An audio summarizer for your own video and audio files
Claras is an audio summarizer for the files on your computer. Upload a video or audio recording up to 6 hours long and get a timestamped transcript, a summary, chapters and a chat about it.
Long files, straight from your computer
Drop a file into the Video or Audio tab of the web app, or click to browse. A single file can run up to 6 hours, so a full lecture, a long interview or a half-day workshop fits. Claras reads the audio in your browser and sends it in small slices to be transcribed, so even a large video doesn't have to upload as one big file.
- Video: MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV
- Audio: MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC, AAC, OGG, Opus
The same results as a YouTube video
Once the transcript is ready, you get what Claras makes for any video: a short overview and key takeaways, chapters, the full transcript and an Ask AI tab. Your file plays right in the page, so clicking a chapter or a transcript line moves the player to that moment. So you can summarize a video file you would never post online.
- Summaries in any of 15 languages, whatever language was spoken
- Download the transcript as text or .srt subtitles
Private by default
Your file isn't stored. Only the audio leaves your computer, in slices that are transcribed and then dropped. They go to transcription services that keep no copy and don't use your audio for training. What Claras keeps is the result: the transcript, summary and chapters in your history.
- Uploads never get a public share link
- Reopen one from History and pick the file again to play it
What happens to your file, step by step
- Sign in and pick the Video or Audio tab. Choose your file and the language you want the summary in, then click Analyze with AI.
- Claras checks your hours. It reads the file's length and compares it with the transcription hours left on your plan. If the file is longer than what remains, it tells you before any work starts.
- Your browser reads the audio. The button shows "Reading your file". The picture is dropped and the sound is cut into slices of up to 10 minutes, overlapping by a few seconds so no sentence is lost at a cut.
- The slices are transcribed. The button counts up, "Transcribing 37%". The first slice sets the language, then four slices are worked on at once. Claras joins them on the file's own clock, so the timestamps match your recording.
- The summary is written. Claras moves on to chapters and the summary, the same steps as for a YouTube video, and the results open beside your player.
A worked example: a 90-minute lecture recording
Say you have a 90-minute MP4 of a lecture you recorded on your phone.
On the free plan
The free plan includes 1 hour of transcription every 30 days, so Claras stops before it starts and tells you: "This file is 1:30:00 long and you have 1.0 hours of transcription left this month." A file under an hour would go through, so a shorter recording makes a good first test.
On Pro
Pro includes 10 hours a month, so the lecture uses 1.5 of them. Because the file is over 30 minutes, Claras offers to email you when it's done. Tick the box and use other tabs while it works, but keep the Claras tab open.
If the tab closes halfway
Finished slices are kept in your browser. Pick the same file again and Claras carries on from where it stopped, without paying for the same audio twice.
What you end up with
A timestamped transcript of the whole lecture, chapters you can click to jump around your own recording, a summary of the key points, and an Ask AI tab for questions like "What did she say about the exam?"
What it does well, and where it stops
Transcription hours are counted by length
Uploads use transcription hours, counted over a rolling 30 days: 1 hour on the free plan, 10 on Pro and 100 on Unlimited. A 20-minute file uses 20 minutes. Each upload also counts as one video toward your plan's video limit, like any other analysis.
Web app only
Uploads are in the web app at app.meetclaras.com. The Chrome extension works on YouTube videos.
Keep the tab open
All the slicing happens in your browser, so closing the tab stops the job. Claras warns you before you close it. In a private window your browser may not keep the finished slices, and a retry then starts over and uses the hours again.
Formats your browser can't read
If the browser can't read the file's audio, you'll see a message asking you to convert it to MP3. WAV, FLAC and similar files are shrunk in your browser first, which takes a little longer. A video with no sound track can't be transcribed.
One language per file
Claras learns the language from the first slice and keeps it for the rest. A recording that switches language partway may come out poorly after the switch. Long silences are dropped rather than filled with made-up text.
Short recordings skip chapters
Files under 3 minutes open on the summary, without a Contents tab of chapters.
No speaker names
The transcript is the words with their times. It doesn't label who is speaking.
How it fits the rest of Claras
An upload becomes a video like any other in Claras, so every feature works on it.
Questions about file uploads
What is the longest file I can upload?
6 hours per file. Your plan's transcription hours also have to cover it: 1 hour on the free plan, 10 on Pro and 100 on Unlimited, over a rolling 30 days.
Is my file uploaded or stored?
No. Your browser reads the audio out of the file and sends it in slices to be transcribed. The slices aren't kept, and the file itself never leaves your computer. Claras saves the transcript and summary to your history.
Can I use Claras as an AI audio summarizer for podcasts and voice notes?
Yes. Any audio file in MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC, AAC, OGG or Opus works the same way as a video, and you get a summary, chapters and a timestamped transcript.
How long does it take?
It depends on the file's length and your connection. Claras works on four slices at a time, and for files of 30 minutes or more it offers to email you when the result is ready.
What if my file is too long for the hours I have left?
Claras tells you before starting, with the file's length and the hours you have left. You can wait for older uploads to drop out of the 30-day window, trim the file, or move to a plan with more hours.
Can I upload files in the Chrome extension?
No. Uploads are in the web app. The extension is for YouTube videos.
Does it tell me who is speaking?
No. The transcript has the words and their timestamps, without speaker labels.
Watch less. Learn more.
Paste a video link and get the summary, chapters and answers in seconds.