> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vook.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> Go from an audio or video file to a finished transcript with the Vook API.

The Vook API turns your audio and video into transcripts and gives you the
results back as structured text or ready-to-share files. You can run the whole
flow with an API key alone.

<Note>
  The base URL is `https://www.api.vook.ai/api/v1`. The file upload step uses a
  separate host, documented in [Transcribe a file](/upload).
</Note>

## The path

There are two stages: send a file for transcription, then read the result.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Authenticate">
    Mint an API key (see [Authentication](/authentication)) and send it as a
    Bearer token on every request:

    ```bash theme={null}
    export VOOK_API_KEY=vk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Transcribe a file">
    Mint an upload token, send the file, then start a transcription job and poll
    it until the transcript is ready. Full walkthrough in
    [Transcribe a file](/upload).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Retrieve and export">
    List your transcriptions, check status, read the transcript text, and
    download an export. Full walkthrough in
    [Retrieve and export](/retrieve-export).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Transcribe a file" icon="microphone" href="/upload">
    Create a transcription from your own audio or video.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Retrieve and export" icon="file-lines" href="/retrieve-export">
    List, read, and export your transcriptions.
  </Card>

  <Card title="API Reference" icon="code" href="/api-reference">
    Try every endpoint interactively in the playground.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Authentication" icon="key" href="/authentication">
    Manage your `vk_live_…` keys.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>