# Delayed Caption in Zoom when using Closed Captioning API

**URL:** <https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373>\
**Category:** API and Webhooks\
**Created:** [September 16, 2020, 3:22am UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373 "2020-09-16T03:22:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![skinner.cheng](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/skinner.cheng/32/15398_2.png) [@skinner.cheng](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/skinner.cheng)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2020, 3:22am UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/1 "2020-09-16T03:22:16Z")

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**Description**

If I open Zoom Mac app, then get the Closed Captioning API from Zoom Mac app, then send the transcript using this API by POST request. It works. The caption immediately shows in Zoom Mac app.

However, if I stop the script I use to send the transcript, then I re-run the same script with the same Closed Captioning API (I didn’t close/restart Zoom Mac app though), the transcript would not immediately show up, after 10-20 seconds, the caption suddenly show up like it was stuck for a while then suddenly it’s not stuck, all those transcripts show one by one in very quick way.

Unless I restart Zoom Mac app and start over, the 1st time the caption alway shows up immediately.

Is there anyway I can keep using the same Zoom session and sort of reset something before calling Closed Captioning API again?

**Error**  
No any error. Every time the POST request always returns the timestamp.

**Which App Type (OAuth / Chatbot / JWT / Webhook)?**  
Node JS. Use request-promise package to do HTTP POST request with the Zoom Closed Captioning API.

**Which Endpoint/s?**  
I don’t really use any endpoint, I only just copy the API token by this page - [https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115002212983-Integrating-a-third-party-closed-captioning-service](https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115002212983-Integrating-a-third-party-closed-captioning-service)

**How To Reproduce (If applicable)**  
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Open Zoom app, get Closed Captioning API token.
2. Run the script to push the transcript using Closed Captioning API token. Caption in Zoom always show up immediately.
3. Stop the script, then redo 2nd. Without restarting Zoom app. Then the caption in Zoom will show up after 10-20 seconds.

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**Author:** ![DeveloperBot](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/developerbot/32/12632_2.png) [@DeveloperBot](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/DeveloperBot)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2020, 3:22am UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/2 "2020-09-16T03:22:59Z")

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Hey @skinner.cheng

Thanks for posting on the Zoom Devforum! I am still learning, but I will try my best to help answer your question. 🙂

Checkout these related threads that may have the answer you are looking for:

> [@Is the closed caption API still available?](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/-/3573):
>
> Hi, I saw this article online: [https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115002212983-Closed-Captioning-with-REST-API](https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115002212983-Closed-Captioning-with-REST-API) But it seems as though the closed captioning API might be deprecated?

> [@Downloading Closed Captions](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/-/7869):
>
> We are using V2 API. We recorded a meeting yesterday and we requested closed captions. They day after I checked the API in Postman: /meetings/:meetingId/recordings uuid “NzygAVdoTGuBFL6g63o0nw==” and I see there is two recording\_files, one with recording\_type: shared\_screen\_with\_speaker\_view and one with audio\_only. Can we ever expect to see a closed caption file here in the API for download or if not where can we programmatically get the download URL from?

> [@Difference between audio transcript and closed captions](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/-/6035):
>
> Description/Error The meeting recording APIs show that a meeting can contain closed captions files (type CC) and audio transcript files (type audio\_transcript). Both are reported to be VTT files. What is difference between the two? Who or what creates the audio transcript? (human created/machine created).

If these threads did not help, please let us know by replying back here and someone from the Developer Relations team will get back to you shortly.

Thanks,  
DeveloperBot

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**Author:** ![skinner.cheng](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/skinner.cheng/32/15398_2.png) [@skinner.cheng](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/skinner.cheng)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/3 "2020-09-16T18:02:50Z")

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Thanks for the links above. However, they don’t really help per the issue I have now.

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**Author:** ![chrislim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@chrislim](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/chrislim)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/4 "2020-09-16T19:15:10Z")

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We’ve been seeing similar delay issues today in some cases with a delay of 10 minutes and where old captions are getting jumbled/intermingled with newer ones. I wonder if something was going wrong with the caption API earlier today.

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**Author:** ![skinner.cheng](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/skinner.cheng/32/15398_2.png) [@skinner.cheng](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/skinner.cheng)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/5 "2020-09-16T20:36:35Z")

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I just submitted the request in Zoom Support.

I also found there’re some posts before:

> [@Closed caption endpoint (/closedcaption) lags sometimes](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/closed-caption-endpoint-closedcaption-lags-sometimes/22085):
>
> I’m using the [/closedcaption](https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115002212983-Integrating-a-third-party-closed-captioning-service) endpoint for a 3rd closed captioning integration. I sometimes experience big lag in between subtitles - After I call the endpoint, It could take a few minutes before the corresponding subtitle response is returned to my zoom screen. When it dose return, all subtitle responses of calls in this period are returned all together to my zoom screen. I did remember to increase the ‘seq’ val by 1 each time I called the endpoint with new text.

> [@Unpredictable delay before first CC message is displayed](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/unpredictable-delay-before-first-cc-message-is-displayed/21663):
>
> I read the page: [https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115002212983-Integrating-a-third-party-closed-captioning-service](https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115002212983-Integrating-a-third-party-closed-captioning-service) Description Zoom replies to my initial Closed Caption POST with a timestamp and no error code, but the message is not displayed in the user interface, nor does it give the “Closed captioning available message” . Only after an unpredictable delay of between 15 seconds and several minutes does the user interface respond to subsequent CC messages. After that messages ar…

Hopefully there’s any update, though.

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**Author:** ![stephenw](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/stephenw/32/2178_2.png) [@stephenw](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/stephenw)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/6 "2020-09-16T20:38:46Z")

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I also had similar issues while trying to caption a theatre show this evening - lines extremely delayed and then when they eventually did appear, garbled together. Everything was working fine this afternoon! Any ideas?

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**Author:** ![will.zoom](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/will.zoom/32/14417_2.png) [@will.zoom](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/will.zoom)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/7 "2020-09-17T20:24:42Z")

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Hi @skinner.cheng @chrislim @stephenw

Thanks for raising this with us—our team is looking into the lag (ZOOM-197842). We’ll circle back here as soon as we have an update.

Thanks!  
Will

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![skinner.cheng](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/skinner.cheng/32/15398_2.png) [@skinner.cheng](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/skinner.cheng)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/8 "2020-09-17T21:44:53Z")

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Hi Will@Zoom,

Thank you for replying instead of just telling us it should be transferred to Zoom CS.

Any idea of the timeline here? We have a multi-million dollar client who just got back to us as the lag embarrassed them in front of a presentation. We’d like to communicate them a bit more details than this.

Thank you again!

Skinner

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**Author:** ![will.zoom](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/will.zoom/32/14417_2.png) [@will.zoom](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/will.zoom)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 10:00pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/9 "2020-09-17T22:00:43Z")

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Hey @skinner.cheng, I hear you—I’ll be sure to update this post as soon as I have an update. Thanks again for relaying the impact!

Best,  
Will

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**Author:** ![chrislim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@chrislim](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/chrislim)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 4:38pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/10 "2020-09-21T16:38:23Z")

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Good morning! Just wanting to check in on for an update on ZOOM-197842?

We had a similar situation as @skinner.cheng and want to get back to our client with a meaningful answer.

Thanks!  
Chris

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**Author:** ![skinner.cheng](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/skinner.cheng/32/15398_2.png) [@skinner.cheng](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/skinner.cheng)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/11 "2020-09-21T17:45:29Z")

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Hi,

Like you seen, I haven’t seen any update from people@Zoom. I also subscribed the Newsletter@Zoom and expect if any API update but same - no further update received on my side.

Besides, instead of the current way (copy API token from Zoom’s app and it’s a free integration), I would like to have CC API Zoom provides like other APIs, as a formal and uniform API we can call from Backend, we just assign the roomId as parameter. I don’t mind if we need to pay for using this API as long as it’s flexible and stable. IMO.

Skinner

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**Author:** ![will.zoom](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/will.zoom/32/14417_2.png) [@will.zoom](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/will.zoom)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 6:42pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/12 "2020-09-22T18:42:28Z")

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Hi @chrislim @skinner.cheng

Our team is still looking into this—as soon as there’s an update, I’ll be happy to share here. I also recommend subscribing to our [Changelog](https://marketplace.zoom.us/docs/changelog) for updates on what’s included in each new release.

Thanks,  
Will

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**Author:** ![asowa](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/asowa/32/15781_2.png) [@asowa](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/asowa)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 4:00am UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/13 "2020-09-23T04:00:57Z")

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Same issues here where it lags. Any update on integrated captioning in Zoom?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![will.zoom](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/will.zoom/32/14417_2.png) [@will.zoom](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/will.zoom)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/14 "2020-09-23T19:13:43Z")

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Hey @asowa,

While we’re working on addressing the lag, I can certainly appreciate the desire for a full-fledged integration. While this is on our radar, I’d also encourage you to post in #feature-requests as well. 🙂

Thanks,  
Will

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**Author:** ![asowa](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/asowa/32/15781_2.png) [@asowa](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/asowa)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/15 "2020-09-23T19:44:46Z")

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It actually did just come out. Live transcribing.

Alex Sowa  
Director of Educational Technology  
Technology Support Specialist

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![will.zoom](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/will.zoom/32/14417_2.png) [@will.zoom](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/will.zoom)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/16 "2020-09-24T20:01:39Z")

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Hey @asowa,

Are you referring to live transcription on the Closed Captioning API, or something else?

Thanks!  
Will

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![asowa](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/asowa/32/15781_2.png) [@asowa](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/asowa)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/17 "2020-09-24T20:12:12Z")

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live transcription 🙂

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![skinner.cheng](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/skinner.cheng/32/15398_2.png) [@skinner.cheng](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/skinner.cheng)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/18 "2020-09-24T21:44:57Z")

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I believe Live Transcribe is another thing and Zoom actually doesn’t provide it. In our Product we use another service to transcribe then use Zoom CC API to push the caption in Zoom app.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![skinner.cheng](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/skinner.cheng/32/15398_2.png) [@skinner.cheng](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/skinner.cheng)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/19 "2020-09-24T21:45:22Z")

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Good hint. I will post in #feature-requests

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![will.zoom](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/devforum.zoom.us/will.zoom/32/14417_2.png) [@will.zoom](https://devforum.zoom.us/u/will.zoom)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://devforum.zoom.us/t/delayed-caption-in-zoom-when-using-closed-captioning-api/30373/20 "2020-09-25T15:52:14Z")

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@skinner.cheng That’s correct — @asowa you will need to utilize a third party service for a full fledged subscription functionality in real time. Thanks for stepping in, @skinner.cheng 🙂

Best,  
Will

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