Upload Audio

Upload pre-recorded audio when you already have a file — from a phone memo, court reporter, or external recorder.

Supported formats

Maximum file size: 500 MB per file

How to upload

1. Open New recording or an existing recording
2. On the Recorder tab, choose Upload (or drag a file onto the upload area)
3. Select your audio file
4. Wait for upload and transcription to complete

Progress is shown on the processing card. When finished, the Transcript tab becomes available.

Processing

Uploaded files follow the same pipeline as live recordings:

1. Uploading — file transfers to secure storage
2. Submitting — queued for transcription
3. Processing — speech-to-text runs
4. Transcript ready — review and generate notes

Waveform display

Ardela generates a waveform for playback when possible. If the browser cannot decode the file locally, a placeholder waveform is shown — this does not affect transcription quality.

Meeting uploads

Upload multi-speaker files in Meeting mode for speaker diarization. See Meeting mode.

After transcription

Once the transcript is ready:

1. Review and edit in the Transcript tab
2. Generate a note or document with a template
3. Assign client/matter and mark complete

Tips

• Convert unusual formats to .mp3 or .wav if upload is rejected
• Split files over 500 MB before uploading
• For phone recordings, .m4a from iOS and .mp3 from Android work well
• Add domain vocabulary before uploading specialized content

Related

• Dictation mode — record live instead
• Troubleshooting — stuck processing