# Get Started

This short tutorial will teach you the basics of using the Asynchronous Speech-to-Text API. It demonstrates how to produce a transcript of an audio file submitted by you.

## Assumptions

This tutorial assumes that you have a Rev AI account. If not, [sign up for a free account](https://www.rev.ai/auth/signup).

## Step 1: Get your access token

The first step is to generate an access token, which will enable access to the Rev AI APIs. Follow these steps:

1. [Log in](https://www.rev.ai/auth/login) to Rev AI.
2. Navigate to the [**Access Token** page](https://www.rev.ai/access-token).
3. Click the **Generate New Access Token** link. Confirm the operation in the pop-up dialog box.


![Creating an access token](/images/create-token.png)

The new access token will be generated and displayed on the screen.

Save your access tokens somewhere safe; you will only be able to see them once. You are allowed a maximum of 2 access tokens at a time.

## Step 2: Submit a file for transcription

Submit an audio file for transcription to Rev AI using the command below. Replace the `<REVAI_ACCESS_TOKEN>` placeholder with the access token obtained in Step 1, and replace the sample file URL shown below with the URL to your own audio file if required.


```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.rev.ai/speechtotext/v1/jobs" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer <REVAI_ACCESS_TOKEN>" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"source_config": {"url": "https://www.rev.ai/FTC_Sample_1.mp3"},"metadata":"This is a test"}'
```

You'll receive a response like this:


```bash
{
  "id": "Umx5c6F7pH7r",
  "created_on": "2021-09-15T05:14:38.13",
  "name": "FTC_Sample_1.mp3",
  "metadata": "This is a test",
  "status": "in_progress",
  "type": "async",
  "language": "en"
}
```

The `id` (in this case `Umx5c6F7pH7r`) will enable you to retrieve your transcript.

## Step 3: Retrieve the transcript

You now need to wait for the job to complete. Wait for approximately 1 minute and then check the `status` of your job by querying the API as shown below:


```bash
curl -X GET https://api.rev.ai/speechtotext/v1/jobs/<ID> \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer <REVAI_ACCESS_TOKEN>"
```

Polling the API periodically for job status is NOT recommended in a production server. Rather, use [webhooks](/api/asynchronous/webhooks) to asynchronously receive notifications once the transcription job completes.

Once a transcription job's `status` changes to `transcribed`, you can retrieve the transcript in JSON format by running the command below. As before, replace the `<REVAI_ACCESS_TOKEN>` placeholder with the access token obtained in Step 1. You must also replace the `<ID>` placeholder with the `id` obtained in Step 2.


```bash
curl -X GET "https://api.rev.ai/speechtotext/v1/jobs/<ID>/transcript" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer <REVAI_ACCESS_TOKEN>" \
     -H "Accept: application/vnd.rev.transcript.v1.0+json"
```

Here is an example of the output:


```javascript
{
  "monologues": [
    {
      "speaker": 1,
      "elements": [
        {
          "type": "text",
          "value": "Hi",
          "ts": 0.27,
          "end_ts": 0.32,
          "confidence": 1
        },
        {
          "type": "punct",
          "value": ","
        },
        {
          "type": "punct",
          "value": " "
        },        
        {
          "type": "text",
          "value": "my",
          "ts": 0.35,
          "end_ts": 0.46,
          "confidence": 1
        },
        {
          "type": "punct",
          "value": " "
        },
        {
          "type": "text",
          "value": "name's",
          "ts": 0.47,
          "end_ts": 0.59,
          "confidence": 1
        },
        {
          ...
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      ...
    }
  ]
}
```

Alternatively, you can get the plaintext version by running the command below:


```bash
curl -X GET "https://api.rev.ai/speechtotext/v1/jobs/<ID>/transcript" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer <REVAI_ACCESS_TOKEN>" \
     -H "Accept: text/plain"
```

## Next steps

You should now have a basic idea of how to use the Asynchronous Speech-to-Text API. To learn more, read [the API documentation](/api/asynchronous) for complete details on the different resources and operations available in this API. You can also read about our [other APIs](/api) and find [code samples and SDK documentation](/sdk) that will help you connect your application with the API.