Deepgram Common Errors

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Prerequisites
• Instructions
• Output
• Error Handling
• Examples
• Resources

Overview

Comprehensive guide to diagnosing and fixing common Deepgram integration errors including authentication, audio processing, rate limiting, WebSocket, and transcription quality issues.

Prerequisites

• Deepgram API key configured
• Access to application logs
• curl available for API testing

Instructions

Step 1: Quick Diagnostic

Test API connectivity with a simple curl request to verify key and endpoint.

Step 2: Identify Error Category

Match the HTTP status code to the error reference table below.

Step 3: Apply Fix

Follow the specific resolution for the error type.

Step 4: Verify Resolution

Re-run the diagnostic to confirm the fix works.

Output

• Error identified and categorized
• Root cause determined
• Fix applied and verified

Error Handling

Error Reference Table

HTTP Code	Error Code	Common Cause	Solution
400	BAD_REQUEST	Invalid audio format	Check audio encoding, validate file header
401	INVALID_AUTH	Missing/invalid API key	Verify DEEPGRAM_API_KEY, check header format
403	ACCESS_DENIED	Permission denied	Check key permissions, verify account tier
404	NOT_FOUND	Invalid endpoint	Check API URL path
413	PAYLOAD_TOO_LARGE	File too large	Split audio with ffmpeg -f segment
429	RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED	Too many requests	Implement exponential backoff with jitter
500	INTERNAL_ERROR	Server error	Retry with backoff, check status page
503	SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE	Service down	Check status.deepgram.com

WebSocket Errors

• Connection Refused: Check firewall rules, verify WSS URL
• Connection Dropped: Implement KeepAlive messages every 10 seconds

Transcription Quality Issues

• Check audio sample rate (16kHz recommended)
• Verify audio is mono or stereo
• Test with known-good audio file
• Check language setting matches audio content
• Use alternatives: 3, words: true for debugging confidence scores

Examples

Quick API Test

set -euo pipefail
curl -X POST 'https://api.deepgram.com/v1/listen?model=nova-2' \
  -H "Authorization: Token $DEEPGRAM_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: audio/wav" \
  --data-binary @test.wav

Validate Audio File Header

Check first bytes: 52494646 (WAV), fff3/fffb (MP3), 664c6143 (FLAC), 4f676753 (OGG).

See detailed implementation for advanced patterns.

Resources

• Deepgram Error Codes
• Deepgram Status Page
• Deepgram Support