The short answer: on desktop and mobile apps, AICHE has no advertised recording length cap for live capture. The REST API accepts uploads up to 120 minutes and 100MB per file (API docs). Long audio still needs section labels, queue awareness, and review in History, not one marathon edit pass.
App path: press hotkey to start live recording → speak → press hotkey to stop → cloud transcription → transcript in History (copy, search, optional sync). The iPhone app documents no file import (live recording only). On macOS, Windows, Linux, and Android, use live capture in the app; we do not document a separate in-app file-import flow there. Offline or poor connectivity: audio stays in the encrypted Later queue until upload resumes.
API path (Pro): upload an existing file (audio multipart) or pass audio_url (HTTPS). Max 120 minutes and 100MB per request. See API docs.
Best Workflow for Hours of Audio
- Pick surface: app for live capture, or REST API for pre-recorded WAV, MP3, M4A, WebM, OGG, FLAC (or
audio_url). - Before a long session, confirm disk space (Later queue stores encrypted audio locally when offline).
- Every 10-20 minutes, say a section marker aloud: "Section three, customer interview, pricing objections."
- Pause between topics so Message Ready can break paragraphs.
- Stop with the hotkey; wait for processing (or queue if offline).
- Open History, copy sections, or run a second pass for headings and names.
- For editable deliverables (report, lecture notes, training doc), prefer six 15-minute recordings over one 90-minute wall of text.
Scenarios that fit long capture: lecture, research interview, podcast rough draft, field notes, solo walkthrough. Scenarios that fit short capture: email draft, issue comment, structured report you will edit heavily.
When to Split
Split the recording when you will edit the text afterward:
- Reports
- Articles
- Documentation
- Technical explanations
- Meeting follow-ups
- Training notes
One 90-minute wall of transcript is harder to fix than six 15-minute sections with clear headings.
When One Long Recording Is Fine
One long recording makes more sense when the goal is archival capture or when stopping would interrupt the event:
- Long personal notes
- Field observations
- Solo walkthroughs
- Lectures you are allowed to record
- Extended brainstorming sessions
Still speak section labels if you can. Future you will need anchors.
Connectivity and Queueing
If processing cannot happen immediately, AICHE can place the recording in the encrypted Later queue and process when connectivity returns. Long recordings use more local storage, so check available disk space before recording offline for hours.
Editing the Output
After transcription, do not polish the whole thing at once. Work in passes:
- Remove irrelevant sections.
- Add headings.
- Fix names and terms.
- Turn rambling paragraphs into bullets or sections.
- Only then polish sentence-level wording.
Use Custom Vocabulary before future long recordings if names or terms were wrong repeatedly.
Do This Now
For your next long topic, record a 10-minute trial first. Say two section labels out loud and check whether the output is easy to navigate. If it is hard to edit, use shorter chunks for the real session.