Transcription

---
name: transcription
description: Use when a video/audio task needs OpenChatCut transcription, captions, subtitles, subtitle styling, transcript search, transcript readiness checks, or enabling captions, including local or attached videos where the user asks to add captions/subtitles, transcribe, create bilingual subtitles, clean talking-head speech, remove filler words, or trim pauses.
---

# Transcription

For newly imported local/client-held media, use `import_media` to start transcription, then wait with `track_progress`.

Typical flow:

1. `read_project` with `view: "assets"` to get the video/audio asset ID and transcript status.
2. If this is a fresh client-held import, make sure it went through `import_media action=create_session` plus the OpenChatCut media import helper.
3. Call `track_progress` with `action:"wait"`, `target:"transcription"`, and `assetIds` set to the asset ID or prefix.
4. Use `find_transcript` to search transcript text and confirm word timestamps.
5. Use `edit_captions` action `enable` or `read_captions` as needed once transcription is ready.

Example:

```json
{
  "action": "wait",
  "target": "transcription",
  "assetIds": "13c1aa02cd"
}
```

Uploaded assets start ASR automatically on ingest, but nothing waits for it. Always use `track_progress` for readiness.

For local-only video assets with `local-only; original upload deferred` in `read_project`, transcription cannot run until the bytes are reachable by the backend. Import the source again via the `asset-import` skill (which uploads to S3) or `download_media` from a public URL; do not ask the user to relink it manually in the editor.

## Stuck Transcription And Retry

Do not declare transcription stuck from one non-terminal status. Base the decision on both asset length and the time the agent has actually waited in this task.

1. Read the asset with `read_project` `view: "assets"` and note its duration when available.
2. Start counting elapsed wait time from the first `track_progress` `action:"wait"` or from the earliest reliable in-task timestamp where the agent observed transcription as pending/running.
3. If transcription reports an explicit failed, errored, or timed-out terminal state, retry immediately after confirming the asset is remote-ready and is video/audio.
4. If transcription remains pending/running with no failure, treat it as stuck only after elapsed wait time exceeds `max(5 minutes, min(60 minutes, 2 × asset duration))`. For example, wait at least 5 minutes for a 30-second clip, about 20 minutes for a 10-minute asset, and about 60 minutes for a 1-hour or longer asset.
5. If duration is unknown, wait at least 10 minutes across more than one `track_progress` call before treating it as stuck, unless the tool reports an explicit failure.

When stuck, use `manage_transcript` with `action: "retry_transcription"` and the asset id/prefix. This force-retries ASR for audio/video assets and starts a new transcription run; it does not wait for completion. After retrying, call `track_progress` with `target:"transcription"`, `action:"wait"`, and the returned or same asset id before reading transcripts or captions.

Example retry:

```json
{
  "action": "retry_transcription",
  "asset": "13c1aa02cd"
}
```

If captions read back as empty, check the source-time range of the timeline clip. A transcript can be ready while the current visible clip starts before the first spoken word; add or trim a clip so the transcribed source words fall inside the timeline range, then extend/update the captions item duration if needed.

Use the raw tools when you need finer control:

- `track_progress` with `target: "transcription"` for status/wait.
- `find_transcript` for query-based transcript lookup.
- `read_captions` and `edit_captions` for caption display edits.
- `manage_transcript` action `fix` for source transcript repair.
- `manage_transcript` action `retry_transcription` to force-retry ASR after a transcription is stuck, timed out, or failed.
- `clean_script` for mechanical timeline playback cleanup of fixed fillers and batch pauses after transcript-ready media is on the timeline.

When a transcript-ready request becomes an editorial talking-head edit, follow the public-safe talking-head workflow in shared `talking-head-guide`. In short: use `clean_script` only for mechanical cleanup, then use Script (`read_script` -> edit `timeline.md` -> `apply_script`) for semantic repeated-take, silence, filler, or coherence edits, and verify the resulting script rather than trusting tool success alone.