Deepgram

Deepgram is a speech-to-text API. OpenClaw uses it for inbound audio/voice-note transcription through tools.media.audio and for Voice Call streaming STT through plugins.entries.voice-call.config.streaming.

Batch transcription uploads the complete audio file to Deepgram and injects the transcript into the reply pipeline ({{Transcript}} + [Audio] block). Voice Call streaming forwards live G.711 u-law frames over Deepgram’s WebSocket listen endpoint and emits partial/final transcripts as Deepgram returns them.

Detail	Value
Website	deepgram.com
Docs	developers.deepgram.com
Auth	DEEPGRAM_API_KEY
Default model	nova-3

Getting started

1. Set your API key

   DEEPGRAM_API_KEY=dg_...
   
2. Enable the audio provider

   {
     tools: {
       media: {
         audio: {
           enabled: true,
           models: [{ provider: "deepgram", model: "nova-3" }],
         },
       },
     },
   }
   
3. Send a voice note

   Send an audio message through any connected channel. OpenClaw transcribes it via Deepgram and injects the transcript into the reply pipeline.

Configuration options

Option	Path	Description
model	tools.media.audio.models[].model	Deepgram model id (default: nova-3)
language	tools.media.audio.models[].language	Language hint (optional)

providerOptions.deepgram merges extra query params directly into the Deepgram /listen request, so any Deepgram-supported param name works (for example detect_language, punctuate, smart_format):

With language hint

{
  tools: {
    media: {
      audio: {
        enabled: true,
        models: [{ provider: "deepgram", model: "nova-3", language: "en" }],
      },
    },
  },
}

With Deepgram options

{
  tools: {
    media: {
      audio: {
        enabled: true,
        providerOptions: {
          deepgram: {
            detect_language: true,
            punctuate: true,
            smart_format: true,
          },
        },
        models: [{ provider: "deepgram", model: "nova-3" }],
      },
    },
  },
}

Voice Call streaming STT

The bundled deepgram plugin also registers a realtime transcription provider for the Voice Call plugin.

Setting	Config path	Default
API key	plugins.entries.voice-call.config.streaming.providers.deepgram.apiKey	Falls back to DEEPGRAM_API_KEY
Base URL	...deepgram.baseUrl	DEEPGRAM_BASE_URL or Deepgram’s public API
Model	...deepgram.model	nova-3
Language	...deepgram.language	(unset)
Encoding	...deepgram.encoding	mulaw
Sample rate	...deepgram.sampleRate	8000
Endpointing	...deepgram.endpointingMs	800
Interim results	...deepgram.interimResults	true

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      "voice-call": {
        config: {
          streaming: {
            enabled: true,
            provider: "deepgram",
            providers: {
              deepgram: {
                apiKey: "${DEEPGRAM_API_KEY}",
                model: "nova-3",
                endpointingMs: 800,
                language: "en-US",
              },
            },
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

For a Deepgram custom endpoint, set baseUrl to the endpoint root, including any base path but not /listen. Realtime endpoints accept http://, https://, ws://, and wss://. HTTP maps to WS, HTTPS maps to WSS, and explicit WebSocket schemes stay unchanged. Malformed URLs and other schemes fail during session setup.

Voice Call receives telephony audio as 8 kHz G.711 u-law. The Deepgram streaming provider defaults to encoding: "mulaw" and sampleRate: 8000, so Twilio media frames can be forwarded directly.

Notes

Authentication

Authentication follows the standard provider auth order. DEEPGRAM_API_KEY is the simplest path.

Proxy and custom endpoints

Override endpoints or headers with tools.media.audio.baseUrl and tools.media.audio.headers when using a proxy.

Output behavior

Output follows the same audio rules as other providers (size caps, timeouts, transcript injection).

Related

Media tools

Audio, image, and video processing pipeline overview.

Configuration

Full config reference including media tool settings.

Troubleshooting

Common issues and debugging steps.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about OpenClaw setup.