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Open Transcribe file in the main window and drop a file or use the file picker. Select a speech provider, model, language, and output format, then start transcription. The picker accepts common audio formats such as MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, FLAC, OGG, WMA, AIFF, and CAF, and video formats including MP4, MOV, AVI, M4V, WebM, and MKV. Successful decoding also depends on the file’s codec and the audio macOS can read; an accepted extension is not a guarantee that every file in that container will work.

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Choose processing

Local providers need their downloaded models. Cloud providers need a configured key and send audio to that provider. Filler removal follows Text cleanup settings. AI rewriting is offered only after the transcript is ready through Polish. Deepgram Flux uses Nova 3 for file requests. AssemblyAI uses its file transcription path with Universal-3.5 Pro and Universal-2 fallback. A live streaming model label does not imply the file uses a streaming connection.

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Speakers and timestamps

Select Speakers & timestamps under Transcript when using Deepgram, AssemblyAI, or Gemini Transcribe. Other providers currently offer Plain text only; Notetaker’s local diarization does not automatically add this capability to file transcription. This mode preserves provider wording and file-relative timing. Filler removal, vocabulary cleanup, and Polish do not run on the timed transcript. Speaker labels belong to this file and can be unknown; they do not identify people by name. Diarized files can be saved as TXT, Markdown, JSON, SRT, or VTT. Gemini’s diarized-file path is limited to 30 minutes. If the provider does not return usable speaker timings, the app reports an error rather than inventing them; retry or choose Plain text.

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Review, polish, and save

In Plain text mode, choose TXT, Markdown, or JSON for the result. Use Copy or Save after reviewing it. If you request Polish, Undo Polish can return to the pre-polish result. Prepare the cleanup model before using this optional action. The file workflow is separate from the meeting transcript menu. For a captured session, use Notetaker exports. If decoding fails, try a readable WAV or M4A copy. If a provider rejects the file, check its current limits and account status. An active meeting reserves the shared speech runtime, so finish it before attempting a competing job.