- name
- deepgram-rust-speech-to-text
- description
- Use when implementing Deepgram speech-to-text in the Rust SDK, including prerecorded REST transcription, live WebSocket streaming, listen feature flags, Options builder usage, and response handling.
# Using Deepgram Speech-to-Text (Rust SDK)
Use this skill for prerecorded transcription, live streaming transcription, or when mapping Deepgram docs to the Rust crate's real `listen` surface.
## When to use this product
- Transcribing local files, URLs, or in-memory audio with `Deepgram::transcription()`.
- Streaming audio over WebSocket with `stream_request()` / `stream_request_with_options(...)`.
- Using `common::options::Options` for STT features such as `model`, `language`, `punctuate`, `diarize`, `smart_format`, `utterances`, and streaming knobs like `endpointing`.
- Rendering subtitles from a prerecorded response with `common::captions::srt` / `webvtt` (or `response.to_srt(&CaptionOptions::default())` / `to_webvtt(...)`). Request `utterances=true` and `diarize=true` for cues that split on utterance and speaker boundaries.
This skill covers **Nova models on `/v1/listen`** — Deepgram's general-purpose STT family (nova-3, nova-2, nova, enhanced, base). Both Nova and Flux are actively maintained, industry-leading STT model families.
**Use a different skill when:**
- You need conversational-audio transcription with built-in turn detection (voice agents, interactive assistants) → `deepgram-rust-conversational-stt` (Flux on `/v2/listen`).
- You want analytics overlays on the transcript (summarize, sentiment, topics, intents) → `deepgram-rust-audio-intelligence` (same `/v1/listen` endpoint, different params).
- You need a full-duplex voice agent (STT + LLM + TTS in one WSS) → `deepgram-rust-voice-agent`.
## Authentication
`deepgram` defaults to `manage + listen + speak`. For STT-only installs, trim features explicitly:
```toml
[dependencies]
deepgram = { version = "0.12", default-features = false, features = ["listen"] }
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
futures = "0.3"
```
```rust
use deepgram::Deepgram;
let dg = Deepgram::new(std::env::var("DEEPGRAM_API_KEY")?)?;
```
- API keys use `Authorization: Token <api_key>`.
- Temporary tokens use `Deepgram::with_temp_token(...)` and send `Bearer`, but are mainly useful for voice APIs rather than Manage APIs.
- Self-hosted installs can use `Deepgram::with_base_url(...)` or `Deepgram::with_base_url_and_api_key(...)`.
## Quick start
## Quick start: prerecorded file transcription
```rust
use deepgram::{
common::{
audio_source::AudioSource,
options::{Language, Options},
},
Deepgram,
};
use tokio::fs::File;
static PATH_TO_FILE: &str = "examples/audio/bueller.wav";
#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
let api_key = std::env::var("DEEPGRAM_API_KEY")?;
let dg = Deepgram::new(&api_key)?;
let file = File::open(PATH_TO_FILE).await?;
let source = AudioSource::from_buffer_with_mime_type(file, "audio/wav");
let options = Options::builder()
.punctuate(true)
.language(Language::en_US)
.build();
let response = dg.transcription().prerecorded(source, &options).await?;
println!("{}", response.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].transcript);
Ok(())
}
```
## Quick start: live WebSocket transcription
```rust
use std::time::Duration;
use deepgram::{
common::options::{Encoding, Endpointing, Language, Options},
Deepgram,
};
use futures::stream::StreamExt;
static PATH_TO_FILE: &str = "examples/audio/bueller.wav";
static AUDIO_CHUNK_SIZE: usize = 3174;
static FRAME_DELAY: Duration = Duration::from_millis(16);
#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
let api_key = std::env::var("DEEPGRAM_API_KEY")?;
let dg = Deepgram::new(&api_key)?;
let options = Options::builder()
.smart_format(true)
.language(Language::en_US)
.build();
let mut results = dg
.transcription()
.stream_request_with_options(options)
.keep_alive()
.encoding(Encoding::Linear16)
.sample_rate(44100)
.channels(2)
.endpointing(Endpointing::CustomDurationMs(300))
.interim_results(true)
.utterance_end_ms(1000)
.vad_events(true)
.no_delay(true)
.file(PATH_TO_FILE, AUDIO_CHUNK_SIZE, FRAME_DELAY)
.await?;
println!("Deepgram Request ID: {}", results.request_id());
while let Some(result) = results.next().await {
println!("{result:?}");
}
Ok(())
}
```
## Key parameters
- Prerecorded entrypoints: `prerecorded(...)`, `prerecorded_callback(...)`, `make_prerecorded_request_builder(...)`.
- Streaming entrypoints: `stream_request()`, `stream_request_with_options(options)`, then `.file(...)`, `.stream(...)`, or `.handle().await?`.
- Core `Options` builder fields: `model`, `language`, `punctuate`, `smart_format`, `diarize`, `multichannel`, `utterances`, `detect_language`, `keywords`, `search`, `replace`, `paragraphs`.
- Streaming-only builder fields: `encoding`, `sample_rate`, `channels`, `endpointing`, `utterance_end_ms`, `interim_results`, `no_delay`, `vad_events`, `keep_alive`, `callback`.
- Main response types: prerecorded `common::batch_response::Response`; live `common::stream_response::StreamResponse`.
## API reference (layered)
1. **In-repo**
- `README.md`
- `src/listen/rest.rs`
- `src/listen/websocket.rs`
- `src/common/options.rs`
- `examples/transcription/rest/prerecorded_from_file.rs`
- `examples/transcription/websocket/simple_stream.rs`
2. **OpenAPI**
- Raw spec: `https://developers.deepgram.com/openapi.yaml`
- Pre-recorded reference: `https://developers.deepgram.com/reference/speech-to-text/listen-pre-recorded`
3. **AsyncAPI**
- Raw spec: `https://developers.deepgram.com/asyncapi.yaml`
- Streaming reference: `https://developers.deepgram.com/reference/speech-to-text/listen-streaming`
4. **Context7**
- `/llmstxt/developers_deepgram_llms_txt`
5. **Product docs**
- `https://developers.deepgram.com/docs/stt/getting-started`
## Gotchas
1. **Use `listen` feature gates correctly.** STT modules are behind the `listen` Cargo feature.
2. **`Options` is by value for WebSocket builders.** `stream_request_with_options(options)` takes ownership, unlike prerecorded APIs that take `&Options`.
3. **Live and prerecorded responses differ.** Intelligence-heavy fields such as `summary`, `topics`, and `sentiments` live on prerecorded response types, not `StreamResponse`.
4. **Audio pacing matters.** The example `.file(...)` helpers assume realistic chunk sizes and delays; sending audio too fast can produce bad streaming behavior.
5. **Use `Token`, not `Bearer`, for API keys.** `Bearer` is only for temporary tokens.
## Example files in this repo
- `examples/transcription/rest/prerecorded_from_file.rs`
- `examples/transcription/rest/prerecorded_from_url.rs`
- `examples/transcription/rest/callback.rs`
- `examples/transcription/rest/make_prerecorded_request_builder.rs`
- `examples/transcription/websocket/simple_stream.rs`
- `examples/transcription/websocket/callback_stream.rs`
- `examples/transcription/websocket/microphone_stream.rs`
- `examples/transcription/websocket/16_keepalive_close_stream.rs`
## Central product skills
For cross-language Deepgram product knowledge — the consolidated API reference, documentation finder, focused runnable recipes, third-party integration examples, and MCP setup — install the central skills:
```bash
npx skills add deepgram/skills
```
This SDK ships language-idiomatic code skills; `deepgram/skills` ships cross-language product knowledge (see `api`, `docs`, `recipes`, `examples`, `starters`, `setup-mcp`).
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