Public Video URL Transcription API

Use one endpoint to queue supported public social-video links, Google Drive media, and direct audio or video file URLs. Fast Transcriber resolves the media, returns 202 Accepted, and exposes the completed transcript through a polling URL.

One API contract for supported public media sources

A single source_url workflow keeps ingestion code consistent across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Google Drive, and direct public media. Your integration can store one job model and one transcript schema while Fast Transcriber handles source resolution and transcription.

Choose the right public video URL URL

Social video pages: use the canonical URL for one supported YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook video rather than a profile, feed, or collection.
Google Drive media: use a file share whose audio or video downloads without Google authentication.
Direct media files: the response itself should be audio or video, ideally with a recognizable extension or media Content-Type header.

Quickstart: queue a public video URL transcription

Create a Fast Transcriber API key and store it in a server-side environment variable. Send the public media URL as source_url; never expose the Bearer key in browser code or commit it to source control.

curl --request POST https://fast-transcriber.com/api/v1/transcriptions \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $FAST_TRANSCRIBER_API_TOKEN" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
    "source_url": "https://cdn.example.com/media/interview.mp4",
    "speaker_diarization": false
  }'

A valid request returns 202 Accepted. This means the job was queued, not that the source was fetched successfully. Read the Location response header, set LOCATION_PATH to that path, and poll it until the job status is completed or failed.

LOCATION_PATH="/api/v1/transcriptions/95c3fdd8-..."
curl --request GET "https://fast-transcriber.com$LOCATION_PATH" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $FAST_TRANSCRIBER_API_TOKEN"

Ready to run this request? Create an API key, or review every endpoint in the API documentation.

Work with text and timestamped segments

Completed jobs contain the transcript text and timestamped segments available under the authenticated account's plan limits. The same response shape lets an application index a video, jump to quoted moments, create summaries, or feed the transcript into an authorized search or RAG workflow.

{
  "data": {
    "id": "95c3fdd8-...",
    "filename": "source-video.mp4",
    "status": "completed",
    "duration_seconds": 84,
    "text": "Completed transcript text...",
    "segments": [
      { "start": 0, "end": 3.8, "text": "First segment..." }
    ]
  }
}

Set speaker_diarization to true when speaker labels are needed. Speaker diarization requires a Pro account and uses the same account limits as the web application.

What developers build with public video URL transcripts

Unified ingestion: accept several supported public media sources without exposing a different transcript interface for each one.
Search and discovery: index transcript text while retaining segments that point back to specific moments.
Automation pipelines: queue permitted media, monitor job state, and hand completed text to storage or downstream processors.

Supported links and access requirements

The current public-link pipeline supports YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Google Drive media, and direct public audio or video file URLs.

The URL must use HTTP or HTTPS and resolve to supported media without a login, cookie, or private token.
Ordinary articles and webpages are not converted to text; the URL must identify supported audio or video media.
Private or restricted media should enter through an authorized direct-upload workflow instead of a public URL job.

If a recording is private and you are authorized to process it, retrieve the media through your own authenticated workflow and use the direct audio and video upload API instead.

Troubleshoot public video URL imports

Validate before queueing: reject blank and non-HTTP input in your UI, then let the API return invalid_source_url for malformed source URLs.
Keep URLs available: expiring signed links must remain valid long enough for the asynchronous worker to resolve and download the media.
Differentiate queueing from fetching: 202 confirms job creation only. Surface data.error when polling later reports an inaccessible or unsupported source.

Plan for asynchronous errors

Production integrations should handle invalid or inaccessible sources, authentication failures, account limits, and temporary processing failures. Immediate HTTP failures use an {"error":{"code":"...","message":"..."}} envelope. A queued source can later return data.status as failed with details in data.error when polled. Do not retry private, removed, or login-gated media indefinitely; surface a clear message or offer an authorized file-upload fallback.

Frequently asked questions

Can the API transcribe any webpage URL?

No. It transcribes speech from supported media links and does not extract ordinary webpage text.

Can I submit a direct media URL?

Yes, when it is a public audio or video file URL accessible without authentication.

What if the source requires a login or private token?

Use the direct-upload flow instead, provided you are authorized to process the media.