Transcribe long audio files beyond 25MB limit with FileFlows and OpenAI Whisper
Ready for 3.0Ready for 3.0. This template uses no nodes that n8n 3.0 removes. No removed nodes, versions or helpers found. Static check, last run 2026-10-19.
Nodes used (12)
- n8n Form Trigger
n8n-nodes-base.formTrigger - Code
n8n-nodes-base.code - HTTP Request
n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest - No Operation, do nothing
n8n-nodes-base.noOp - If
n8n-nodes-base.if - Wait
n8n-nodes-base.wait - Loop Over Items (Split in Batches)
n8n-nodes-base.splitInBatches - OpenAI
@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.openAi - Convert to File
n8n-nodes-base.convertToFile - Edit Fields (Set)
n8n-nodes-base.set - Filter
n8n-nodes-base.filter - Gmail
n8n-nodes-base.gmail
What it does
Who's it for This template is designed for content creators, podcasters, businesses, and researchers who need to transcribe long audio recordings that exceed OpenAI Whisper's 25 MB file size limit (~20 minutes of audio). How it works This workflow combines n8n, FileFlows, and OpenAI Whisper API to transcribe audio files of any length: 1. User uploads an MP3 file through a web form and provides an email address 2. n8n splits the file into 4 MiB chunks and uploads them to FileFlows 3. FileFlows uses FFmpeg to segment the audio into 15-minute chunks (safely under the 25 MB API limit) 4. Each segment is transcribed using OpenAI's Whisper API (configured for French by default) 5. All transcriptions are merged into a single text file 6. The complete transcription is automatically emailed to the user Processing time: Typically 10-15 minutes for a 1-hour audio file. Requirements - n8n instance (self-hosted or cloud) - FileFlows with Docker and FFmpeg installed - OpenAI API key (Whisper API access) - Gmail account for email delivery - Network access between n8n and FileFlows Setup Complete setup instructions, including FileFlows workflow import, credentials configuration, and storage setup, are provided in the workflow's sticky notes. Cost OpenAI Whisper API: $0.006 per minute. A 1-hour recording costs approximately $0.36.