Transcription for AI Agents: MCP Server & REST API

Let Claude, Cursor or any MCP client transcribe lectures and YouTube videos with your Alfie API key, on your own credits.

Get an API key Read the docs

Free plan: 30 minutes of transcription per month.

MCP server: https://alfienotes.com/api/mcp

What your agent can do

Each tool needs a Read only or a Read & write API key.

MCP tools
Tool	Scope	What it does
get_credits	notes:read	Your plan and remaining credit, in seconds of media.
submit_youtube	notes:write	Transcribe a public YouTube video. Spends credits.
create_upload_url	notes:write	Step 1 for a local WAV file: a pre-signed URL to PUT the bytes to. Free.
submit_upload	notes:write	Step 2: transcribe the uploaded WAV. Spends credits.
get_job	notes:read	Job status: queued, processing, succeeded, failed or expired.
list_notes	notes:read	Your notes, newest first, with cursor paging.
get_note	notes:read	A note with its timestamped transcript and latest summary.
export_note	notes:read	The transcript as plain text.
set_note_sharing	notes:write	Make a note public or private. Only when the user asks.

Connect your MCP client

Add the server URL and your API key. Pick your client below.

Run once in your terminal. Add --scope user to make it available in every project.

Terminal

claude mcp add --transport http alfie https://alfienotes.com/api/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer alfie_YOUR_API_KEY"

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json (one project).

Cursor config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alfie": {
      "url": "https://alfienotes.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer alfie_YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config), then restart Claude Desktop. It uses the mcp-remote bridge, so Node.js must be installed.

Claude Desktop config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alfie": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://alfienotes.com/api/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:${ALFIE_AUTH_HEADER}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ALFIE_AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer alfie_YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Streamable HTTP, stateless, JSON responses. Send one JSON-RPC message per POST with the Accept header shown. No session id is needed.

curl

curl -X POST "https://alfienotes.com/api/mcp" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ALFIE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}'

curl -X POST "https://alfienotes.com/api/mcp" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ALFIE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"get_credits","arguments":{}}}'

From lecture to transcript

Ask in plain language. The agent calls these tools in order.

Prompt

Transcribe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOUR_VIDEO_ID with Alfie and give me a one-page study guide.

get_credits
get_credits arguments
```
{}
```
Check there is enough credit for the recording.
submit_youtube
submit_youtube arguments
```
{
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOUR_VIDEO_ID",
  "idempotency_key": "week-1-lecture"
}
```
Returns a job at once. Spends credits equal to the video length.
get_job
get_job arguments
```
{
  "job_id": "YOUR_NOTE_ID"
}
```
Poll every 10–30 seconds until succeeded or failed.
get_note
get_note arguments
```
{
  "note_id": "YOUR_NOTE_ID"
}
```
Timestamped transcript and the latest summary.

Prefer REST? Start with the quick start REST version of this flow

Credits and limits

Agents use the same credits as the web app.

Credit is counted in seconds of media, the same as in the web app.
Submitting a job spends credit equal to the media length. Uploading, polling and reading notes are free.
Uploads must be uncompressed WAV. YouTube videos are submitted by public URL.
Rate limits per key, per minute: 120 requests, of which 10 can be job submissions.
Credits are not refunded if processing fails after a job was accepted.

Credits and rate limits in the API docs

Simple pricing that pays for itself

Start free, then unlock more when you need it.

BASIC

$0/month

Free forever

30 minutes transcription
Give it a try for free
Smart speaker detection
Auto-identify speakers with timestamps
Supports YouTube & most media files
Transcribe audio, video, or YouTube links.
Multiple export formats
.txt, .csv, .json, .vtt, .srt files

PRO

$14$9/month

$108 billed annually

Everything in BASIC plan
All basic features included
600 minutes monthly transcription
20x more than BASIC plan
Up to 3 concurrent jobs
Process multiple files at once
3-hour file uploads
Perfect for lectures & meetings
Unlimited file uploads
No monthly limits or restrictions
AI Chat & Insights
20 message context history per recording

MAX

$29$19/month

$228 billed annually

Everything in PRO plan
All PRO features included
3000 minutes monthly transcription
5x more than PRO plan
Up to 10 concurrent jobs
Process more files at once
6-hour file uploads
Perfect for conference calls & seminars
Priority support
Get help when you need it most
Extended AI Chat & Insights
50 message context history per recording

Frequently Asked Questions

What can an AI agent do with Alfie?

Through the MCP server or REST API, an agent can check your credits, transcribe a public YouTube video or an uploaded WAV file, follow the job, then list and read your notes with timestamped transcripts and summaries, or export a transcript as plain text.

Which MCP clients work?

The server is remote over HTTP and takes your API key as a Bearer header. Setup is shown above for Claude Code, Cursor and Claude Desktop, plus a plain HTTP client option for anything else.

Can an agent spend my credits without asking?

Only with a Read & write key. A Read only key can read credits, jobs, notes and transcripts, but cannot submit jobs or change sharing. Use a Read only key if you do not want an agent to spend credit.

Which file formats can I send?

Local files must be uncompressed WAV. Other uploads are rejected before any credit is reserved. For anything else, submit a public YouTube URL, or convert the audio to WAV first.

How much does it cost?

Agent use draws on the same credits and plan limits as the web app, counted in seconds of media. The free plan includes 30 minutes per month. See the plans above.

Give your agent a transcript tool

Create an API key, then add the Alfie MCP server to your client.

Get an API key