Voice Note Transcriber → Obsidian#

Fetch voice-note emails from IMAP, transcribe audio attachments with OpenAI Whisper, and save the result as a fleeting note in your Obsidian vault.

Quick start#

bash

python3 {skillDir}/scripts/transcribe_voice_notes.py

Configuration#

Set environment variables (or let the skill read from OpenClaw config):

VariableRequiredDescriptionEMAIL_ADDRESS✅IMAP login addressEMAIL_PASSWORD✅App-specific passwordOPENAI_API_KEY✅OpenAI API keyOBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH✅Absolute path to Obsidian vault rootEMAIL_PROVIDERProvider key: gmail (default), outlook, 163.com, 126.com``FLEETING_FOLDERVault subfolder for fleeting notes (default: 0-Inbox)VOICE_NOTE_KEYWORDSubject filter keyword (default: Voice Note)MARK_EMAIL_READ``true / false (default: true)

OpenClaw config example#

json5

{
  skills: {
    "voice-note-transcriber": {
      obsidianVaultPath: "/home/user/Documents/MyVault",
      fleetingFolder: "0-Inbox",
      emailProvider: "gmail",
      subjectKeyword: "Voice Note",
      markEmailRead: true,
    },
  },
}

What it does#

1. Connects to IMAP and fetches unread emails whose subject contains the configured keyword.
2. Downloads audio attachments ( .mp3, .wav, .m4a, .webm, .ogg, .flac) to a temp directory.
3. Transcribes each attachment via the OpenAI Whisper API ( whisper-1).
4. Writes a Markdown note with YAML frontmatter to the vault's fleeting folder.
5. Optionally marks the source email as read.

Output note format#

markdown

---
tags:
  - type/transcript
  - source/voice-note
date: 2025-05-12
email_subject: "Voice Note — weekly recap"
email_from: sender@example.com
---

# Voice Note Transcript — 2025-05-12

## Transcript

(transcribed text here)

## Source

- **Subject:** Voice Note — weekly recap
- **From:** sender@example.com
- **Date:** Mon, 12 May 2025 08:00:00 +0800

Troubleshooting#

SymptomFix"Missing OPENAI_API_KEY"Export OPENAI_API_KEY or set it in OpenClaw configNotes not appearing in ObsidianCheck OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH is the vault root (not a subfolder) and FLEETING_FOLDER exists inside itNo emails foundVerify EMAIL_PROVIDER, credentials, and VOICE_NOTE_KEYWORD match your mailboxAttachment not transcribedEnsure the attachment has a recognised audio extension

Publishing to ClawHub#

bash

clawhub publish ~/.openclaw/skills/voice-note-transcriber \
  --slug voice-note-transcriber \
  --name "Voice Note Transcriber" \
  --version 1.0.0 \
  --changelog "Initial release"