Deepgram Core Workflow B: Live Streaming Transcription

Overview

Real-time streaming transcription using Deepgram's WebSocket API. The SDK manages the WebSocket connection via listen.live(). Covers microphone capture, interim/final result handling, speaker diarization, UtteranceEnd detection, auto-reconnect, and building an SSE endpoint for browser clients.

Prerequisites

• @deepgram/sdk installed, DEEPGRAMAPIKEY configured
• Audio source: microphone (via Sox/rec), file stream, or WebSocket audio from browser
• For mic capture: sox installed (apt install sox / brew install sox)

Instructions

Step 1: Basic Live Transcription

import { createClient, LiveTranscriptionEvents } from '@deepgram/sdk';

const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);

const connection = deepgram.listen.live({
  model: 'nova-3',
  language: 'en',
  smart_format: true,
  punctuate: true,
  interim_results: true,      // Show in-progress results
  utterance_end_ms: 1000,     // Silence threshold for utterance end
  vad_events: true,           // Voice activity detection events
  encoding: 'linear16',       // 16-bit PCM
  sample_rate: 16000,         // 16 kHz
  channels: 1,                // Mono
});

// Connection lifecycle events
connection.on(LiveTranscriptionEvents.Open, () => {
  console.log('WebSocket connected to Deepgram');
});

connection.on(LiveTranscriptionEvents.Close, () => {
  console.log('WebSocket closed');
});

connection.on(LiveTranscriptionEvents.Error, (err) => {
  console.error('Deepgram error:', err);
});

// Transcript events
connection.on(LiveTranscriptionEvents.Transcript, (data) => {
  const transcript = data.channel.alternatives[0]?.transcript;
  if (!transcript) return;

  if (data.is_final) {
    console.log(`[FINAL] ${transcript}`);
  } else {
    process.stdout.write(`\r[interim] ${transcript}`);
  }
});

// UtteranceEnd — fires when speaker pauses
connection.on(LiveTranscriptionEvents.UtteranceEnd, () => {
  console.log('\n--- utterance end ---');
});

Step 2: Microphone Capture with Sox

import { spawn } from 'child_process';

function startMicrophone(connection: any) {
  // Sox captures from default mic: 16kHz, 16-bit signed LE, mono
  const mic = spawn('rec', [
    '-q',              // Quiet (no progress)
    '-r', '16000',     // Sample rate
    '-e', 'signed',    // Encoding
    '-b', '16',        // Bit depth
    '-c', '1',         // Mono
    '-t', 'raw',       // Raw PCM output
    '-',               // Output to stdout
  ]);

  mic.stdout.on('data', (chunk: 

Deepgram Cost Tuning

Overview

Optimize Deepgram API costs through smart model selection, audio preprocessing to reduce billable minutes, usage monitoring via the Deepgram API, budget guardrails, and feature-aware cost estimation. Deepgram bills per audio minute processed.

Deepgram Pricing (2026)

Add-on costs:

• Diarization: +$0.0044/min
• Multichannel: billed per channel

Instructions

Step 1: Budget-Aware Transcription Service

import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';

interface BudgetConfig {
  monthlyLimitUsd: number;
  warningThreshold: number;  // 0.0-1.0 (e.g., 0.8 = warn at 80%)
  costPerMinute: number;     // Base STT cost
}

class BudgetAwareTranscriber {
  private client: ReturnType<typeof createClient>;
  private config: BudgetConfig;
  private monthlySpendUsd = 0;
  private monthlyMinutes = 0;

  constructor(apiKey: string, config: BudgetConfig) {
    this.client = createClient(apiKey);
    this.config = config;
  }

  async transcribe(source: any, options: any) {
    // Estimate cost before transcription
    const estimatedCost = this.estimateCost(options);
    const projected = this.monthlySpendUsd + estimatedCost;

    if (projected > this.config.monthlyLimitUsd) {
      throw new Error(
        `Budget exceeded: $${this.monthlySpendUsd.toFixed(2)} spent, ` +
        `$${this.config.monthlyLimitUsd} limit`
      );
    }

    if (projected > this.config.monthlyLimitUsd * this.config.warningThreshold) {
      console.warn(
        `Budget warning: ${((projected / this.config.monthlyLimitUsd) * 100).toFixed(0)}% ` +
        `of $${this.config.monthlyLimitUsd} limit`
      );
    }

    const { result, error } = await this.client.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
      source, options
    );
    if (error) throw error;

    // Track actual usage
    const duration = result.metadata.duration / 60;  // Convert to minutes
    const actualCost = this.calculateCost(duration, options);
    this.monthlyMinutes += duration;
    this.monthlySpendUs

Deepgram Data Handling

Overview

Best practices for handling audio and transcript data with Deepgram. Covers Deepgram's built-in redact parameter for PII, secure audio upload with encryption, transcript storage patterns, data retention policies, and GDPR/HIPAA compliance workflows.

Data Privacy Quick Reference

Deepgram's data policy: Audio is processed in real-time and not stored. Transcripts are not retained unless you use Deepgram's optional storage features.

Instructions

Step 1: Deepgram Built-in PII Redaction

import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';

const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);

// Deepgram redacts PII directly during transcription
const { result } = await deepgram.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
  { url: audioUrl },
  {
    model: 'nova-3',
    smart_format: true,
    redact: ['pci', 'ssn'],  // Credit cards + SSNs -> [REDACTED]
  }
);

// Output: "My card is [REDACTED] and SSN is [REDACTED]"
console.log(result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].transcript);

// For maximum privacy, redact all numbers:
// redact: ['pci', 'ssn', 'numbers']

Step 2: Application-Level PII Redaction

// Additional redaction patterns beyond Deepgram's built-in
const piiPatterns: Array<{ name: string; pattern: RegExp; replacement: string }> = [
  { name: 'email',    pattern: /\b[\w.-]+@[\w.-]+\.\w{2,}\b/g, replacement: '[EMAIL]' },
  { name: 'phone',    pattern: /\b(\+?\d{1,3}[-.\s]?)?\(?\d{3}\)?[-.\s]?\d{3}[-.\s]?\d{4}\b/g, replacement: '[PHONE]' },
  { name: 'dob',      pattern: /\b(0[1-9]|1[0-2])[\/.-](0[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01])[\/.-](19|20)\d{2}\b/g, replacement: '[DOB]' },
  { name: 'address',  pattern: /\b\d{1,5}\s[\w\s]+(?:Street|St|Avenue|Ave|Road|Rd|Drive|Dr|Lane|Ln|Boulevard|Blvd)\b/gi, replacement: '[ADDRESS]' },
];

function redactPII(text: string): { redacted: string; found: string[] } {
  let redacted = text;
  const found: string[] = [];

  for (const { name, pattern, replacement } of piiPatterns) {
    const matches = text.match(pattern);
    if (matches) {
      found.push(`${name}: ${matches.length} occurrence(s)`);
      redacted 

Deepgram Debug Bundle

Current State

!node --version 2>/dev/null || echo 'Node.js not installed'

!npm list @deepgram/sdk 2>/dev/null | grep deepgram || echo '@deepgram/sdk not found'

!python3 --version 2>/dev/null || echo 'Python not installed'

Overview

Collect comprehensive debug information for Deepgram support tickets. Generates a sanitized bundle with environment info, API connectivity tests, audio analysis, request/response logs, and a minimal reproduction script. All API keys are automatically redacted.

Prerequisites

• Deepgram API key configured
• ffprobe available for audio analysis (part of ffmpeg)
• Sample audio that reproduces the issue

Instructions

Step 1: Environment Collection Script

#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail
BUNDLE_DIR="deepgram-debug-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
mkdir -p "$BUNDLE_DIR"

# System info
{
  echo "=== System ==="
  uname -a
  echo ""
  echo "=== Node.js ==="
  node --version 2>/dev/null || echo "Not installed"
  echo ""
  echo "=== @deepgram/sdk ==="
  npm list @deepgram/sdk 2>/dev/null || echo "Not installed"
  echo ""
  echo "=== Python ==="
  python3 --version 2>/dev/null || echo "Not installed"
  pip show deepgram-sdk 2>/dev/null || echo "Not installed"
} > "$BUNDLE_DIR/environment.txt"

Step 2: API Connectivity Tests

# Test REST API
{
  echo "=== REST API Test ==="
  echo "Timestamp: $(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)"
  echo ""
  echo "--- Project listing ---"
  curl -s -w "\nHTTP: %{http_code} | Time: %{time_total}s\n" \
    'https://api.deepgram.com/v1/projects' \
    -H "Authorization: Token $DEEPGRAM_API_KEY" 2>&1 | \
    sed "s/$DEEPGRAM_API_KEY/REDACTED/g"
  echo ""
  echo "--- Transcription test (Bueller sample) ---"
  curl -s -w "\nHTTP: %{http_code} | Time: %{time_total}s\n" \
    -X POST 'https://api.deepgram.com/v1/listen?model=nova-3&smart_format=true' \
    -H "Authorization: Token $DEEPGRAM_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"url":"https://static.deepgram.com/examples/Bueller-Life-moves-702702706.wav"}' 2>&1 | \
    sed "s/$DEEPGRAM_API_KEY/REDACTED/g"
  echo ""
  echo "--- WebSocket handshake test ---"
  curl -s -w "\nHTTP: %{http_code}\n" -o /dev/null \
    'https://api.deepgram.com/v1/listen' \
    -H "Authorization: Token $DEEPGRAM_API_KEY" \
    -H "Upgrade: websocket" 2>&1 | \
    sed "s/$DEEPGRAM_API_KEY/REDACTED/g"

Deepgram Deploy Integration

Overview

Deploy Deepgram transcription services to Docker, Kubernetes, AWS Lambda, and Google Cloud Run. Includes production Dockerfile, K8s manifests with secret management, serverless handlers for event-driven transcription, and health check patterns.

Prerequisites

• Working Deepgram integration (tested locally)
• Production API key in secret manager
• Container registry access (Docker Hub, ECR, GCR)
• Target platform CLI installed

Instructions

Step 1: Production Dockerfile

# Multi-stage build for minimal production image
FROM node:20-alpine AS builder

WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --production=false
COPY tsconfig.json ./
COPY src/ ./src/
RUN npm run build

FROM node:20-alpine AS runtime

# Security: non-root user
RUN addgroup -g 1001 -S app && adduser -S app -u 1001
WORKDIR /app

# Production dependencies only
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --production && npm cache clean --force

# Copy built application
COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist

# Health check (tests Deepgram connectivity)
HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=10s --start-period=5s --retries=3 \
  CMD wget -q --spider http://localhost:3000/health || exit 1

USER app
EXPOSE 3000

CMD ["node", "dist/server.js"]

Step 2: Docker Compose

# docker-compose.yml
version: '3.8'

services:
  deepgram-service:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - DEEPGRAM_API_KEY=${DEEPGRAM_API_KEY}
      - DEEPGRAM_MODEL=nova-3
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "wget", "-q", "--spider", "http://localhost:3000/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
    restart: unless-stopped
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 512M
          cpus: '1.0'

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"
    volumes:
      - redis-data:/data

volumes:
  redis-data:

Step 3: Kubernetes Deployment

# k8s/deployment.yaml
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: deepgram-service
  labels:
    app: deepgram-service
spec:
  replicas: 3
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: deepgram-service
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: deepgram-service
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: deepgram-service
          image: your-registry/deepgram-service:latest
          ports:
            - containerPort: 3000
          env:
            - name: NODE_ENV
              value: production
            - name: DEEPGRAM_API_KEY
              valueFrom:
                secretKeyRef:
                  name: deepgram-secrets
                  key: api-key
            - name: DEEPGRAM_MODEL
      

Deepgram Enterprise RBAC

Overview

Role-based access control for enterprise Deepgram deployments. Maps five application roles to Deepgram API key scopes, implements scoped key provisioning via the Deepgram Management API, Express permission middleware, team management with auto-provisioned keys, and automated key rotation.

Deepgram Scope Reference

Instructions

Step 1: Define Roles and Scope Mapping

interface Role {
  name: string;
  deepgramScopes: string[];
  keyExpiry: number;        // Days
  description: string;
}

const ROLES: Record<string, Role> = {
  admin: {
    name: 'Admin',
    deepgramScopes: ['member'],
    keyExpiry: 90,
    description: 'Full access — project and key management',
  },
  developer: {
    name: 'Developer',
    deepgramScopes: ['listen', 'speak'],
    keyExpiry: 90,
    description: 'STT and TTS — no management access',
  },
  analyst: {
    name: 'Analyst',
    deepgramScopes: ['usage:read'],
    keyExpiry: 365,
    description: 'Read-only usage metrics',
  },
  service: {
    name: 'Service Account',
    deepgramScopes: ['listen'],
    keyExpiry: 90,
    description: 'STT only — for automated systems',
  },
  auditor: {
    name: 'Auditor',
    deepgramScopes: ['usage:read', 'keys:read'],
    keyExpiry: 30,
    description: 'Read-only audit access',
  },
};

Step 2: Scoped Key Provisioning

import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';

class DeepgramKeyManager {
  private admin: ReturnType<typeof createClient>;
  private projectId: string;

  constructor(adminKey: string, projectId: string) {
    this.admin = createClient(adminKey);
    this.projectId = projectId;
  }

  async createScopedKey(userId: string, roleName: string): Promise<{
    keyId: string;
    key: string;
    scopes: string[];
    expiresAt: string;
  }> {
    const role = ROLES[roleName];
    if (!role) throw new Error(`Unknown role: ${roleName}`);

    const expirationDate = new Date(Date.now() + role.keyExpiry

Deepgram Hello World

Overview

Minimal working examples for Deepgram speech-to-text. Transcribe an audio URL in 5 lines with createClient + listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl. Includes local file transcription, Python equivalent, and Nova-3 model selection.

Prerequisites

• npm install @deepgram/sdk completed
• DEEPGRAMAPIKEY environment variable set
• Audio source: URL or local file (WAV, MP3, FLAC, OGG, M4A)

Instructions

Step 1: Transcribe Audio from URL (TypeScript)

import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';

const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);

async function main() {
  const { result, error } = await deepgram.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
    { url: 'https://static.deepgram.com/examples/Bueller-Life-moves-702702706.wav' },
    {
      model: 'nova-3',        // Latest model — best accuracy
      smart_format: true,     // Auto-punctuation, paragraphs, numerals
      language: 'en',
    }
  );

  if (error) throw error;

  const transcript = result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].transcript;
  console.log('Transcript:', transcript);
  console.log('Confidence:', result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].confidence);
}

main();

Step 2: Transcribe a Local File

import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
import { readFileSync } from 'fs';

const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);

async function transcribeFile(filePath: string) {
  const audio = readFileSync(filePath);

  const { result, error } = await deepgram.listen.prerecorded.transcribeFile(
    audio,
    {
      model: 'nova-3',
      smart_format: true,
      // Deepgram auto-detects format, but you can specify:
      mimetype: 'audio/wav',
    }
  );

  if (error) throw error;

  console.log(result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].transcript);
}

transcribeFile('./meeting-recording.wav');

Step 3: Python Equivalent

import os
from deepgram import DeepgramClient, PrerecordedOptions

client = DeepgramClient(os.environ["DEEPGRAM_API_KEY"])

# URL transcription
url = {"url": "https://static.deepgram.com/examples/Bueller-Life-moves-702702706.wav"}
options = PrerecordedOptions(model="nova-3", smart_format=True, language="en")

response = client.listen.rest.v("1").transcribe_url(url, options)
transcript = response.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].transcript
print(f"Transcript: {transcript}")
print(f"Confidence: {response.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].confidence}")

# Local file transcription
with open("meeting.wav", "rb

Deepgram Incident Runbook

Overview

Standardized incident response for Deepgram-related production issues. Includes automated triage script, severity classification (SEV1-SEV4), immediate mitigation actions, fallback activation, and post-incident review template.

Quick Reference

Severity Classification

Instructions

Step 1: Automated Triage (First 5 Minutes)

#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail
echo "=== Deepgram Incident Triage ==="
echo "Timestamp: $(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)"
echo ""

# 1. Check Deepgram status page
echo "--- Status Page ---"
STATUS=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" https://status.deepgram.com)
echo "Status page: HTTP $STATUS"

# 2. Test API connectivity
echo ""
echo "--- API Connectivity ---"
curl -s -w "\nHTTP: %{http_code} | Latency: %{time_total}s\n" \
  'https://api.deepgram.com/v1/projects' \
  -H "Authorization: Token $DEEPGRAM_API_KEY" | head -5

# 3. Test transcription
echo ""
echo "--- Transcription Test ---"
RESULT=$(curl -s -w "\n%{http_code}" \
  -X POST 'https://api.deepgram.com/v1/listen?model=nova-3&smart_format=true' \
  -H "Authorization: Token $DEEPGRAM_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url":"https://static.deepgram.com/examples/Bueller-Life-moves-702702706.wav"}')
HTTP_CODE=$(echo "$RESULT" | tail -1)
echo "Transcription: HTTP $HTTP_CODE"

# 4. Test multiple models
echo ""
echo "--- Model Tests ---"
for MODEL in nova-3 nova-2 base; do
  CODE=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
    -X POST "https://api.deepgram.com/v1/listen?model=$MODEL" \
    -H "Authorization: Token $DEEPGRAM_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"

Deepgram Install & Auth

Current State

!npm list @deepgram/sdk 2>/dev/null || echo '@deepgram/sdk not installed'

!pip show deepgram-sdk 2>/dev/null | grep Version || echo 'deepgram-sdk (Python) not installed'

Overview

Install the Deepgram SDK and configure API key authentication. Deepgram provides speech-to-text (Nova-3, Nova-2), text-to-speech (Aura-2), and audio intelligence APIs. The JS SDK uses createClient() (v3/v4) or new DeepgramClient() (v5+).

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ or Python 3.10+
• Deepgram account at console.deepgram.com
• API key from Console > Settings > API Keys

Instructions

Step 1: Install SDK

Node.js (v3/v4 — current stable):

npm install @deepgram/sdk
# or
pnpm add @deepgram/sdk

Python:

pip install deepgram-sdk

Step 2: Configure API Key

# Option A: Environment variable (recommended)
export DEEPGRAM_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

# Option B: .env file (add .env to .gitignore)
echo 'DEEPGRAM_API_KEY=your-api-key-here' >> .env

Never hardcode keys. Use dotenv for local dev, secret managers in production.

Step 3: Initialize Client (TypeScript)

import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';

// Reads DEEPGRAM_API_KEY from env automatically
const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);

SDK v5+ uses a different constructor:

import { DeepgramClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
const deepgram = new DeepgramClient({ apiKey: process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY });

Step 4: Initialize Client (Python)

from deepgram import DeepgramClient, PrerecordedOptions, LiveOptions
import os

client = DeepgramClient(os.environ["DEEPGRAM_API_KEY"])

Step 5: Verify Connection

// TypeScript — list projects to verify key is valid
async function verify() {
  const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);
  const { result, error } = await deepgram.manage.getProjects();
  if (error) {
    console.error('Auth failed:', error.message);
    process.exit(1);
  }
  console.log(`Connected. Projects: ${result.projects.length}`);
  result.projects.forEach(p => console.log(`  - ${p.name} (${p.project_id})`));
}
verify();

# Python — verify connection
from deepgram import DeepgramClient
import os

client = DeepgramClient(os.environ["DEEPGRAM_API_KEY"])
response = client.manage.v("1").get_proj

Deepgram Local Dev Loop

Overview

Set up a fast local development workflow for Deepgram: test fixtures with sample audio, mock responses for offline unit tests, Vitest integration tests against the real API, and a watch-mode transcription dev server.

Prerequisites

• @deepgram/sdk installed, DEEPGRAMAPIKEY configured
• npm install -D vitest tsx dotenv for testing and dev server
• Optional: curl for downloading test fixtures

Instructions

Step 1: Project Structure

mkdir -p src tests/mocks fixtures
touch src/transcribe.ts tests/transcribe.test.ts tests/mocks/deepgram-responses.ts

Step 2: Download Test Fixtures

# Deepgram provides free sample audio files
curl -o fixtures/nasa-podcast.wav \
  https://static.deepgram.com/examples/nasa-podcast.wav

curl -o fixtures/bueller.wav \
  https://static.deepgram.com/examples/Bueller-Life-moves-702702706.wav

Step 3: Environment Config

# .env.development
DEEPGRAM_API_KEY=your-dev-key
DEEPGRAM_MODEL=nova-3

# .env.test (use a separate test key with low limits)
DEEPGRAM_API_KEY=your-test-key
DEEPGRAM_MODEL=base

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "tsx watch src/transcribe.ts",
    "test": "vitest",
    "test:watch": "vitest --watch",
    "test:integration": "vitest run tests/integration/"
  }
}

Step 4: Mock Deepgram Responses

// tests/mocks/deepgram-responses.ts
export const mockPrerecordedResult = {
  metadata: {
    request_id: 'mock-request-id-001',
    created: '2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z',
    duration: 12.5,
    channels: 1,
    models: ['nova-3'],
    model_info: { 'nova-3': { name: 'nova-3', version: '2026-01-01' } },
  },
  results: {
    channels: [{
      alternatives: [{
        transcript: 'Life moves pretty fast. If you don\'t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.',
        confidence: 0.98,
        words: [
          { word: 'life', start: 0.08, end: 0.32, confidence: 0.99, punctuated_word: 'Life' },
          { word: 'moves', start: 0.32, end: 0.56, confidence: 0.98, punctuated_word: 'moves' },
          { word: 'pretty', start: 0.56, end: 0.88, confidence: 0.97, punctuated_word: 'pretty' },
          { word: 'fast', start: 0.88, end: 1.12, confidence: 0.99, punctuated_word: 'fast.' },
        ],
      }],
    }],
    utterances: [{
      speaker: 0,
      transcript: 'Life moves pretty fast. If you don\'t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.',
      start: 0.08,
      end: 5.44,

Deepgram Migration Deep Dive

Current State

!npm list @deepgram/sdk 2>/dev/null | grep deepgram || echo 'Not installed'

!npm list @aws-sdk/client-transcribe 2>/dev/null | grep transcribe || echo 'AWS Transcribe SDK not found'

!pip show google-cloud-speech 2>/dev/null | grep Version || echo 'Google STT not found'

Overview

Migrate to Deepgram from AWS Transcribe, Google Cloud Speech-to-Text, Azure Cognitive Services, or OpenAI Whisper. Uses an adapter pattern with a unified interface, parallel running for quality validation, percentage-based traffic shifting, and automated rollback.

Feature Mapping

AWS Transcribe -> Deepgram

Google Cloud STT -> Deepgram

OpenAI Whisper -> Deepgram

Instructions

Step 1: Typed Environment Configuration

interface DeepgramEnvConfig {
  apiKey: string;
  projectId: string;
  model: 'base' | 'nova-2' | 'nova-3';
  maxConcurrency: number;
  features: {
    diarize: boolean;
    smart_format: boolean;
    redact: string[] | false;
    summarize: boolean;
  };
  callbackBaseUrl?: string;
  timeout: number;
}

function loadConfig(env: string): DeepgramEnvConfig {
  const configs: Record<string, DeepgramEnvConfig> = {
    development: {
      apiKey: process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY_DEV!,
      projectId: process.env.DEEPGRAM_PROJECT_ID_DEV!,
      model: 'base',
      maxConcurrency: 5,
      features: {
        diarize: false,
        smart_format: true,
        redact: false,
        summarize: false,
      },
      callbackBaseUrl: 'http://localhost:3000',
      timeout: 60000,
    },
    staging: {
      apiKey: process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY_STAGING!,
      projectId: process.env.DEEPGRAM_PROJECT_ID_STAGING!,
      model: 'nova-3',
      maxConcurrency: 20,
      features: {
        diarize: true,
        smart_format: true,
        redact: ['pci', 'ssn'],
        summarize: true,
      },
      callbackBaseUrl: 'https://staging.example.com',
      timeout: 30000,
    },
    production: {
      apiKey: process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY_PRODUCTION!,
      projectId: process.env.DEEPGRAM_PROJECT_ID_PRODUCTION!,
      model: 'nova-3',
      maxConcurrency: 100,
      features: {
        diarize: true,
        smart_format: true,
        redact: ['pci', 'ssn'],
        summarize: true,
      },
      callbackBaseUrl: 'https://api.example.com',
      timeout: 30000,
    },
  };

  const config = configs[env];
  if (!config) throw new Error(`Unknown environment: ${env}. Use: development, staging, productio

Deepgram Observability

Overview

Full observability stack for Deepgram: Prometheus metrics (request counts, latency histograms, audio processed, cost tracking), OpenTelemetry distributed tracing, structured JSON logging with Pino, Grafana dashboard JSON, and AlertManager rules.

Four Pillars

Instructions

Step 1: Prometheus Metrics Definition

import { Counter, Histogram, Gauge, Registry, collectDefaultMetrics } from 'prom-client';

const registry = new Registry();
collectDefaultMetrics({ register: registry });

// Request metrics
const requestsTotal = new Counter({
  name: 'deepgram_requests_total',
  help: 'Total Deepgram API requests',
  labelNames: ['method', 'model', 'status'] as const,
  registers: [registry],
});

const latencyHistogram = new Histogram({
  name: 'deepgram_request_duration_seconds',
  help: 'Deepgram API request duration',
  labelNames: ['method', 'model'] as const,
  buckets: [0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 30, 60],
  registers: [registry],
});

// Usage metrics
const audioProcessedSeconds = new Counter({
  name: 'deepgram_audio_processed_seconds_total',
  help: 'Total audio seconds processed',
  labelNames: ['model'] as const,
  registers: [registry],
});

const estimatedCostDollars = new Counter({
  name: 'deepgram_estimated_cost_dollars_total',
  help: 'Estimated cost in USD',
  labelNames: ['model', 'method'] as const,
  registers: [registry],
});

// Operational metrics
const activeConnections = new Gauge({
  name: 'deepgram_active_websocket_connections',
  help: 'Currently active WebSocket connections',
  registers: [registry],
});

const rateLimitHits = new Counter({
  name: 'deepgram_rate_limit_hits_total',
  help: 'Number of 429 rate limit responses',
  registers: [registry],
});

export { registry, requestsTotal, latencyHistogram, audioProcessedSeconds,
         estimatedCostDollars, activeConnections, rateLimitHits };

Step 2: Instrumented Deepgram Client

import { createClient, DeepgramClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';

class InstrumentedDeepgram {
  private client: DeepgramClient;
  private costPerMinute: Record<string, number> = {
    'nova-3': 0.0043, 'nova-2&#

Deepgram Performance Tuning

Overview

Optimize Deepgram transcription performance through audio preprocessing with ffmpeg, model selection for speed vs accuracy, streaming for large files, parallel processing, result caching, and connection reuse. Targets: <2s latency for short files, 100+ files/minute batch throughput.

Performance Levers

Instructions

Step 1: Audio Preprocessing with ffmpeg

# Optimal format for Deepgram: 16kHz, 16-bit, mono, WAV
ffmpeg -i input.mp3 \
  -ar 16000 \          # 16kHz sample rate (ideal for speech)
  -ac 1 \              # Mono channel
  -acodec pcm_s16le \  # 16-bit signed LE PCM
  -f wav \
  output.wav

# Remove silence (saves API cost + processing time)
ffmpeg -i input.wav \
  -af "silenceremove=stop_periods=-1:stop_duration=0.5:stop_threshold=-30dB" \
  -ar 16000 -ac 1 -acodec pcm_s16le \
  trimmed.wav

# Noise reduction + normalization
ffmpeg -i input.wav \
  -af "highpass=f=200,lowpass=f=3000,loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-1.5:LRA=11" \
  -ar 16000 -ac 1 -acodec pcm_s16le \
  clean.wav

import { execSync } from 'child_process';
import { statSync } from 'fs';

function preprocessAudio(inputPath: string, outputPath: string): {
  originalSize: number;
  optimizedSize: number;
  savings: string;
} {
  const originalSize = statSync(inputPath).size;

  execSync(`ffmpeg -y -i "${inputPath}" \
    -af "silenceremove=stop_periods=-1:stop_duration=0.5:stop_threshold=-30dB,\
    highpass=f=200,lowpass=f=3000" \
    -ar 16000 -ac 1 -acodec pcm_s16le \
    "${outputPath}" 2>/dev/null`);

  const optimizedSize = statSync(outputPath).size;
  const savings = ((1 - optimizedSize / originalSize) * 100).toFixed(1);

  console.log(`Preprocessed: ${inputPath}`);
  console.log(`  Original: ${(originalSize / 1024).toFixed(0)}KB`);
  console.log(`  Optimized: ${(optimizedSize / 1024).toFixed(0)}KB (${savings}% smaller)`);

  return { originalSize, optimizedSize, savings };
}

Step 2: Model Selection Strategy

import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';

type Priority = 'ac

Deepgram Production Checklist

Overview

Comprehensive go-live checklist for Deepgram integrations. Covers singleton client, health checks, Prometheus metrics, alert rules, error handling, and a phased go-live timeline.

Production Readiness Matrix

Instructions

Step 1: Production Singleton Client

import { createClient, DeepgramClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';

class ProductionDeepgram {
  private static client: DeepgramClient | null = null;

  static getClient(): DeepgramClient {
    if (!this.client) {
      const key = process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY;
      if (!key) throw new Error('DEEPGRAM_API_KEY required for production');
      this.client = createClient(key);
    }
    return this.client;
  }

  // Force re-init (for key rotation)
  static reset() { this.client =

Deepgram Rate Limits

Overview

Implement rate limiting, exponential backoff, and circuit breaker patterns for Deepgram API. Deepgram limits by concurrent connections (not requests per second). Understanding this model is key to building reliable integrations.

Deepgram Rate Limit Model

Deepgram uses concurrency-based limits, not traditional requests-per-minute:

When you exceed your concurrency limit, Deepgram returns 429 Too Many Requests.

Key insight: You can send unlimited total requests — just not more than your concurrency limit simultaneously.

Instructions

Step 1: Concurrency-Aware Queue

import pLimit from 'p-limit';
import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';

class DeepgramRateLimiter {
  private limit: ReturnType<typeof pLimit>;
  private client: ReturnType<typeof createClient>;
  private stats = { total: 0, active: 0, queued: 0, errors: 0 };

  constructor(apiKey: string, maxConcurrent = 50) {
    // Stay well under plan limit (e.g., 50 of 100 allowed)
    this.limit = pLimit(maxConcurrent);
    this.client = createClient(apiKey);
  }

  async transcribe(source: { url: string }, options: Record<string, any>) {
    this.stats.queued++;
    return this.limit(async () => {
      this.stats.queued--;
      this.stats.active++;
      this.stats.total++;
      try {
        const { result, error } = await this.client.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
          source, options
        );
        if (error) {
          this.stats.errors++;
          throw error;
        }
        return result;
      } catch (err) {
        this.stats.errors++;
        throw err;
      } finally {
        this.stats.active--;
      }
    });
  }

  getStats() { return { ...this.stats }; }
}

// Usage:
const limiter = new DeepgramRateLimiter(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!, 50);
const urls = ['audio1.wav', 'audio2.wav', /* ...hundreds more */];
const results = await Promise.allSettled(
  urls.map(url => limiter.transcribe({ url }, { model: 'nova-3', smart_format: true }))
);

Step 2: Exponential Backoff with Jitter

class RetryableDeepgramClient {
  private client: ReturnType<typeof createClient>;

  constructor(apiKey: string) {
    this.client = createClient(apiKey);
  }

  async transcribeWithRetry(
    source: any,
    options: any,
    config = { maxRetries: 5, baseDel

Deepgram Reference Architecture

Overview

Four reference architectures for Deepgram transcription at scale: synchronous REST for short files, async queue (BullMQ) for batch processing, WebSocket proxy for real-time streaming, and a hybrid router that auto-selects the best pattern based on audio duration.

Architecture Selection Guide

Instructions

Step 1: Synchronous REST Pattern

import express from 'express';
import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';

const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);

// Direct API call — best for short files (<60s)
app.post('/api/transcribe', async (req, res) => {
  const { url, model = 'nova-3', diarize = false } = req.body;

  try {
    const { result, error } = await deepgram.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
      { url },
      { model, smart_format: true, diarize, utterances: diarize }
    );
    if (error) return res.status(502).json({ error: error.message });

    res.json({
      transcript: result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].transcript,
      confidence: result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].confidence,
      duration: result.metadata.duration,
      request_id: result.metadata.request_id,
      utterances: diarize ? result.results.utterances : undefined,
    });
  } catch (err: any) {
    res.status(500).json({ error: err.message });
  }
});

Step 2: Async Queue Pattern (BullMQ)

import { Queue, Worker, Job } from 'bullmq';
import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
import Redis from 'ioredis';

const connection = new Redis(process.env.REDIS_URL ?? 'redis://localhost:6379');

// Producer: submit transcription jobs
const transcriptionQueue = new Queue('transcription', { connection });

async function submitJob(audioUrl: string, options: Record<string, any> = {}) {
  const job = await transcriptionQueue.add('transcribe', {
    audioUrl,
    model: options.model ?? 'nova-3',
    diarize: options.diarize ?? false,
    submittedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
  }, {
    attempts: 3,
    backoff: { type: 'expone

Deepgram SDK Patterns

Overview

Production patterns for @deepgram/sdk (TypeScript) and deepgram-sdk (Python). Covers singleton client, typed wrappers, text-to-speech with Aura, audio intelligence pipeline, error handling, and SDK v5 migration path.

Prerequisites

• npm install @deepgram/sdk or pip install deepgram-sdk
• DEEPGRAMAPIKEY environment variable configured

Instructions

Step 1: Singleton Client (TypeScript)

import { createClient, DeepgramClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';

class DeepgramService {
  private static instance: DeepgramService;
  private client: DeepgramClient;

  private constructor() {
    const apiKey = process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY;
    if (!apiKey) throw new Error('DEEPGRAM_API_KEY is required');
    this.client = createClient(apiKey);
  }

  static getInstance(): DeepgramService {
    if (!this.instance) this.instance = new DeepgramService();
    return this.instance;
  }

  getClient(): DeepgramClient { return this.client; }
}

export const deepgram = DeepgramService.getInstance().getClient();

Step 2: Text-to-Speech with Aura

import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
import { writeFileSync } from 'fs';

const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);

async function textToSpeech(text: string, outputPath: string) {
  const response = await deepgram.speak.request(
    { text },
    {
      model: 'aura-2-thalia-en',  // Female English voice
      encoding: 'linear16',
      container: 'wav',
      sample_rate: 24000,
    }
  );

  const stream = await response.getStream();
  if (!stream) throw new Error('No audio stream returned');

  // Collect stream into buffer
  const reader = stream.getReader();
  const chunks: Uint8Array[] = [];
  while (true) {
    const { done, value } = await reader.read();
    if (done) break;
    chunks.push(value);
  }

  const buffer = Buffer.concat(chunks);
  writeFileSync(outputPath, buffer);
  console.log(`Audio saved: ${outputPath} (${buffer.length} bytes)`);
  return buffer;
}

// Aura-2 voice options:
// aura-2-thalia-en    — Female, warm
// aura-2-asteria-en   — Female, default
// aura-2-orion-en     — Male, deep
// aura-2-luna-en      — Female, soft
// aura-2-helios-en    — Male, authoritative
// aura-asteria-en     — Aura v1 fallback

Step 3: Audio Intelligence Pipeline

async function analyzeConversation(audioUrl: string) {
  const { result, error } = await deepgram.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
    { url: audioUrl },
    {
      model: 'nova-3',
      smart_format: true,
      diarize: true,
      utterances: true,
      // Audio Intelligence features
      summarize: 'v2',       // Generates 

Deepgram Security Basics

Overview

Security best practices for Deepgram integration: scoped API keys, key rotation, Deepgram's built-in PII redaction feature, client-side temporary keys, SSRF prevention for audio URLs, and audit logging.

Security Checklist

• [ ] API keys in environment variables or secret manager (never in code)
• [ ] Separate keys per environment (dev/staging/prod)
• [ ] Keys scoped to minimum required permissions
• [ ] Key rotation schedule (90 days recommended)
• [ ] Deepgram redact option enabled for PII-sensitive audio
• [ ] Audio URLs validated (HTTPS only, no private IPs)
• [ ] Audit logging on all transcription operations

Instructions

Step 1: Scoped API Keys

Create keys with minimal permissions in Console > Settings > API Keys:

// Production transcription service — only needs listen scope
const sttKey = process.env.DEEPGRAM_STT_KEY;  // Scope: listen

// TTS service — only needs speak scope
const ttsKey = process.env.DEEPGRAM_TTS_KEY;  // Scope: speak

// Monitoring dashboard — only needs usage read
const monitorKey = process.env.DEEPGRAM_MONITOR_KEY;  // Scope: usage:read

// Admin operations — separate key, restricted access
const adminKey = process.env.DEEPGRAM_ADMIN_KEY;  // Scope: manage, keys

Step 2: Deepgram Built-in PII Redaction

import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';

const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);

// Deepgram redacts PII directly in the transcript
const { result } = await deepgram.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
  { url: audioUrl },
  {
    model: 'nova-3',
    smart_format: true,
    // Built-in redaction — replaces sensitive data in transcript
    redact: ['pci', 'ssn', 'numbers'],
    // pci     — Credit card numbers → [REDACTED]
    // ssn     — Social Security numbers → [REDACTED]
    // numbers — All numeric sequences → [REDACTED]
  }
);

// Transcript will contain [REDACTED] in place of sensitive numbers
console.log(result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].transcript);
// "My card number is [REDACTED] and my SSN is [REDACTED]"

Step 3: Temporary Keys for Client-Side

// Generate short-lived keys for browser/mobile clients
// This prevents exposing your main API key

import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
import express from 'express';

const app = express();
const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);

app.post('/api/deepgram/token', async (req, res) => {
  // Create a temporary key that expires in 10 seconds
  // Use for browser WebSocket connections
  const { result, error } = await deepgram.manage.createProjectKey(
    process.env.DEEPGRAM_PROJECT_ID!,
    {
      comment: `temp-key-${

Deepgram Upgrade Migration

Current State

!npm list @deepgram/sdk 2>/dev/null | grep deepgram || echo 'SDK not installed'

Overview

Guide for Deepgram SDK version upgrades (v3 -> v4 -> v5) and model migrations (Nova-2 -> Nova-3). Includes breaking change maps, side-by-side API comparison, A/B testing scripts, automated validation, and rollback procedures.

SDK Version History

Instructions

Step 1: Identify Current Version and Breaking Changes

# Check installed version
npm list @deepgram/sdk

# Check latest available
npm view @deepgram/sdk versions --json | tail -5

Step 2: v3/v4 to v5 Migration Map

// ============= CLIENT CREATION =============
// v3/v4:
import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
const dg = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);

// v5:
import { DeepgramClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
const dg = new DeepgramClient({ apiKey: process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY });

// ============= PRE-RECORDED STT =============
// v3/v4:
const { result, error } = await dg.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
  { url: audioUrl },
  { model: 'nova-3', smart_format: true }
);

// v5:
const response = await dg.listen.v1.media.transcribeUrl(
  { url: audioUrl },
  { model: 'nova-3', smart_format: true }
);
// v5 throws on error instead of returning { error }

// ============= FILE TRANSCRIPTION =============
// v3/v4:
const { result, error } = await dg.listen.prerecorded.transcribeFile(
  buffer,
  { model: 'nova-3', mimetype: 'audio/wav' }
);

// v5:
const response = await dg.listen.v1.media.transcribeFile(
  createReadStream('audio.wav'),
  { model: 'nova-3' }
);

// ============= LIVE STREAMING =============
// v3/v4:
const connection = dg.listen.live({ model: 'nova-3', encoding: 'linear16' });
connection.on(LiveTranscriptionEvents.Transcript, (data) => { ... });

// v5:
const connection = await dg.listen.v1.connect({ model: 'nova-3', encoding: 'linear16' });
// Note: v5 connect() is asyn

Deepgram Webhooks & Callbacks

Overview

Implement async transcription with Deepgram's callback feature. When you pass a callback URL, Deepgram returns a request_id immediately, processes audio in the background, and POSTs results to your endpoint. Supports HTTP and WebSocket callbacks with automatic retry (10 attempts, 30s intervals).

Deepgram Callback Flow

1. Client -> POST /v1/listen?callback=https://you.com/webhook  (with audio)
2. Deepgram -> 200 { request_id: "..." }                       (immediate)
3. Deepgram processes audio asynchronously
4. Deepgram -> POST https://you.com/webhook                    (results)
   Retries up to 10 times (30s delay) on non-2xx response

Instructions

Step 1: Submit Async Transcription

import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';

const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);

async function submitAsync(audioUrl: string, callbackUrl: string) {
  // Deepgram sends transcription via callback URL instead of
  // holding the connection open.
  const { result, error } = await deepgram.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
    { url: audioUrl },
    {
      model: 'nova-3',
      smart_format: true,
      diarize: true,
      utterances: true,
      callback: callbackUrl,  // Your HTTPS endpoint
      // callback_method: 'put',  // Optional: use PUT instead of POST
    }
  );

  if (error) throw new Error(`Submit failed: ${error.message}`);

  // Deepgram returns immediately with request_id
  const requestId = result.metadata.request_id;
  console.log(`Submitted. Request ID: ${requestId}`);
  console.log(`Results will be POSTed to: ${callbackUrl}`);
  return requestId;
}

// Also works with direct curl:
// curl -X POST 'https://api.deepgram.com/v1/listen?model=nova-3&callback=https://you.com/webhook' \
//   -H "Authorization: Token $DEEPGRAM_API_KEY" \
//   -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
//   -d '{"url":"https://example.com/audio.wav"}'

Step 2: Callback Server

import express from 'express';
import crypto from 'crypto';

const app = express();

// IMPORTANT: Use raw body for HMAC signature verification
app.use('/webhooks/deepgram', express.raw({ type: 'application/json', limit: '50mb' }));

app.post('/webhooks/deepgram', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    // 1. Verify signature (if webhook secret configured)
    const signature = req.headers['x-deepgram-signature'] as string;
    if (process.env.DEEPGRAM_WEBHOOK_SECRET && signature) {
      const expected = crypto
        .createHmac('sha256', process.env.DEEPGRAM_WEBHOOK_SECRET)
        .update(req.body)
        .digest('hex');

      // Timing-safe comparison to prevent