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.
Inputs
The fields this action accepts.
Every field can be mapped from an upstream trigger, AI step, table row, or hard-coded literal.
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Audio File URL file_url | string | Required | Public URL of the audio file to transcribe (mp3, mp4, mpeg, mpga, m4a, wav, webm) |
Model model | options | Required | Model. Options: Whisper v1 |
Language language | options | Optional | Language of the audio (improves accuracy). Leave empty for auto-detect. |
Prompt prompt | string | Optional | Optional text to guide the model's style or continue a previous segment |
Response Format response_format | options | Optional | Response 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.
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