KolWrite
Theme
Subtitles and captions
KolWrite transcribes your video into timed text with speaker labels so you can edit it before exporting an SRT file.
Live demo
Runs in your browser.
Since the timestamps come directly from the video, you can translate tracks for other markets using the exact same timeline.
Generating automatic captions is easy. Getting them ready to publish takes a quick human review to fix a few specific things.
Timestamps come straight from your recording, so lines show up right as they are spoken. If you transcribe text somewhere else and paste it into a subtitle file, the timing drifts. Viewers spot bad sync much faster than a typo.
Automatic transcription makes its most obvious mistakes on proper nouns, product names, jargon, and acronyms. Those errors also embarrass a brand the fastest in captions. Clean them up once in the transcript before you export.
Speaker separation keeps interviews, panels, and two-person conversations easy to follow. Even when the camera angle does not show who is talking, viewers reading the captions can tell voices apart.
Instead of re-transcribing the video for every region, you can translate between supported languages straight from your timed transcript. Every translated track stays synced to the picture.
Four different needs hit the same file, and each one ends with somebody asking for an SRT.
Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers rely on captions. Accessibility standards for prerecorded video require those captions to be accurate, complete, and synced. Auto-transcription gets you started, and your review gets it ready.
A large share of social and feed video is watched on mute. Without captions, your video cannot get its point across in those first three seconds.
Transcripts make video archives searchable. Once the spoken words are converted to text, you can actually find what you need inside training libraries, conference recordings, and product footage.
Translated subtitles let you share a finished video with new audiences for a fraction of what it costs to dub or re-record.
Add the video file from desktop, mobile, or the web app. One account works across the public apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android, and your browser.
You get a timestamped transcript with separated speakers that matches the action on screen.
Play back any section you want to double-check. Fix names and specific terms so the text matches what was actually said.
Translate the transcript into other supported languages if you need extra tracks. Then export your SRT files to drop into your editor, video player, or publishing platform.
You can also run everything KolWrite does with a recording through our API. Send the address of an audio or video file from your own code or an AI coding agent, and you'll get back the transcript with word timings, speaker labels, and an SRT file if you request one.
The JSON output gives you the start and end time for every segment, plus individual word timings on models that support alignment. Turn on speaker separation to include a speaker label on each segment.
Pass output_format as srt if you want subtitles directly from the API. If you are using the Oracle models, you can also set translate_to to get the text back in another language.
The API console publishes plain-text instructions for an agent to read before writing code. This includes agent-instructions.md, along with llms.txt, which links to the full reference.
Example request. The key comes from an environment variable, and the console has the full reference.
curl -X POST https://app.kolwrite.com/transcribe \
-H "x-api-key: $KOLWRITE_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"audio_url": "https://example.com/video.mp4", "model": "oracle", "language": "auto", "output_format": "srt"}'
# Returns {"jobId": "..."}. Poll GET https://app.kolwrite.com/transcribe/{jobId}
# until status is COMPLETED. The result is the file or the JSON you asked for.You get an SRT file. It is the most widely supported subtitle format, so video editors, players, and publishing platforms accept it directly. If someone just needs a script instead of captions, you can also export the transcript as plain text, Word, or PDF.
Yes. First, transcribe the video in its original language. From there, you can translate the timed transcript into other supported languages to create extra subtitle tracks. KolWrite supports transcription in 100+ languages.
Not by themselves. Accessibility standards for prerecorded video require captions to be accurate, complete, and properly synced. No automated tool can guarantee that without a human check. KolWrite gives you a timed, editable transcript so you can review and fix errors before exporting, which is what actually makes the captions compliant.
Yes. Speaker separation labels different voices and timestamps them, which is helpful for interviews, panels, and group discussions. Heavy crosstalk is tough for any tool to untangle, so you will want to check those overlapping parts before you export.
Edit the text right in the app while using the audio playback to check tricky spots, then export your SRT. Always make your edits in the transcript rather than the exported subtitle file. That way, your timing stays intact and any translations you generate later will include your fixes.
You can transcribe the video in KolWrite and export an SRT, or have your assistant call the KolWrite API with output_format set to srt. From there, import the SRT into your video editor or burn it in using a tool like ffmpeg. See the guides on SRT files and on editing video with a timed transcript for the exact steps.
Yes. KolWrite can burn captions straight into the video, laying out Hebrew and Arabic right to left. Since burned-in text cannot be turned off, make sure you fix all errors beforehand.
Upload a video with spoken dialogue, export the SRT, and drop it into your timeline. Good captions come down to getting the timing and the names right.