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deepgram-reference-architecture Implement Deepgram reference architecture for scalable transcription systems.
Use when designing transcription pipelines, building production architectures,
or planning Deepgram integration at scale.
Trigger with phrases like "deepgram architecture", "transcription pipeline",
"deepgram system design", "deepgram at scale", "enterprise deepgram".
npx skills add jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills --skill deepgram-reference-architecture ai automation claude-code devops mcp ai-agents
Deepgram Reference Architecture
Overview
Four reference architectures for Deepgram transcription at scale: synchronous REST for short files, async queue (BullMQ) for batch processing, WebSocket proxy for real-time streaming, and a hybrid router that auto-selects the best pattern based on audio duration.
Architecture Selection Guide
Pattern Best For Latency Throughput Complexity Sync REST Files <60s, low volume Low Low Simple Async Queue Batch, files >60s Medium High Medium WebSocket Proxy Live audio, real-time Real-time Medium Medium Hybrid Router Mixed workloads Varies High High Callback Files >5min, fire-and-forget
Instructions
Step 1: Synchronous REST Pattern import express from 'express';
import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());
const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);
// Direct API call — best for short files (<60s)
app.post('/api/transcribe', async (req, res) => {
const { url, model = 'nova-3', diarize = false } = req.body;
try {
const { result, error } = await deepgram.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
{ url },
{ model, smart_format: true, diarize, utterances: diarize }
);
if (error) return res.status(502).json({ error: error.message });
res.json({
transcript: result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].transcript,
confidence: result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].confidence,
duration: result.metadata.duration,
request_id: result.metadata.request_id,
utterances: diarize ? result.results.utterances : undefined,
});
} catch (err: any) {
res.status(500).json({ error: err.message });
}
});
Step 2: Async Queue Pattern (BullMQ) import { Queue, Worker, Job } from 'bullmq';
import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
import Redis from 'ioredis';
const connection = new Redis(process.env.REDIS_URL ?? 'redis://localhost:6379');
// Producer: submit transcription jobs
const transcriptionQueue = new Queue('transcription', { connection });
async function submitJob(audioUrl: string, options: Record<string, any> = {}) {
const job = await transcriptionQueue.add('transcribe', {
audioUrl,
model: options.model ?? 'nova-3',
diarize: options.diarize ?? false,
submittedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
}, {
attempts: 3,
backoff: { type: 'exponential', delay: 5000 },
removeOnComplete: { age: 86400 }, // Keep for 24h
});
console.log(`Job submitted: ${job.id}`);
return job.id;
}
// Consumer: process transcription jobs
const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);
const worker = new Worker('transcription', async (job: Job) => {
const { audioUrl, model, diarize } = job.data;
console.log(`Processing job ${job.id}: ${audioUrl}`);
const { result, error } = await deepgram.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
{ url: audioUrl },
{ model, smart_format: true, diarize, utterances: diarize }
);
if (error) throw new Error(`Deepgram error: ${error.message}`);
const output = {
transcript: result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].transcript,
confidence: result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].confidence,
duration: result.metadata.duration,
request_id: result.metadata.request_id,
};
// Store result (database, S3, etc.)
console.log(`Job ${job.id} complete: ${output.duration}s audio`);
return output;
}, {
connection,
concurrency: 10, // Process 10 jobs simultaneously
limiter: {
max: 50, // Max 50 per time window
duration: 60000, // Per minute
},
});
worker.on('completed', (job) => console.log(`Completed: ${job.id}`));
worker.on('failed', (job, err) => console.error(`Failed: ${job?.id}`, err.message));
Step 3: WebSocket Proxy for Real-Time import { WebSocketServer, WebSocket } from 'ws';
import { createClient, LiveTranscriptionEvents } from '@deepgram/sdk';
const wss = new WebSocketServer({ port: 8080 });
wss.on('connection', (clientWs: WebSocket) => {
console.log('Client connected');
const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);
const dgConnection = deepgram.listen.live({
model: 'nova-3',
smart_format: true,
interim_results: true,
utterance_end_ms: 1000,
encoding: 'linear16',
sample_rate: 16000,
channels: 1,
});
// Forward Deepgram transcripts to client
dgConnection.on(LiveTranscriptionEvents.Transcript, (data) => {
const transcript = data.channel.alternatives[0]?.transcript;
if (transcript && clientWs.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
clientWs.send(JSON.stringify({
type: 'transcript',
text: transcript,
is_final: data.is_final,
speech_final: data.speech_final,
}));
}
});
dgConnection.on(LiveTranscriptionEvents.UtteranceEnd, () => {
if (clientWs.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
clientWs.send(JSON.stringify({ type: 'utterance_end' }));
}
});
// Forward client audio to Deepgram
clientWs.on('message', (data: Buffer) => {
if (dgConnection.getReadyState() === 1) {
dgConnection.send(data);
}
});
// Cleanup on disconnect
clientWs.on('close', () => {
dgConnection.finish();
console.log('Client disconnected');
});
dgConnection.on(LiveTranscriptionEvents.Error, (err) => {
console.error('Deepgram error:', err.message);
clientWs.close();
});
});
console.log('WebSocket proxy on ws://localhost:8080');
Step 4: Hybrid Router import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
class TranscriptionRouter {
private client: ReturnType<typeof createClient>;
private queue: typeof transcriptionQueue;
constructor(apiKey: string, queue: any) {
this.client = createClient(apiKey);
this.queue = queue;
}
async route(audioUrl: string, options: {
mode?: 'sync' | 'async' | 'callback' | 'auto';
estimatedDuration?: number; // seconds
callbackUrl?: string;
model?: string;
diarize?: boolean;
} = {}) {
const mode = options.mode ?? 'auto';
const duration = options.estimatedDuration ?? 0;
// Auto-select based on duration
const selectedMode = mode === 'auto'
? duration > 300 ? 'callback' // >5 min: use callback
: duration > 60 ? 'async' // >60s: use queue
: 'sync' // <60s: direct API
: mode;
console.log(`Routing: ${selectedMode} (est. ${duration}s)`);
switch (selectedMode) {
case 'sync':
return this.syncTranscribe(audioUrl, options);
case 'async':
return this.asyncTranscribe(audioUrl, options);
case 'callback':
return this.callbackTranscribe(audioUrl, options);
}
}
private async syncTranscribe(url: string, opts: any) {
const { result, error } = await this.client.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
{ url },
{ model: opts.model ?? 'nova-3', smart_format: true, diarize: opts.diarize }
);
if (error) throw error;
return { mode: 'sync', result };
}
private async asyncTranscribe(url: string, opts: any) {
const jobId = await submitJob(url, opts);
return { mode: 'async', jobId };
}
private async callbackTranscribe(url: string, opts: any) {
const { result } = await this.client.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
{ url },
{ model: opts.model ?? 'nova-3', smart_format: true, callback: opts.callbackUrl }
);
return { mode: 'callback', requestId: result.metadata.request_id };
}
}
Step 5: Architecture Diagram ┌──────────────┐
│ Client │
└──────┬───────┘
│
┌──────▼───────┐
│ API Gateway │
│ /transcribe │
└──────┬───────┘
│
┌──────▼───────┐
│ Hybrid Router │
└──┬───┬───┬───┘
│ │ │
┌───────────┘ │ └───────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
│ Sync │ │ Queue │ │ Callback │
│ (<60s) │ │ (BullMQ) │ │ (>5min) │
└────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘
│ │ │
└──────────┬───┘──────────────┘
│
┌───────▼──────┐
│ Deepgram │
│ API │
└───────┬──────┘
│
┌───────▼──────┐
│ Results │
│ Store │
└──────────────┘
Output
Sync REST endpoint for short files
BullMQ queue with workers for batch processing
WebSocket proxy for real-time streaming
Hybrid router with auto-mode selection
Architecture diagram
Error Handling Issue Cause Solution Sync timeout on large file Wrong pattern selected Use async queue or callback Queue backlog growing Workers overloaded Scale workers, increase concurrency WebSocket disconnects Network instability Auto-reconnect with backoff Callback not received Endpoint unreachable Check HTTPS, verify callback URL
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