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# Asynchronous Speech to Text
**How-to guide** ยท Assumes you have completed the [Speech to Text
quickstart](/docs/eleven-api/guides/cookbooks/speech-to-text).
## Overview
Webhooks allow you to receive automatic notifications when your Speech to Text transcription tasks are completed, eliminating the need to continuously poll the API for status updates. This is particularly useful for long-running transcription jobs or when processing large volumes of audio files.
When a transcription is completed, ElevenLabs will send a POST request to your specified webhook URL with the transcription results, including the transcript text, language detection, and any metadata.
## Using webhooks
This guide assumes you have [set up your API key and SDK](/docs/eleven-api/quickstart). Complete
the quickstart first if you haven't.
First, create a webhook in the ElevenLabs dashboard. Navigate to your [webhooks settings](https://elevenlabs.io/app/settings/webhooks) and click "Create Webhook".
Configure your webhook with:
* **Name**: A descriptive name for your webhook
* **Callback URL**: Your publicly accessible HTTPS endpoint
* **Webhook Auth Method**: Either `HMAC` or `OAuth`. It is up to the client to implement the verification mechanism. ElevenLabs sends headers that allow for verification but we do not enforce it.
Once created, you can associate the webhook with your speech-to-text tasks. In the dashboard, navigate to the webhook events section and link your webhooks to speech-to-text events.
When making speech-to-text API calls, include the `webhook` parameter set to `true` to enable webhook notifications for that specific request.
```python maxLines=0
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from elevenlabs.client import ElevenLabs
load_dotenv()
elevenlabs = ElevenLabs(
api_key=os.getenv("ELEVENLABS_API_KEY"),
)
def transcribe_with_webhook(audio_file):
try:
result = elevenlabs.speech_to_text.convert(
file=audio_file,
model_id="scribe_v2",
webhook=True,
)
print(f"Transcription started: {result.request_id}")
return result
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error starting transcription: {e}")
raise e
```
```typescript maxLines=0
import { ElevenLabsClient } from '@elevenlabs/elevenlabs-js';
const elevenlabs = new ElevenLabsClient({
apiKey: process.env.ELEVENLABS_API_KEY,
});
async function transcribeWithWebhook(audioFile) {
try {
const result = await elevenlabs.speechToText.convert({
file: audioFile,
modelId: 'scribe_v2',
webhook: true,
});
console.log('Transcription started:', result.requestId);
return result;
} catch (error) {
console.error('Error starting transcription:', error);
throw error;
}
}
```
## Webhook payload
When a transcription is completed, your webhook endpoint will receive a POST request with the transcription and webhook data:
```json
{
type: 'speech_to_text_transcription',
data: {
request_id: 'some-request-id-123',
webhook_metadata: { ... }, // if provided in the convert request
transcription: {
"language_code": "en",
"language_probability": 0.98,
"text": "Hello world!",
"words": [
{
"text": "Hello",
"start": 0.0,
"end": 0.5,
"type": "word",
"speaker_id": "speaker_1"
},
{
"text": " ",
"start": 0.5,
"end": 0.5,
"type": "spacing",
"speaker_id": "speaker_1"
},
{
"text": "world!",
"start": 0.5,
"end": 1.2,
"type": "word",
"speaker_id": "speaker_1"
}
]
}
}
}
```
Please refer to the [Speech-to-text API](/docs/api-reference/speech-to-text/v-1-speech-to-text-realtime) reference to learn about the details of the response structure.
## Implementing your webhook endpoint
Here's an example of how to implement a webhook endpoint to handle incoming notifications:
```javascript
import { ElevenLabsClient } from '@elevenlabs/elevenlabs-js';
import 'dotenv/config';
import express from 'express';
const elevenlabs = new ElevenLabsClient();
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());
const WEBHOOK_SECRET = process.env.WEBHOOK_SECRET;
app.post('/webhook/speech-to-text', (req, res) => {
try {
const signature = req.headers['elevenlabs-signature'];
const payload = JSON.stringify(req.body);
let event;
try {
// Verify the webhook signature.
event = await elevenlabs.webhooks.constructEvent(payload, signature, WEBHOOK_SECRET);
} catch (error) {
return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Invalid signature' });
}
if (event.type === 'speech_to_text.completed') {
const { requestId, status, text, language_code } = event.data;
console.log(`Transcription ${requestId} completed`);
console.log(`Language: ${language_code}`);
console.log(`Text: ${text}`);
processTranscription(requestId, text, language_code);
} else if (status === 'failed') {
console.error(`Transcription ${requestId} failed`);
handleTranscriptionError(requestId);
}
res.status(200).json({ received: true });
} catch (error) {
console.error('Webhook error:', error);
res.status(500).json({ error: 'Internal server error' });
}
});
async function processTranscription(requestId, text, language) {
console.log('Processing completed transcription...');
}
async function handleTranscriptionError(requestId) {
console.log('Handling transcription error...');
}
app.listen(3000, () => {
console.log('Webhook server listening on port 3000');
});
```
## Security considerations
### Signature verification
Always verify webhook signatures to ensure requests came from ElevenLabs.
### HTTPS requirement
Webhook URLs must use HTTPS to ensure secure transmission of transcription data.
### Rate limiting
Implement rate limiting on your webhook endpoint to prevent abuse:
```javascript
import rateLimit from "express-rate-limit";
const webhookLimiter = rateLimit({
windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, // 15 minutes
max: 100, // limit each IP to 100 requests per windowMs
message: "Too many webhook requests from this IP",
});
app.use("/webhook", webhookLimiter);
```
### Failure responses
Return appropriate HTTP status codes:
* `200-299`: Success - webhook processed successfully
* `400-499`: Client error - webhook will not be retried
* `500-599`: Server error - webhook will be retried
## Testing webhooks
### Local development
For local testing, use tools like [ngrok](https://ngrok.com/) to expose your local server:
```bash
ngrok http 3000
```
Use the provided HTTPS URL as your webhook endpoint during development.
### Webhook testing
You can test your webhook implementation by making a transcription request and monitoring your endpoint:
```javascript
async function testWebhook() {
const audioFile = new File([audioBuffer], "test.mp3", { type: "audio/mp3" });
const result = await elevenlabs.speechToText.convert({
file: audioFile,
modelId: "scribe_v2",
webhook: true,
});
console.log("Test transcription started:", result.requestId);
}
```
## Next steps
Transcribe audio in real time using the WebSocket-based streaming API.
Full Speech to Text API reference and parameters.