> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://gladia-95-remi-cli-doc.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Gladia CLI

> Transcribe audio from your terminal with one install, one command, and no boilerplate

Transcribe audio from your terminal. One install, one command, no boilerplate.

The Gladia CLI wraps the [Gladia speech-to-text API](/chapters/pre-recorded-stt/quickstart) for terminals, shell scripts, and pipelines — 100+ languages, speaker diarization, and code switching in a single command.

<Tip>
  Get your API key from the [Gladia dashboard](https://app.gladia.io/apikeys) before running your first transcription.
</Tip>

## Why use the CLI

* **One command away** — Install the CLI, set your API key, run `gladia transcribe`.
* **Flexible output** — Get plain text, JSON, SRT, or VTT straight to stdout.
* **Full feature set** — Speaker diarization, multilingual configuration, and model selection (`solaria-1`, `solaria-3`).
* **Files or URLs** — Transcribe a local recording or a remote link, with no download step.
* **Pipe-friendly** — Machine-readable output for shell scripts and CI pipelines.

## Install

```bash theme={"system"}
# macOS & Linux
curl -fsSL https://github.com/gladiaio/gladia-cli/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh

# Windows (PowerShell)
powershell -c "irm https://github.com/gladiaio/gladia-cli/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iex"
```

Other platforms and binaries are available on [GitHub releases](https://github.com/gladiaio/gladia-cli/releases).

## Quick start

```bash theme={"system"}
gladia auth set your_key

gladia transcribe meeting.wav               # transcript to stdout
gladia transcribe podcast.mp3 -o srt        # subtitles instead
gladia transcribe call.wav --diarize        # label who spoke when
gladia languages                            # list supported language codes
```

### API key setup

Provide your API key in one of three ways (checked in this order):

```bash theme={"system"}
export GLADIA_API_KEY=your_key              # 1. environment variable
gladia auth set your_key                    # 2. saved to ~/.gladia (mode 0600)
gladia transcribe meeting.wav --gladia-key your_key   # 3. per-command flag
```

## Everyday examples

```bash theme={"system"}
# Transcribe a local file or a remote URL
gladia transcribe meeting.wav
gladia transcribe https://example.com/audio.mp3 -o json

# Narrow language detection to a shortlist
gladia transcribe podcast.mp3 --language en,fr,de

# Mixed-language audio: re-detect on every utterance
gladia transcribe mixed.mp3 --code-switching --language en,fr

# Who spoke when, as subtitles
gladia transcribe call.wav --diarize -o srt

# Pick a model
gladia transcribe podcast.mp3 --model solaria-3 --language en

# Machine-readable output in a pipeline
gladia transcribe interview.mp3 -o json | jq '.transcription'
```

## Commands

| Command                    | Description                                                 |
| -------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| `transcribe <file-or-url>` | Transcribe an audio file or URL                             |
| `auth set <key>`           | Save API key to `~/.gladia`                                 |
| `languages`                | List supported ISO 639-1 codes                              |
| `completion <shell>`       | Generate shell tab completion (bash, zsh, fish, powershell) |

## Output formats

Use `-o` or `--output` to control how the transcript is returned:

| Format      | Description                |
| ----------- | -------------------------- |
| `text`      | Plain transcript (default) |
| `json`      | Structured JSON transcript |
| `json-full` | Full API response as JSON  |
| `srt`       | SubRip subtitles           |
| `vtt`       | WebVTT subtitles           |

## Transcription options

| Flag                       | Default | Description                                                                                                                                              |
| -------------------------- | ------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `-o`, `--output`           | `text`  | Output format: `text`, `json`, `json-full`, `srt`, `vtt`                                                                                                 |
| `--language`               | —       | Expected language(s), comma-separated (`en` or `en,fr,de`); narrows detection                                                                            |
| `--cs`, `--code-switching` | off     | Re-detect language on each utterance (mixed-language audio; `solaria-1` only)                                                                            |
| `--diarize`                | off     | Identify speakers in the transcript                                                                                                                      |
| `--model`                  | —       | STT model: `solaria-1` or `solaria-3`. Solaria-3 accepts at most one `--language` (`en`, `fr`, `de`, `es`, or `it`) and does not support code switching. |
| `-v`, `--verbose`          | off     | Show progress while polling                                                                                                                              |

**Global flag** (any command): `--gladia-key` — API key if not set in the environment or `~/.gladia`.

### Language

| Goal                | What to run                                        |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Auto-detect         | `gladia transcribe <file>`                         |
| Constrain detection | `--language en,fr,de`                              |
| Code switching      | `--code-switching` (+ optional `--language` hints) |

* **`--language`** limits which language(s) Gladia considers. A comma-separated list is a hint list, not per-utterance switching.
* **`--code-switching`** turns on per-utterance language detection. Add `--language` to restrict which languages may appear. Not available with `solaria-3`.

### Diarization

Use `--diarize` when you need **who spoke when**. Speaker labels are included in the output (for example, `Speaker 0: …`).

```bash theme={"system"}
gladia transcribe meeting.wav --diarize
gladia transcribe panel.mp3 --diarize -o srt
```

## Shell completion

When you install via `install.sh` or `install.ps1`, the script offers to configure tab completion for your shell. To skip the prompt (for example in CI), set `GLADIA_NO_COMPLETION_PROMPT=1`.

You can also set up completion manually:

```bash theme={"system"}
# bash
source <(gladia completion bash)

# zsh
mkdir -p ~/.zsh/completions
gladia completion zsh > ~/.zsh/completions/_gladia

# fish
mkdir -p ~/.config/fish/completions
gladia completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/gladia.fish
```

Run `gladia completion --help` for full instructions per shell.

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Get your API key" href="https://app.gladia.io/apikeys" icon="key">
    Create an API key on the Gladia dashboard
  </Card>

  <Card title="Gladia CLI on GitHub" icon="github" href="https://github.com/gladiaio/gladia-cli">
    Source code, issues, and releases
  </Card>

  <Card title="Pre-recorded STT quickstart" icon="book" href="/chapters/pre-recorded-stt/quickstart">
    Learn more about Gladia transcription features
  </Card>
</CardGroup>