdout is JSON everywhere except the three raw-output commands — subtitles, transcript, and captions (without --json) — which print a body you can pipe to a file. Errors are always the JSON envelope. All progress goes to stderr, so | jq . always works.
  • Exit codes are meaningful: 0 ok, 1 API error, 2 usage, 3 auth, 4 payment, 5 transient, 6 local --max-usd budget refusal, 7 server-side max_charge_exceeded (nothing charged, no job started).
  • Two budgets, both explicit: run --max-usd refuses locally from the free quote; --max-charge-usd is sent to the API and enforced at the wallet hold. run sends its --max-usd as the server ceiling too unless you pass --no-server-ceiling.
  • create/run/quote/retry always send an Idempotency-Key. Pass --idempotency-key explicitly to make a retry safe across processes — the auto-generated one is per invocation, so re-running a command is a second key and a second charge.
  • A 409 not_ready is acted on by its reason: only transcription_processing is ever retried.
  • The CLI refuses to send your API key to a non-default host unless you pass --allow-custom-host.

Full command reference and workflow rules: SKILL.md. Release notes: CHANGELOG.md. Worked examples: examples/.

Pricing

Transcription is billed per minute from your transcribe.so wallet; quotes are free (quote before committing). Clip renders are $0.05 per started 60 s. Live Q&A uses a daily allowance, never the wallet. Details: https://transcribe.so/pricing

Privacy Policy

This tooling sends the media URLs, uploaded files, and questions you provide to transcribe.so for processing. See the transcribe.so privacy policy at https://transcribe.so/privacy-policy for data collection, usage, storage, retention, and contact information. No data is collected by the CLI or plugin itself beyond what the API and MCP tools transmit.

Links