Making Your First GPT-4o Mini Transcribe API Request

Welcome back! In the previous lesson, we set up a Java development environment using Gradle and added the necessary dependencies to interact with the OpenAI API. Today, we're going to make your first API request to the GPT-4o Mini Transcribe API, which is essential for building a transcription system. This lesson builds on your understanding of Java project setup and making basic HTTP requests, and now we’ll focus on interacting with APIs . You'll learn how to send audio data to the GPT-4o Mini Transcribe API and receive a transcription in return.

Understanding Making Your First GPT-4o Mini Transcribe API Request

The GPT-4o Mini Transcribe API from OpenAI is designed to handle audio transcription. The main idea is to send audio data to the API, which then returns the transcribed text. To do this, you need a valid API key to authenticate your requests. The API processes audio files sent as byte streams, transcribing spoken content into text. GPT-4o Mini Transcribe is optimized for capturing spoken words and may skip nonverbal sounds, ensuring the output is clear and human-readable. The response is typically a JSON object containing the transcribed text and sometimes additional details, such as the duration of the audio.

Using the OpenAI Java SDK for Transcription

Let's break down the process of making a transcription request into smaller, manageable steps. We'll look at each part of the code and explain what it does.

1. Loading Configuration and Setting Up the Client

First, we need to load our API key and set up the OpenAI client. This ensures our requests are authenticated and sent to the correct endpoint. Javaimport com.openai.client.OpenAIClient; import com.openai.client.okhttp.OpenAIOkHttpClient; import io.github.cdimascio.dotenv.Dotenv; Dotenv dotenv = Dotenv.configure().ignoreIfMissing().load(); String baseUrl = dotenv.get("OPENAI_BASE_URL", System.getenv("OPENAI_BASE_URL")); String apiKey = dotenv.get("OPENAI_API_KEY", System.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")); if (apiKey == null || apiKey.trim().isEmpty()) { throw new IllegalStateException("OPENAI_API_KEY not found in .env file or environment variables."); } OpenAIClient client = OpenAIOkHttpClient.builder() .baseUrl(baseUrl) .apiKey(apiKey) .build();import com.openai.client.OpenAIClient; import com.openai.client.okhttp.OpenAIOkHttpClient; import io.github.cdimascio.dotenv.Dotenv; Dotenv dotenv = Dotenv.configure().ignoreIfMissing().load(); String baseUrl = dotenv.get("OPENAI_BASE_URL", System.getenv("OPENAI_BASE_URL")); String apiKey = dotenv.get("OPENAI_API_KEY", System.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")); if (apiKey == null || apiKey.trim().isEmpty()) { throw new IllegalStateException("OPENAI_API_KEY not found in .env file or environment variables."); } OpenAIClient client = OpenAIOkHttpClient.builder() .baseUrl(baseUrl) .apiKey(apiKey) .build(); Explanation: Loads the API key and base URL from a .env file or environment variables. Throws an error if the API key is missing. Creates an OpenAIClient instance for making API requests.

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Java

import com.openai.client.OpenAIClient;
import com.openai.client.okhttp.OpenAIOkHttpClient;
import io.github.cdimascio.dotenv.Dotenv;

Dotenv dotenv = Dotenv.configure().ignoreIfMissing().load();
String baseUrl = dotenv.get("OPENAI_BASE_URL", System.getenv("OPENAI_BASE_URL"));
String apiKey = dotenv.get("OPENAI_API_KEY", System.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"));
if (apiKey == null || apiKey.trim().isEmpty()) {
    throw new IllegalStateException("OPENAI_API_KEY not found in .env file or environment variables.");
}

OpenAIClient client = OpenAIOkHttpClient.builder()
    .baseUrl(baseUrl)
    .apiKey(apiKey)
    .build();

Java

import java.io.File;
import java.nio.file.Path;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

String filePathStr = "resources/sample_audio.mp3";
Path audioPath = Paths.get(filePathStr);
File audioFile = audioPath.toFile();

if (!audioFile.exists()) {
    throw new Exception("File not found: " + filePathStr);
}
if (!audioFile.canRead()) {
    throw new Exception("Cannot read file: " + filePathStr);
}
if (audioFile.length() == 0) {
    throw new Exception("File is empty: " + filePathStr);
}

import java.io.File;
import java.nio.file.Path;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

String filePathStr = "resources/sample_audio.mp3";
Path audioPath = Paths.get(filePathStr);
File audioFile = audioPath.toFile();

if (!audioFile.exists()) {
    throw new Exception("File not found: " + filePathStr);
}
if (!audioFile.canRead()) {
    throw new Exception("Cannot read file: " + filePathStr);
}
if (audioFile.length() == 0) {
    throw new Exception("File is empty: " + filePathStr);
}

Java

import com.openai.models.audio.transcriptions.TranscriptionCreateParams;

TranscriptionCreateParams params = TranscriptionCreateParams.builder()
    .file(audioPath)
    .model("gpt-4o-mini")
    .build();

import com.openai.models.audio.transcriptions.TranscriptionCreateParams;

TranscriptionCreateParams params = TranscriptionCreateParams.builder()
    .file(audioPath)
    .model("gpt-4o-mini")
    .build();

Java

import com.openai.models.audio.transcriptions.Transcription;

Transcription transcription = client.audio().transcriptions().create(params).asTranscription();

if (transcription.text() == null || transcription.text().isEmpty()) {
    throw new Exception("Transcription result text is not present in the API response.");
}

System.out.println("Transcription: " + transcription.text());

import com.openai.models.audio.transcriptions.Transcription;

Transcription transcription = client.audio().transcriptions().create(params).asTranscription();

if (transcription.text() == null || transcription.text().isEmpty()) {
    throw new Exception("Transcription result text is not present in the API response.");
}

System.out.println("Transcription: " + transcription.text());

Java

public class Gpt4oMiniTranscription {
    // ... (fields and constructor as shown above)

    public String transcribeAudio(String filePathStr) throws Exception {
        // Steps 2, 3, and 4 go here
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try {
            Gpt4oMiniTranscription transcriber = new Gpt4oMiniTranscription();
            String result = transcriber.transcribeAudio("resources/sample_audio.mp3");
            System.out.println("Transcription: " + result);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            System.err.println("Error: " + e.getMessage());
        }
    }
}

public class Gpt4oMiniTranscription {
    // ... (fields and constructor as shown above)

    public String transcribeAudio(String filePathStr) throws Exception {
        // Steps 2, 3, and 4 go here
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try {
            Gpt4oMiniTranscription transcriber = new Gpt4oMiniTranscription();
            String result = transcriber.transcribeAudio("resources/sample_audio.mp3");
            System.out.println("Transcription: " + result);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            System.err.println("Error: " + e.getMessage());
        }
    }
}

Java

import java.io.File;
import java.nio.file.Path;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

String filePathStr = "resources/sample_audio.mp3";
Path audioPath = Paths.get(filePathStr);
File audioFile = audioPath.toFile();

if (!audioFile.exists()) {
    throw new Exception("File not found: " + filePathStr);
}
if (!audioFile.canRead()) {
    throw new Exception("Cannot read file: " + filePathStr);
}
if (audioFile.length() == 0) {
    throw new Exception("File is empty: " + filePathStr);
}

Java

import com.openai.models.audio.transcriptions.TranscriptionCreateParams;

TranscriptionCreateParams params = TranscriptionCreateParams.builder()
    .file(audioPath)
    .model("gpt-4o-mini")
    .build();

Java

import com.openai.models.audio.transcriptions.Transcription;

Transcription transcription = client.audio().transcriptions().create(params).asTranscription();

if (transcription.text() == null || transcription.text().isEmpty()) {
    throw new Exception("Transcription result text is not present in the API response.");
}

System.out.println("Transcription: " + transcription.text());

Java

public class Gpt4oMiniTranscription {
    // ... (fields and constructor as shown above)

    public String transcribeAudio(String filePathStr) throws Exception {
        // Steps 2, 3, and 4 go here
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try {
            Gpt4oMiniTranscription transcriber = new Gpt4oMiniTranscription();
            String result = transcriber.transcribeAudio("resources/sample_audio.mp3");
            System.out.println("Transcription: " + result);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            System.err.println("Error: " + e.getMessage());
        }
    }
}

Making Your First GPT-4o Mini Transcribe API Request

Understanding Making Your First GPT-4o Mini Transcribe API Request

Using the OpenAI Java SDK for Transcription

1. Loading Configuration and Setting Up the Client

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2. Preparing the Audio File

3. Creating the Transcription Request

4. Sending the Request and Handling the Response

5. Wrapping It All Together

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