Prerequisite You should have an API key from AssemblyAI and have it stored in a .env file.

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Introduction

This guide demonstrates how to transcribe a local audio file using the AssemblyAI API. You’ll learn how to set up your environment, configure your API key, and transcribe an audio file stored on your local machine.

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Setup

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Step 1: Install Required Packages

First, install the necessary packages using pip: 
pip install python-dotenv assemblyai

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Step 2: Create a .env File

Create a .env file in the project root with your AssemblyAI API key: 
ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY=your_assemblyai_api_key

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Transcribing a Local Audio File

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Step 3: Create the Python Script

Create a Python script named assemblyai-local-transcription.py with the following content:
assemblyai-local-transcription.py
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
import assemblyai as aai

# Load environment variables from .env file
load_dotenv()

# Get AssemblyAI API key from environment variables
aai.settings.api_key = os.getenv('ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY')

# Initialize the transcriber
transcriber = aai.Transcriber()

# Define the local audio file path
local_audio_file_path = "downloads/voice.m4a"  # Ensure this path is correct and the file exists

# Set the transcription configuration
config = aai.TranscriptionConfig(speaker_labels=True)

try:
    # Transcribe the local audio file
    transcript = transcriber.transcribe(local_audio_file_path, config)

    # Print the transcription text and ID
    print(transcript.text)
    print(transcript.id)

    # Print the speaker labels and their corresponding text
    for utterance in transcript.utterances:
        print(f"Speaker {utterance.speaker}: {utterance.text}")

except FileNotFoundError as e:
    print(f"File not found: {e.filename}")

except Exception as e:
    print(f"An error occurred: {str(e)}")

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Step 4: Run the Script

Ensure you have the .env file in the same directory as the script. Then, execute the script: 
python assemblyai-local-transcription.py

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Conclusion

You have successfully transcribed a local audio file using the AssemblyAI API! This guide provided a basic example to get you started. You can now expand on this by customizing the transcription configuration and handling different audio files stored locally.