AssemblyAI Install & Auth

Overview

Install the assemblyai npm package and configure API key authentication for transcription, LeMUR, and streaming APIs.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ or Python 3.10+
• Package manager (npm, pnpm, yarn, or pip)
• AssemblyAI account — sign up at https://www.assemblyai.com/dashboard/signup
• API key from https://www.assemblyai.com/app/account

Instructions

Step 1: Install the SDK

# Node.js (official SDK)
npm install assemblyai

# Python
pip install assemblyai

Step 2: Configure API Key

# Set environment variable (recommended)
export ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

# Or add to .env file
echo 'ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY=your-api-key-here' >> .env

Add to .gitignore:

.env
.env.local
.env.*.local

Step 3: Initialize the Client

// src/assemblyai/client.ts
import { AssemblyAI } from 'assemblyai';

const client = new AssemblyAI({
  apiKey: process.env.ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY!,
});

export default client;

Step 4: Verify Connection

// verify-connection.ts
import { AssemblyAI } from 'assemblyai';

const client = new AssemblyAI({
  apiKey: process.env.ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY!,
});

async function verify() {
  // Transcribe a short public audio to confirm everything works
  const transcript = await client.transcripts.transcribe({
    audio: 'https://storage.googleapis.com/aai-web-samples/5_common_sports_702.wav',
  });

  if (transcript.status === 'error') {
    console.error('Transcription failed:', transcript.error);
    process.exit(1);
  }

  console.log('Connection verified. Transcript ID:', transcript.id);
  console.log('Status:', transcript.status);
  console.log('Text preview:', transcript.text?.slice(0, 100));
}

verify().catch(console.error);

Python Setup

import assemblyai as aai
import os

# Configure globally
aai.settings.api_key = os.environ["ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY"]

# Or pass per-client
transcriber = aai.Transcriber()
transcript = transcriber.transcribe(
    "https://storage.googleapis.com/aai-web-samples/5_common_sports_702.wav"
)
print(transcript.text)

Output

• Installed assemblyai package in node_modules or site-packages
• API key stored in environment variable or .env file
• Client initialized and connection verified with a test transcription

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
Authentication error	Invalid or missing API key	Verify key at https://www.assemblyai.com/app/account
Cannot find module 'assemblyai'	SDK not installed	Run npm install assemblyai
transcript.status === 'error'	Invalid audio URL or format	Check audio URL is publicly accessible
ENOTFOUND api.assemblyai.com	Network/firewall issue	Ensure outbound HTTPS to api.assemblyai.com is allowed

Resources

• AssemblyAI Getting Started
• AssemblyAI Node SDK
• AssemblyAI Python SDK
• API Key Dashboard

Next Steps

After successful auth, proceed to assemblyai-hello-world for your first transcription.