Smart Formatting

Pre-recorded Streaming Beta

Deepgram's Smart Format feature improves readability by applying additional formatting to transcripts. When Smart Format is enabled, the following features will be applied:

Punctuation
Numerals
Paragraphs (for batch transcripts only)
Dates
Times
Alphanumerics

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This feature is available for English only (all available regions).

Use Cases

Examples of use cases for Smart Format include:

Customers who want to improve transcript readability.

Enable Feature

To enable Smart Formatting, when you call Deepgram's API, add a smart_format parameter in the querystring and set it to true:

smart_format=true

To transcribe audio from a file on your computer, run the following cURL command in a terminal or your favorite API client.

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Be sure to replace the placeholder YOUR_DEEPGRAM_API_KEY with your Deepgram API Key. You can create an API Key in the Deepgram Console.

curl \
  --request POST \
  --header 'Authorization: Token YOUR_DEEPGRAM_API_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: audio/wav' \
  --data-binary @youraudio.wav \
  --url 'https://api.deepgram.com/v1/listen?smart_format=true'

Results

Once applied, results will appear in the transcript.

Truth	Before Smart Format	After Smart Format
i'm recording this at eight thirty seven pm on wednesday it's november second twenty twenty two i just ate thirty three grams of pasta and then drank fifty fifty milliliters of water at three hundred main street then i walked down to one two three southeast main street to get my package with tracking number one z five seven a two b	i'm recording this at eight thirty seven pm on wednesday it's november second twenty twenty two i just ate thirty three grams of pasta and then drank fifty fifty milliliters of water at three hundred main street then i walked down to one two three southeast main street to get my package with tracking number one z five seven a two b	I'm recording this at 08:37PM on Wednesday, it's 11/02/2022. I just ate 33 grams of pasta, and then drank 55 milliliters of water at 300 Main Street. Then I walked down to 123 southeast Main Street to get my package with tracking number 1Z57A2B.

Additional Formatters

These formatters are not included in Smart Formatting but may be enabled individually.

Measurements

If Measurements is enabled, spoken measurements will be converted to their corresponding abbreviations.

To enable Measurements, when you call Deepgram's API, add measurements=true to your request.

The following units wil be converted to their abbreviations.

Unit	Abbreviation
milligram(s)	mg
centigram(s)	cg
gram(s)	g
kilogram(s)	kg
milliliter(s)	ml
centiliter(s)	cl
liter(s)	l
kiloliter(s)	kl
millimeter(s)	mm
centimeter(s)	cm
meter(s)	m
kilometer(s)	km

Dictation

If Dictation is enabled, spoken dictation commands will be converted to their corresponding punctuation marks.

To enable Dictation, when you call Deepgram's API, add dictation=true&punctuate=true to your request. Punctuation must be enabled for Dictation to work.

The following commands will be converted.

Command	Converted Text
period	.
comma	,
colon	:
question mark	?
exclamation mark	!
new paragraph	`<\n>`

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By default, Deepgram applies its Base tier, general AI model, which is a good, general-purpose model for everyday situations. To learn more about the customization possible with Deepgram's API, check out the Deepgram API Reference.