Diagnose and fix common Deepgram errors and issues. Use when troubleshooting Deepgram API errors, debugging transcription failures, or resolving integration issues. Trigger with phrases like "deepgram error", "deepgram not working", "fix deepgram", "deepgram troubleshoot", "transcription failed".
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skills listSkill Instructions
name: deepgram-common-errors description: | Diagnose and fix common Deepgram errors and issues. Use when troubleshooting Deepgram API errors, debugging transcription failures, or resolving integration issues. Trigger with phrases like "deepgram error", "deepgram not working", "fix deepgram", "deepgram troubleshoot", "transcription failed". allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Bash(curl:*) version: 1.0.0 license: MIT author: Jeremy Longshore jeremy@intentsolutions.io
Deepgram Common Errors
Overview
Comprehensive guide to diagnosing and fixing common Deepgram integration errors.
Quick Diagnostic
# Test API connectivity
curl -X POST 'https://api.deepgram.com/v1/listen?model=nova-2' \
-H "Authorization: Token $DEEPGRAM_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: audio/wav" \
--data-binary @test.wav
Common Errors
Authentication Errors
401 Unauthorized
{"err_code": "INVALID_AUTH", "err_msg": "Invalid credentials"}
Causes:
- Missing or invalid API key
- Expired API key
- Incorrect Authorization header format
Solutions:
# Check API key is set
echo $DEEPGRAM_API_KEY
# Verify API key format (should start with valid prefix)
# Test with curl
curl -X GET 'https://api.deepgram.com/v1/projects' \
-H "Authorization: Token $DEEPGRAM_API_KEY"
403 Forbidden
{"err_code": "ACCESS_DENIED", "err_msg": "Access denied"}
Causes:
- API key lacks required permissions
- Feature not enabled on account
- IP restriction blocking request
Solutions:
- Check API key permissions in Console
- Verify account tier supports requested feature
- Check IP allowlist settings
Audio Processing Errors
400 Bad Request - Invalid Audio
{"err_code": "BAD_REQUEST", "err_msg": "Audio could not be processed"}
Causes:
- Corrupted audio file
- Unsupported audio format
- Empty or silent audio
- Wrong Content-Type header
Solutions:
// Validate audio before sending
import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
import { readFileSync, statSync } from 'fs';
function validateAudioFile(filePath: string): boolean {
const stats = statSync(filePath);
// Check file size (minimum 100 bytes, maximum 2GB)
if (stats.size < 100 || stats.size > 2 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024) {
console.error('Invalid file size');
return false;
}
// Check file header for valid audio format
const buffer = readFileSync(filePath, { length: 12 });
const header = buffer.toString('hex', 0, 4);
const validHeaders = {
'52494646': 'WAV', // RIFF
'fff3': 'MP3', // MP3
'fff2': 'MP3',
'fffb': 'MP3',
'664c6143': 'FLAC', // fLaC
'4f676753': 'OGG', // OggS
};
return Object.keys(validHeaders).some(h => header.startsWith(h));
}
413 Payload Too Large
{"err_code": "PAYLOAD_TOO_LARGE", "err_msg": "Audio file exceeds size limit"}
Solutions:
// Split large files
import { exec } from 'child_process';
import { promisify } from 'util';
const execAsync = promisify(exec);
async function splitAudio(inputPath: string, chunkDuration: number = 300) {
const outputPattern = inputPath.replace('.wav', '_chunk_%03d.wav');
await execAsync(
`ffmpeg -i ${inputPath} -f segment -segment_time ${chunkDuration} ` +
`-c copy ${outputPattern}`
);
}
Rate Limiting Errors
429 Too Many Requests
{"err_code": "RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED", "err_msg": "Rate limit exceeded"}
Solutions:
// Implement rate limiting
class RateLimiter {
private queue: Array<() => Promise<void>> = [];
private processing = false;
private lastRequest = 0;
private minInterval = 100; // ms between requests
async add<T>(fn: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
this.queue.push(async () => {
const now = Date.now();
const elapsed = now - this.lastRequest;
if (elapsed < this.minInterval) {
await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, this.minInterval - elapsed));
}
try {
this.lastRequest = Date.now();
resolve(await fn());
} catch (error) {
reject(error);
}
});
this.process();
});
}
private async process() {
if (this.processing) return;
this.processing = true;
while (this.queue.length > 0) {
const fn = this.queue.shift()!;
await fn();
}
this.processing = false;
}
}
WebSocket Errors
Connection Refused
Error: WebSocket connection failed
Causes:
- Firewall blocking WebSocket
- Incorrect URL
- Network issues
Solutions:
// Test WebSocket connectivity
async function testWebSocketConnection() {
const ws = new WebSocket('wss://api.deepgram.com/v1/listen', {
headers: {
Authorization: `Token ${process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY}`,
},
});
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
ws.onopen = () => {
console.log('WebSocket connected');
ws.close();
resolve(true);
};
ws.onerror = (error) => {
console.error('WebSocket error:', error);
reject(error);
};
setTimeout(() => reject(new Error('Connection timeout')), 10000);
});
}
Connection Dropped
Error: WebSocket closed unexpectedly
Solutions:
// Implement keep-alive
class DeepgramWebSocket {
private keepAliveInterval: NodeJS.Timeout | null = null;
start() {
// Send keep-alive every 10 seconds
this.keepAliveInterval = setInterval(() => {
if (this.connection?.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
this.connection.send(JSON.stringify({ type: 'KeepAlive' }));
}
}, 10000);
}
stop() {
if (this.keepAliveInterval) {
clearInterval(this.keepAliveInterval);
}
}
}
Transcription Quality Issues
Empty or Incorrect Transcripts
Diagnostic Steps:
- Check audio sample rate (16kHz recommended)
- Verify audio is mono or stereo
- Test with known-good audio file
- Check language setting matches audio
// Debug transcription
async function debugTranscription(audioPath: string) {
const client = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);
const { result, error } = await client.listen.prerecorded.transcribeFile(
readFileSync(audioPath),
{
model: 'nova-2',
smart_format: true,
// Enable all debug features
alternatives: 3,
words: true,
utterances: true,
}
);
if (error) {
console.error('Error:', error);
return;
}
// Check confidence scores
const alt = result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0];
console.log('Confidence:', alt.confidence);
console.log('Word count:', alt.words?.length);
console.log('Low confidence words:', alt.words?.filter(w => w.confidence < 0.7));
}
Error Reference Table
| HTTP Code | Error Code | Common Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 | BAD_REQUEST | Invalid audio format | Check audio encoding |
| 401 | INVALID_AUTH | Missing/invalid API key | Verify API key |
| 403 | ACCESS_DENIED | Permission denied | Check account permissions |
| 404 | NOT_FOUND | Invalid endpoint | Check API URL |
| 413 | PAYLOAD_TOO_LARGE | File too large | Split audio file |
| 429 | RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED | Too many requests | Implement backoff |
| 500 | INTERNAL_ERROR | Server error | Retry with backoff |
| 503 | SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE | Service down | Check status page |
Resources
Next Steps
Proceed to deepgram-debug-bundle for collecting debug evidence.
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