> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.clipping.cc/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Transcribe a video

> Generate a transcript asynchronously and read it back.

Transcription is **asynchronous** — it calls an external transcriber. The
request returns `202` with an [execution](/en/async-operations); you track that
to completion, then read the transcript.

## 1. Kick off the transcript

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST https://api.clipping.cc/v1/items/itm_video_123/transcript \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ck_live_…" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "lang": "pt", "embed": true }'
```

```json theme={null}
{ "execution": { "execution_id": "exc_…", "status": "pending" } }
```

| Field   | Meaning                                                                                     |
| ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `lang`  | Target language (e.g. `pt`). Omit to auto-detect.                                           |
| `embed` | `true` → also generate embeddings so the transcript is **searchable** (consumes AI tokens). |
| `text`  | Provide a transcript yourself — skips the external transcriber (no provider cost).          |

## 2. Wait for it

Poll the execution until `done` (see [Asynchronous operations](/en/async-operations)
for a ready-made polling helper):

```bash theme={null}
curl https://api.clipping.cc/v1/executions/exc_… \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ck_live_…"
```

## 3. Read the transcript

```bash theme={null}
curl "https://api.clipping.cc/v1/items/itm_video_123/transcript?lang=pt" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ck_live_…"
```

```json theme={null}
{
  "transcript": {
    "item_id": "itm_video_123",
    "lang": "pt",
    "text": "…",
    "segments": [{ "start": 0.0, "end": 4.2, "text": "…" }]
  }
}
```

<Tip>
  Only embedded content is searchable. Pass `embed: true` when transcribing (or
  run a workflow that produces documents) so it shows up in
  [semantic search](/en/guides/search).
</Tip>

## Cost

Running the transcript draws a `0.01 coin` flat fee plus the transcriber's real
cost (pass-through). Reading it back is `0.005 coin`. A manual transcript
(`text` provided) skips the provider cost.