ActionOpenAIUpdated September 2026

How do I transcribe audio with OpenAI Whisper?

Short answer: You can transcribe audio (whisper) in OpenAI by hand from its own interface, but it won’t repeat itself. On TinyCommand, add the OpenAI Transcribe Audio (Whisper) action to a workflow, map its 5 inputs from any upstream app, and it runs automatically every time the trigger fires. No code, and a free tier to start.

Transcribe Audio (Whisper) in OpenAI — start free
Inputs

The fields this action accepts.

Every field can be mapped from an upstream trigger, AI step, table row, or hard-coded literal.

FieldTypeRequiredDescription
Audio File URL
file_url
stringRequiredPublic URL of the audio file to transcribe (mp3, mp4, mpeg, mpga, m4a, wav, webm)
Model
model
optionsRequiredModel. Options: Whisper v1
Language
language
optionsOptionalLanguage of the audio (improves accuracy). Leave empty for auto-detect.
Prompt
prompt
stringOptionalOptional text to guide the model's style or continue a previous segment
Response Format
response_format
optionsOptionalResponse Format. Options: JSON, Plain Text, SRT (subtitles), VTT (subtitles), Verbose JSON (with timestamps)
Sample request
{
"file_url": "https://example.com/audio.mp3",
"model": "{{trigger.model}}",
"language": "{{trigger.language}}",
"prompt": "e.g. Technical discussion about cloud computing",
"response_format": "{{trigger.response_format}}"
}
Returns
{
"text": "Hello, this is a sample transcription of the audio file."
}

Use these fields in downstream nodes for routing, logging, or error handling.

Triggered by

Apps that pair well as the trigger for Transcribe Audio (Whisper).

Any of these apps can fire this action as part of a workflow.

FAQ

Questions about Transcribe Audio (Whisper).

What does the Transcribe Audio (Whisper) action do in OpenAI?
Transcribes audio into text using OpenAI Whisper. Supports mp3, mp4, mpeg, mpga, m4a, wav, and webm; up to 25 MB per file. Also supports translation to English.
What inputs does Transcribe Audio (Whisper) require?
Required: Audio File URL, Model. Every input accepts a static value or a variable from any upstream node in your workflow.
Can I use dynamic inputs from earlier workflow nodes?
Yes. Any field on this action can pull values from upstream nodes, whether that's a form response, a trigger payload, an AI output, or a lookup result.
What happens if OpenAI returns an error?
The run history shows the failed step with its input and the error message OpenAI returned, so you can fix the input and run the workflow again. Automatic retries are built into HTTP steps only, where you can also set your own retry count and delay.
Does Transcribe Audio (Whisper) support batch operations?
Run Transcribe Audio (Whisper) inside a loop to process each item in an array. TinyCommand does not throttle calls for you, so for large arrays add a Delay step if you need to stay within OpenAI's rate limits.
More actions

Other OpenAI actions.

Transcribe Audio (Whisper) in OpenAI — start free