What is the minimum audio duration that the API can transcribe?

Last updated: September 22, 2025

The minimum audio duration for a file submitted to our API is 160ms.

Files submitted to our API that are shorter than 160ms will return an error:

{
  ...
  "status": "error",
  "audio_url": "https://foo.bar",
  "error": "Audio duration is too short.",
  ...
}

To fix this issue:

  • Add error handling for this error message: When this error occurs, handle it safely by checking the error string and returning the error.

  • Add pre-submit checks for the duration of the audio file: Prior to submitting a file for transcription, check the duration using a tool like soxi (part of the SoX package): soxi -D audio.mp3