How to Build a Granola Clone Using Sonix API

Remember when getting usable notes from a meeting meant either frantically typing during the call or spending hours afterward transcribing recordings? Tools like Granola changed that by turning meeting recordings into searchable, actionable notes automatically. But what if you could build your own custom version—tailored to your exact workflow—without hiring a team of AI engineers? The Sonix API makes this surprisingly achievable, offering up to 97% accuracy across 49+ languages with the AI analysis features you’d need to rival any commercial meeting notes app. Whether you’re a developer looking for a weekend project or a business analyst wanting to automate your team’s content workflows, this guide walks you through building a Granola-style application from scratch.

Key Takeaways

• Sonix API processes audio at approximately 1 minute per minute of recording, delivering transcripts in near real-time
• Basic API implementation takes 2-4 hours for setup, with full-featured clones achievable in 1-2 days
• Pricing starts at $10 per hour of transcription on pay-as-you-go or $5/hour with Premium subscription
• Built-in AI features include automated summaries, sentiment analysis, theme extraction, and entity detection—no separate AI integration needed
• SOC 2 Type II compliance with AES-256 encryption makes the platform suitable for sensitive business, legal, and medical recordings
• Native integrations with Zoom, Teams, and Google Drive eliminate manual upload workflows
• Pipedream workflows connect Sonix to 3,000+ apps without writing code

Understanding the Granola Clone Concept: Beyond Basic Screen Recording

A Granola clone isn’t just another screen recorder. It’s an intelligent content capture system that transforms raw meeting recordings into structured, searchable knowledge. The difference lies in what happens after you hit “stop recording.”

Basic screen capture gives you a video file. A Granola-style tool gives you:

• Searchable transcripts with speaker identification and timestamps
• AI-generated summaries highlighting key decisions and action items
• Thematic analysis identifying recurring topics across multiple meetings
• Collaborative workspaces where team members can comment and annotate
• Multi-format exports for integration with existing tools

The magic isn’t in the recording—it’s in the automated intelligence layer that makes recordings actually useful. That’s where the Sonix API becomes your secret weapon.

Capturing Content with Your DIY Screen Recorder App

Before you can transcribe anything, you need audio or video content. The good news: you don’t need to build capture functionality from scratch. Existing tools handle this beautifully.

Choosing Your Screen Capture Tool

For most Granola clone projects, leverage existing capture solutions:

• OBS Studio — Free, open-source, handles complex multi-source recording
• Windows Game Bar — Built into Windows 10/11, zero setup required
• macOS QuickTime — Native Mac solution with screen and audio capture
• Zoom/Teams — Cloud recordings automatically available for processing

Your capture tool matters less than your processing pipeline. Focus energy on the API integration rather than reinventing recording functionality.

Optimizing Recording Settings

Audio quality directly impacts transcription accuracy. Configure your capture tool for:

• Sample rate: 44.1kHz or higher
• Bit depth: 16-bit minimum
• Format: MP3, WAV, or M4A for best compatibility
• Audio source: Select specific microphone inputs rather than system audio mixes

Clean audio yields better transcripts. Background noise, echo, and low volume all reduce accuracy, so invest in basic audio hygiene before processing.

Integrating Sonix API for Automated Transcription and Translation

The Sonix API provides RESTful endpoints that handle the heavy lifting of speech-to-text conversion. No machine learning expertise required—you’re calling endpoints, not training models.

Setting Up Your API Connection

Getting started requires just a few steps:

1. Create your account and obtain API key

Sign up at Sonix (30-minute free trial available), then navigate to the API section to retrieve your Bearer token. Trial users should email support to request API access explicitly.

2. Test authentication with a simple request

• curl -XGET https://api.sonix.ai/v1/media \
• -H “Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY”
• A successful response confirms your credentials work. You’re ready to upload content.

3. Configure your development environment

• Store your API key securely—never hardcode credentials in client-side code. Use environment variables or a secrets manager.

Sending Audio and Video for Transcription

The upload process supports two methods depending on file size:

For files under 100MB — Use multipart form upload:

• curl -XPOST https://api.sonix.ai/v1/media \
• -H “Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY” \
• -F file=@your_recording.mp3 \
• -F language=en \ 
• -F name=’Team Meeting 2025-01-27′

For larger files — Provide a URL instead:

• curl -XPOST https://api.sonix.ai/v1/media \
• -H “Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY” \
• -F file_url=https://your-storage.com/large-file.mp4 \
• -F language=en

Always specify the language code explicitly. While auto-detection exists, explicit codes ensure consistent accuracy across recordings.

After uploading, you’ll receive a media ID. Poll the status endpoint every 10-30 seconds until status changes to “completed”—typically processing takes about one minute per minute of audio.

Enhancing Your Clone with Sonix Subtitles and Captioning

Transcripts become even more powerful when synchronized with video. The automated subtitles functionality generates captions in standard formats ready for any video player.

Generating Accurate Captions from Transcripts

Once transcription completes, retrieve subtitles in your preferred format:

• SRT files: Universal format supported by YouTube, Vimeo, and most video editors
• VTT files: Web-native format ideal for HTML5 video players
• JSON with timestamps: Custom integrations requiring programmatic access

Request subtitles through the transcript endpoint with format specification:

• curl -XGET https://api.sonix.ai/v1/media/MEDIA_ID/transcript.srt \
• -H “Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY”

Multi-Language Subtitle Generation

Here’s where a Granola clone can actually exceed the original. Sonix supports automated translation to 54+ languages, meaning your meeting notes app can automatically generate subtitles in Spanish, French, German, Japanese—whatever your global team needs.

This transforms a simple meeting recorder into a localization powerhouse. Record once, share globally with accurate captions in each team member’s language.

Leveraging Sonix AI Analysis for Deeper Insights

Basic transcription gives you text. AI analysis gives you intelligence. This is where your Granola clone becomes genuinely useful for busy professionals who don’t have time to read every word.

Unlocking Key Information from Your Recordings

Sonix’s AI layer automatically extracts:

• Themes and topics — What subjects dominated the conversation?
• Key entities — Which people, companies, and products were mentioned?
• Sentiment indicators — Was the overall tone positive, negative, or neutral?
• Questions asked — Useful for identifying unresolved issues
• Action items — Decisions and next steps buried in discussion

These insights run on top of existing transcripts—no additional upload steps. The analysis endpoint returns structured data you can display in custom dashboards or feed into other business tools.

Automating Content Summaries

The automated summaries feature condenses hour-long recordings into digestible highlights. For a Granola clone, this means users see the important stuff first without scrubbing through entire transcripts.

Consider implementing tiered views:

1. Executive summary — Two-paragraph overview of key points
2. Detailed highlights — Major topics with supporting quotes
3. Full transcript — Complete searchable text for deep dives

This hierarchy respects users’ time while keeping detail accessible when needed.

Building Collaboration and Workflow into Your Granola Clone

A meeting notes app lives or dies by how well it fits into team workflows. Individual transcripts are useful; shared, commentable transcripts are transformational.

Enabling Multi-User Access and Editing

Sonix’s collaboration features provide the infrastructure for team-based workflows:

• Shared folders organize content by project, client, or team
• Permission controls determine who can view, edit, or export
• Commenting systems let team members annotate specific timestamps
• Edit suggestions enable collaborative transcript refinement

For your clone, consider how users will discover and interact with shared content. Notification systems alerting team members to new transcripts or comments drive adoption.

Streamlining Review Processes

Build approval workflows for sensitive content. Legal teams reviewing deposition transcripts or medical researchers handling patient interviews need structured review processes before content distribution.

The API supports folder organization and permission management programmatically, letting you implement custom approval chains that match your organization’s requirements.

Ensuring Security and Compliance for Your Screen Recording Data

Meeting recordings often contain sensitive information—financial discussions, personnel matters, client data. Your Granola clone needs enterprise-grade security to be viable for serious business use.

Implementing Enterprise-Grade Security

Sonix provides security infrastructure that would cost millions to build independently:

• Encryption in transit via TLS 1.2/1.3 for all API communications
• Encryption at rest using AES-256 for stored transcripts and media
• Two-factor authentication for account access
• SSO/SAML support for enterprise identity management (Enterprise plan)
• Role-based access controls limiting data exposure to authorized users

Meeting Compliance Requirements

For regulated industries, Sonix maintains SOC 2 Type II certification covering security, availability, and confidentiality controls. This continuous monitoring via Drata tracks 100+ security controls.

GDPR-aligned data handling includes Data Processing Agreements and Standard Contractual Clauses available upon request. For healthcare applications, contact Sonix directly regarding Business Associate Agreements.

Importantly, Sonix explicitly states that customer data is not used for AI training—a critical consideration for legal and medical use cases where confidentiality is paramount.

Best Practices for API Integration and Workflow Automation

Building a robust Granola clone means handling edge cases gracefully and scaling efficiently.

Designing Robust API Workflows

Production implementations should account for:

• Error handling — API returns standard HTTP codes (400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 409). Implement retry logic with exponential backoff for transient failures.
• Rate limiting — Avoid hammering the status endpoint. Poll every 10-30 seconds, not continuously.
• Webhook notifications — Enterprise plans support webhooks that notify your server when transcription completes, eliminating polling entirely.
• File validation — Check audio quality and format before upload to avoid wasted processing time.

No-Code Integration Options

Not every Granola clone requires custom development. Pipedream integrations connect Sonix to 3,000+ apps through visual workflow builders.

Common no-code workflows include:

• Zoom recording → Sonix → Notion: Automatically transcribe meetings and post summaries to team wikis
• Dropbox folder → Sonix → Email: Transcribe any file dropped in a folder and email results
• Google Drive → Sonix → Slack: Notify channels when new transcripts are ready

These integrations require zero coding while delivering most Granola clone functionality.

Why Sonix Makes Building Your Granola Clone Simple

While several transcription APIs exist, Sonix stands out for teams building custom meeting intelligence tools.

The platform delivers up to 97% accuracy without the complexity of managing AI models yourself. Unlike bare-bones speech-to-text APIs that give you raw text, Sonix includes the intelligence layer—summaries, sentiment, themes, entities—that makes a meeting notes app actually useful.

Pricing removes barriers to experimentation. At $10 per hour on pay-as-you-go (or $5/hour on Premium), you can prototype extensively without enterprise commitments. Compare that to human transcription at up to $100 per hour—Sonix delivers significant cost savings while processing faster.

The integration ecosystem accelerates development. Native connections to Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Dropbox, and Google Drive mean your clone can automatically ingest content from where teams already work. Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro integrations extend use cases into video production workflows.

For teams concerned about data handling, SOC 2 Type II compliance and encryption standards meet requirements for legal, medical, and financial applications. You’re not compromising security to gain functionality.

Whether you’re building a custom tool for your organization or creating a product for others, Sonix provides the transcription, translation, and AI analysis infrastructure to match—and exceed—what commercial meeting notes apps deliver.

Frequently Asked Questions

What audio and video file formats does Sonix API support?

Sonix accepts most common audio and video formats including MP3, WAV, M4A, MP4, MOV, and WebM. For files over 100MB, use the file_url parameter to provide a direct link rather than multipart upload. The API documentation lists all supported formats and provides upload examples for each method.

How does Sonix handle data security for sensitive recordings?

Sonix maintains SOC 2 Type II compliance with continuous monitoring of 100+ security controls. All data is encrypted in transit using TLS 1.2/1.3 and at rest using AES-256 encryption. The platform offers two-factor authentication, SSO/SAML support for enterprise accounts, and role-based access controls. Customer data is explicitly not used for AI model training.

Can I use Sonix API for multilingual meetings?

Yes, Sonix supports transcription in 49+ languages and can translate transcripts between any supported language pairs. Specify the source language code in your upload request, then request translations through separate API endpoints. This enables building Granola clones that serve global teams with localized transcripts and subtitles.

What’s the pricing structure for Sonix API usage?

Sonix offers pay-as-you-go at $10 per hour of transcription with no monthly fees. Premium plans cost $22 per user monthly plus $5 per hour of transcription—better for users processing more than 4.4 hours monthly. Enterprise plans with custom pricing include webhook support, SSO, and priority assistance. A 30-minute free trial lets you test before committing.

Are there limits on file length or daily processing volume?

File size limits are 100MB for direct upload, but unlimited when using URL-based uploads. Processing time scales linearly—approximately one minute of processing per minute of audio. Specific daily volume limits aren’t published, but the platform handles batch processing for high-volume users. Contact Sonix support for enterprise volume requirements.