Zapier is a free tool that lets you automate workflows between Descript and other popular web applications.
With Zapier, you can do things like:
- Automatically transcribe files when they're added to a Dropbox or Google Drive folder
- Automatically export transcriptions to a Dropbox or Google Drive
- Save an iPhone voice memo to Dropbox & automatically transcribe it
- Send email or text notifications when new transcriptions are ready
If you're transcribing a lot of audio, Zapier is a powerful tool for speeding up repetitive tasks.
Zapier Lingo
If you're new to Zapier, here's some terminology that'll help understand how this stuff works.
- Zaps are workflows.
- Zaps begin with a Trigger - something that happens in one of your apps - e.g. putting a file in a particular Dropbox folder, or a Descript transcription being ready.
- Actions are the things that happen after the Trigger.
So for example, you might want to create a Zap that is Triggered by adding an audio file to a folder in your Dropbox account called "transcribe", and then takes the Action of creating a new transcription of that file.
You might then want to create a second Zap that is Triggered on a new Descript transcription being ready, and takes the Action of emailing you the transcript.
Using Descript's Zapier Integration
The Zapier integration currently supports file URLs from the following domains:
- airtable.com
- discordapp.com
- dropboxapi.com
- dropboxusercontent.com
- google.com
- googleapis.com
- twilio.com
- zapier.com
Video files are not supported
Please note that only audio files are supported with the Zapier integration at this time.
Getting Started
- Create a free Zapier account.
- Follow the steps in one of our pre-built Zap flows below, or create your own!
Trigger Setup
Log into Zapier then click Make a Zap button in the left-hand sidebar.
In the Trigger section, search for and select Google Drive from the list of apps.
Select the desired Trigger Event from the list, then click Continue. For this guide we'll be using New File in Folder to assure that only files added to a specific folder will trigger the integration.
Create Source Folder
If you haven't yet already, now would be a good time to create a folder on Google Drive that you can drop your audio files into.
In the Choose account section, click the Sign in to Google Drive button which will open a pop up window asking you to authenticate with Google.
Enter your username and password (or select an account that is already signed in), then click the Allow button to authorize Zapier for use with your Google Account.
Once complete, select the authorized Google account from the list of options then click Continue.
Next, you will be prompted to choose which Drive and Folder on your Google account should be checked for new files. You may click Continue when ready.
Zapier will now prompt you to test the Google drive portion of the trigger. Before doing so, you'll want to make sure that an audio file has recently been addeded to your Google Drive folder. Once you're ready to proceed click Test trigger.
Action Setup
Next, you will configure the Action of your Zap. Search for and select Descript in the list of applications then click Continue.
In the Action Event pane, select Request Transcription then click Continue.
If you have not yet created a Descript authorization, click the Sign in to Descript button. A popup window will appear with the Descript authentication page. Enter your credentials then click the Right Arrow ( > ) to continue. You may then click the Choose an account... dropdown selector to select your Descript authorized account and click Continue.
Click into the File URL field and choose the File: option. In the File Name field select the Title: option.
You may also choose a Descript Project and Drive location (if you have more than one Drive) that you would like the resulting transcripts to be stored in with the following caveats:
- If no Project is specified, a new project will be created with the same name as the file in your top-level Drive View.
- If you are a member of more than one Drive on your Descript account, you will be required to specify a Drive location.
Click the Test & Review button to test and review the results. If the test is successful you may click Turn on Zap.
You may now drag a file into your Google Drive folder and your transcripts will automatically be generated in Descript. It typically takes a few minutes for the files to become available in Descript and you will see a light-grey placeholder while the project and transcription are generated.
Avoid overloading your Project
Please note that users who transcribe a significant amount of files into the same Descript Project may experience degraded project performance over time. We recommend regularly changing the destination Project to avoid this.
Once complete, you're all set!
Setup
Log in to Zapier then click on Make a Zap.
Search for and select Descript in the list of apps.
Make sure "New Transcription Ready" is set for the trigger event and click Continue.
Choose your Descript account from the list and click Continue. If you have not yet authenticated into Descript, click + Add a New Account and log in with your credentials.
Next, click the Test trigger button to make sure you're connected.
If successful, it will notify you "We have found a transcription!" at which point you may click Continue.