---

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:

1. Check audio sample rate (16kHz recommended)
2. Verify audio is mono or stereo
3. Test with known-good audio file
4. 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

• Deepgram Error Codes
• Deepgram Status Page
• Deepgram Support

Next Steps

Proceed to deepgram-debug-bundle for collecting debug evidence.