Where does Zoom save recordings on my computer?

Local Zoom recordings save to ~/Documents/Zoom/ / on macOS and %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Zoom on Windows. Each meeting folder contains audio_only.m4a (audio only) and a video.mp4 (video + audio). For transcription, audio_only.m4a is faster to upload and produces the same transcript.

How do I download a Zoom cloud recording?

Sign in at zoom.us/recording, find your meeting, and click Download. The cloud recording downloads as .m4a (audio only) and .mp4 (video). Use the .m4a for transcription — it is much smaller.

My Zoom meeting is longer than 25 MB. What now?

Split the audio with ffmpeg: 'ffmpeg -i meeting.m4a -f segment -segment_time 1500 -c copy out%03d.m4a'. This produces 25-minute chunks under the 25 MB cap. Transcribe each chunk separately and concatenate the transcripts.

Will it identify the different speakers in the meeting?

Yes. Grok STT returns automatic speaker diarization labels (Speaker 1, Speaker 2, etc.) per segment. The labels are derived from voice characteristics — you can rename them after the fact.

Is the audio uploaded to ScribeForge servers?

Audio is uploaded for processing through xAI's Grok STT API, then deleted immediately. ScribeForge does not retain the audio file or the transcript past your browser session.

Use case · Updated April 29, 2026

How to Transcribe a Zoom Recording — Free, in 10 Seconds

No software install, no account, no waiting in a queue. Drop your Zoom file, get a transcript with timestamps and speaker labels.

Yes — any Zoom recording (cloud or local) can be transcribed for free in your browser. Drop the audio_only.m4a (or the .mp4) onto ScribeForge and Grok STT returns the transcript in 10–30 seconds, with phrase-level timestamps and per-speaker labels. No code, no install, no signup.

Where Zoom saves your recording

Type	Where it lives	Best file to use
Cloud recording	zoom.us/recording (sign in)	`audio_only.m4a` — click Download next to it
Local (Mac)	~/Documents/Zoom/<date>/	`audio_only.m4a`
Local (Windows)	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Zoom\<date>\	`audio_only.m4a`

Use audio_only.m4a whenever it exists. It is roughly 10× smaller than the video.mp4 and produces an identical transcript — the video adds nothing for speech-to-text.

The 3-step workflow

Open ScribeForge — go to scribeforge.tech in any browser. Mobile or desktop, both work.
Drop the .m4a onto the upload zone. Files up to 25 MB are accepted — about 25 minutes of audio_only.m4a at default Zoom quality.
Click Transcribe. Grok STT returns the transcript in 10–30 seconds with phrase-level timestamps and speaker labels. Copy, download as .txt, or upgrade for unlimited.

If your meeting is longer than 25 MB

Split it into chunks with ffmpeg:

ffmpeg -i meeting.m4a -f segment -segment_time 1500 -c copy chunk%03d.m4a

This produces 25-minute chunks (chunk000.m4a, chunk001.m4a…) that each fit under the 25 MB cap. Transcribe each chunk individually and concatenate the transcripts.

What to do with the transcript

Search — Cmd+F across an hour of meeting audio in seconds.
Summarize — paste the transcript into Grok chat, Claude, or GPT and ask for action items.
Share — send the .txt file to teammates who missed the meeting.
Compliance — keep the text record for legal or audit requirements without storing the audio file.
Captions — phrase-level timestamps export to SRT or VTT for accessibility (export feature on the roadmap).

Common questions

Will it work with both audio_only.m4a and the full video.mp4?

Yes — both work. Grok STT extracts the audio track from .mp4 automatically. The .m4a is preferred only because it is smaller and uploads faster.

Can it tell the speakers apart?

Yes. Grok returns automatic diarization (Speaker 1, Speaker 2, …) per phrase. Accuracy depends on each speaker having a distinguishable voice and minimum few seconds of speech.

Is anything stored on ScribeForge after the transcript?

No. Audio is sent to xAI's Grok STT API for processing and deleted immediately. The text transcript exists only in your browser tab — close it and it is gone.

Are Zoom recordings sometimes denied?

Only if they are above the 25 MB browser cap. Anything below 25 MB processes regardless of length. If denied for any other reason, the response includes the actual error from xAI.

Drop a Zoom recording and read it in 30 seconds.

Transcribe Zoom recording free →

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