Queue: Zoom recording transcription example (Node.js)

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Integration: Zoom Meeting Recording Transcription

Why this is valuable

Zoom is a major communications platform with millions of meetings recorded daily. Developers need a clear example showing how to transcribe Zoom cloud recordings using Deepgram — this is a high-value enterprise use case with no existing Deepgram example. The Zoom Marketplace has 250k+ apps, indicating a large developer ecosystem.

Suggested approach

A Node.js server that receives Zoom webhook events when a recording is completed, downloads the recording via the Zoom API, and transcribes it using Deepgram nova-3. Could optionally store transcripts or send them back via Zoom chat.

Reference

• Zoom Meeting SDK
• Zoom Webhooks — Recording Completed

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Queued by discover-examples agent on 2026-03-29

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🔬 Research findings

Platform: Zoom (Cloud Recording Transcription)
Suggested language: Node.js
Integration type: Webhook + REST

Platform SDK

• Package: @zoom/rivet
• Version: 0.4.0
• Install: npm install @zoom/rivet
• Key imports: @zoom/rivet — provides auth (Server-to-Server OAuth), API wrappers, and webhook event handling
• Dependencies: axios, dayjs, form-data, jose
• Alternative: Direct Zoom REST API via axios/fetch — Zoom provides Server-to-Server OAuth (client credentials flow) for machine-to-machine access without user interaction

Integration pattern

Zoom fires recording.completed webhook event → Node.js/Express server receives webhook → validates using Zoom webhook secret token → extracts recording download URL from payload → authenticates with Zoom S2S OAuth to get access token → downloads the recording MP4/M4A file → sends the audio URL (or file buffer) to Deepgram pre-recorded STT API → receives transcript → stores/returns transcript.

Key flow detail: Zoom cloud recording download URLs require an OAuth access token appended as ?access_token={token} query parameter, or the recording can be downloaded server-side and then sent as a buffer to Deepgram.

Deepgram API to use

• Product: STT pre-recorded (listen)
• SDK: @deepgram/sdk v5.0.0
• SDK method: deepgramClient.listen.v1.media.transcribeUrl() (for URL) or deepgramClient.listen.v1.media.transcribeFile() (for buffer)
• Key options: model: "nova-3", language: "en", punctuate: true, diarize: true, smart_format: true
• Install: npm install @deepgram/sdk
• Key import: import { DeepgramClient } from "@deepgram/sdk"

Required credentials

Variable	Where to find it
DEEPGRAM_API_KEY	https://console.deepgram.com/
ZOOM_ACCOUNT_ID	Zoom Marketplace → Server-to-Server OAuth app → App Credentials
ZOOM_CLIENT_ID	Zoom Marketplace → Server-to-Server OAuth app → App Credentials
ZOOM_CLIENT_SECRET	Zoom Marketplace → Server-to-Server OAuth app → App Credentials
ZOOM_WEBHOOK_SECRET_TOKEN	Zoom Marketplace → App → Feature tab → Event Subscriptions

Potential gotchas

1. Zoom webhook validation: Zoom sends a challenge request on webhook endpoint creation that must be responded to with a plainToken hashed with the secret token — required for Zoom to validate the endpoint. The event field will be endpoint.url_validation.
2. Recording download auth: Cloud recording download URLs are not publicly accessible. Must obtain a Server-to-Server OAuth token and either append ?access_token={token} to the download URL or use Authorization header. The token is obtained via POST https://zoom.us/oauth/token?grant_type=account_credentials&account_id={ZOOM_ACCOUNT_ID} with Basic auth (client_id:client_secret).
3. Recording format: Zoom provides multiple recording files per meeting (shared screen, speaker view, audio-only). For transcription, prefer the audio_only recording file type (M4A) to minimize file size and processing time.
4. File size: Long meetings can produce large files. Consider streaming the download to Deepgram rather than buffering the entire file in memory.
5. Zoom scopes required: The Server-to-Server OAuth app needs cloud_recording:read:list_recording_files:admin (or recording:read:admin) and webhook:read:admin scopes.
6. Existing Deepgram+Zoom docs: Deepgram has an existing guide for Zoom live-streaming transcription via RTMP (real-time), but NOT for cloud recording post-processing. This example fills a gap — the cloud recording webhook approach is simpler and more common for enterprise use cases.
7. Kapa note: Kapa returned docs about Zoom+Deepgram live RTMP streaming but no results specific to cloud recording transcription. This integration pattern is novel for the Deepgram examples repo.

Reference links

• Zoom Webhook Events — Recording Completed: https://developers.zoom.us/docs/api/rest/reference/zoom-api/events/#operation/recording.completed
• Zoom Server-to-Server OAuth: https://developers.zoom.us/docs/internal-apps/create/
• Zoom Cloud Recording API: https://developers.zoom.us/docs/api/rest/reference/zoom-api/methods/#operation/recordingGet
• Zoom Rivet SDK: https://developers.zoom.us/docs/rivet/javascript/
• Zoom Rivet Sample (GitHub): https://github.com/zoom/Rivet-Server-Sample
• Deepgram JS SDK v5: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@deepgram/sdk
• Deepgram Pre-recorded Transcription Docs: https://developers.deepgram.com/docs/getting-started-with-pre-recorded-audio
• Deepgram + Zoom Guide (live streaming): https://developers.deepgram.com/docs/zoom-and-deepgram

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Research by Researcher on 2026-03-31

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