> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.namuai-lab.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Create transcription > Writes down what was said in a recording. Send the audio as a multipart field named `file`, or as the raw request body with `language` in the query string. The container is recognised from the file itself: WAV, MP3, M4A/AAC, OGG/Opus (WhatsApp voice notes), WebM, FLAC. Up to 25 MB and 300 seconds. Counts the length of the audio sent. Needs the `transcribe` scope. ## OpenAPI ````yaml /api-reference/openapi.yaml post /v1/transcribe openapi: 3.1.0 info: title: Namu API version: 1.0.0 description: >- Speech recognition, speech synthesis, translation and a voice agent for Hausa, Zarma and French. Describes the API as it behaves on 8 November 2026. contact: name: Namu AI Lab email: contact@namuai.org url: https://www.namuai-lab.com servers: - url: https://api.namuai-lab.com description: Production security: - bearerAuth: [] tags: - name: Speech description: Text to speech. - name: Transcription description: Speech to text. - name: Translation description: Hausa and French, from text or speech. - name: Voice agent description: A spoken conversation in Hausa. Research preview. - name: Models and voices description: What the API serves. No key needed. - name: Account description: Your usage this month. paths: /v1/transcribe: post: tags: - Transcription summary: Create transcription description: >- Writes down what was said in a recording. Send the audio as a multipart field named `file`, or as the raw request body with `language` in the query string. The container is recognised from the file itself: WAV, MP3, M4A/AAC, OGG/Opus (WhatsApp voice notes), WebM, FLAC. Up to 25 MB and 300 seconds. Counts the length of the audio sent. Needs the `transcribe` scope. operationId: createTranscription parameters: - name: language in: query required: false description: >- Only when the audio is the raw body. With multipart, send it as a form field. schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/TranscribeLanguage' requestBody: required: true content: multipart/form-data: schema: type: object required: - file properties: file: type: string format: binary description: The recording. language: $ref: '#/components/schemas/TranscribeLanguage' application/octet-stream: schema: type: string format: binary description: The recording as the whole body. responses: '200': description: The transcript. headers: X-Request-Id: $ref: '#/components/headers/RequestId' content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Transcription' example: model: speech-recognition text: sannu da zuwa language: ha audio_seconds: 2 '400': $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest' '401': $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized' '403': $ref: '#/components/responses/Forbidden' '413': $ref: '#/components/responses/TooLarge' '415': $ref: '#/components/responses/UnsupportedAudio' '429': $ref: '#/components/responses/TooManyRequests' '502': $ref: '#/components/responses/Upstream' components: schemas: TranscribeLanguage: type: string enum: - ha - dje - fr default: ha description: 'The language spoken: `ha` Hausa, `dje` Zarma, `fr` French.' Transcription: type: object properties: model: type: string example: speech-recognition text: type: string description: What was said. language: type: string example: ha audio_seconds: type: number description: Length of the audio sent. Error: type: object properties: error: type: object properties: type: type: string description: A stable code, such as `invalid_api_key`. message: type: string description: What happened, in plain words. request_id: type: string headers: RequestId: description: A unique id for this request. Include it when you write to us. schema: type: string example: 3f2a9c1e5b7d4e8fa0c2b6d9e1f3a5c7 responses: BadRequest: description: >- The request was not usable: `invalid_request`, `invalid_json`, `missing_text`, `missing_file`, `empty_audio`, `unknown_voice`, `unsupported_language`, `unsupported_pair`, `unknown_persona`. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' example: error: type: unknown_voice message: 'Unknown voice. Try one of: nadia, warm, fr, mouhamad.' request_id: 3f2a9c1e5b7d4e8fa0c2b6d9e1f3a5c7 Unauthorized: description: >- No key, not a Namu key, or a revoked key: `missing_api_key`, `invalid_api_key`, `key_revoked`. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' example: error: type: missing_api_key message: 'Send your key as ''Authorization: Bearer namu_sk_...''.' request_id: 3f2a9c1e5b7d4e8fa0c2b6d9e1f3a5c7 Forbidden: description: >- `insufficient_scope` (the key may not call this endpoint) or `account_paused`. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' TooLarge: description: >- `payload_too_large` (over 25 MB), `audio_too_long` (over 300 s) or `text_too_long` (over 2,000 characters). content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' UnsupportedAudio: description: >- `unsupported_audio`: the file could not be read. Send WAV, MP3, M4A, AAC, OGG, WebM or FLAC. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' TooManyRequests: description: >- `rate_limited` (too many requests this minute; see `Retry-After`) or `quota_exceeded` (this month's allowance is used). headers: Retry-After: description: Seconds to wait. Sent with `rate_limited` only. schema: type: integer content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' Upstream: description: >- `upstream_error`: the model did not answer. Try again; a request that fails counts nothing. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' securitySchemes: bearerAuth: type: http scheme: bearer description: >- Your secret key: `Authorization: Bearer namu_sk_...`. Create one at https://www.namuai-lab.com/account/keys. ```` This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.