Use AssemblyAI in AI apps with the MCP server

The AssemblyAI MCP server lets Claude, Cursor and other AI apps call the AssemblyAI API on your account. Connect it once, then ask: “transcribe this call and list the action items.” It is not the docs MCP server. That one only searches our docs, so a coding agent writes correct code. This one does the work.

	AssemblyAI MCP server	Docs MCP server
Endpoint	`https://mcp.assemblyai.com/mcp`	`https://assemblyai.com/docs/mcp`
What it does	Transcribes, summarizes and analyzes audio	Searches and reads the docs
Sign-in	Your AssemblyAI account or API key	None
Cost	Usage is billed to your account, at your normal API rates	Free

Connect

The endpoint is https://mcp.assemblyai.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP). You can sign in with your AssemblyAI account, or send an API key.

Claude Code
Claude.ai
Cursor
Other clients

claude mcp add --transport http assemblyai https://mcp.assemblyai.com/mcp

Then run /mcp in Claude Code, select assemblyai and select Authenticate. Your browser opens the AssemblyAI sign-in and consent page.Or use an API key:

claude mcp add --transport http assemblyai https://mcp.assemblyai.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY"

Go to Customize > Connectors, select + Add, then Add custom connector.
Enter the name AssemblyAI and the URL https://mcp.assemblyai.com/mcp, then select Add.
Sign in to AssemblyAI and allow access.

On Team and Enterprise plans, an owner adds the connector in Organization settings > Connectors first. Members then select Connect. See custom connectors.

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "assemblyai": {
      "url": "https://mcp.assemblyai.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Cursor asks you to sign in to AssemblyAI the first time it connects. To use an API key, add "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <your-api-key>" }.

Any MCP client that supports Streamable HTTP can connect.

Clients that support MCP authorization: add the URL with no headers. The client opens the AssemblyAI sign-in page.
All other clients: send your API key as a Bearer token:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "assemblyai": {
      "url": "https://mcp.assemblyai.com/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <your-api-key>" }
    }
  }
}

Include the Bearer prefix. The REST API takes the raw key, but the MCP server returns 401 without the prefix.

Get an API key from the dashboard. To stop an app that signed in, revoke its connection in the dashboard. It stops working within a few minutes.

Try it

After you connect, ask the app:

Transcribe https://assembly.ai/wildfires.mp3 with speaker labels, then summarize it in five bullets.

The app submits the file, waits for the transcript, then returns the summary.

Tools

Tool	What it does
`submit_transcript`	Starts a transcription of a public audio or video URL and returns a `transcript_id`. Accepts the same options as Submit a transcript, for example `speaker_labels`, `language_detection`, `redact_pii` and `speech_understanding`.
`get_transcript`	Returns the status of a transcript, and the full results when the status is `completed`.
`summarize_transcript`	Summarizes a completed transcript with LLM Gateway. Styles: `bullets` (default), `paragraph`, `headline`, `action_items`, or `custom` with your own prompt.
`understand_transcript`	Runs Speech Understanding on a completed transcript (translation, speaker identification, custom formatting, summarization, action items) without sending the audio again.
`delete_transcript`	Permanently deletes a transcript and its data. Apps should only call it when you ask.

If you know what you need before you transcribe, ask for it in the same request (“transcribe and translate to Spanish”). The app then sends the Speech Understanding options with submit_transcript, and you get one result.

Limits

Audio must be at a public URL. The server can’t read files on your computer. Upload the file somewhere the API can download it, or use the upload endpoint and give the app the upload_url.
Transcription is asynchronous. The app polls get_transcript until the transcript is ready. Long files take longer.
Your account limits apply. The server uses your account, so your rate limits apply to every call.

Getting started

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Administration

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Use AssemblyAI in AI apps with the MCP server

Connect

Try it

Tools

Limits

​Connect

​Try it

​Tools

​Limits

Connect

Try it

Tools

Limits