Fireflies.ai Data Handling
Overview
Manage meeting transcript data: export in multiple formats (JSON, text, SRT), redact PII from transcripts and summaries, implement retention policies with automated cleanup, and handle GDPR/CCPA data subject requests.
Prerequisites
FIREFLIES_API_KEYconfigured- Understanding of transcript data structure (sentences, summary, analytics)
- Storage for processed transcripts
Instructions
Step 1: Fetch Transcript Data
const FIREFLIES_API = "https://api.fireflies.ai/graphql";
async function getFullTranscript(id: string) {
const res = await fetch(FIREFLIES_API, {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Content-Type": "application/json",
Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.FIREFLIES_API_KEY}`,
},
body: JSON.stringify({
query: `
query($id: String!) {
transcript(id: $id) {
id title date duration
organizer_email
speakers { id name }
sentences { speaker_name text start_time end_time }
summary { overview action_items keywords short_summary }
meeting_attendees { displayName email }
}
}
`,
variables: { id },
}),
});
const json = await res.json();
if (json.errors) throw new Error(json.errors[0].message);
return json.data.transcript;
}
Step 2: Export in Multiple Formats
type ExportFormat = "json" | "text" | "srt" | "csv";
function exportTranscript(transcript: any, format: ExportFormat): string {
switch (format) {
case "json":
return JSON.stringify(transcript, null, 2);
case "text":
const lines = [
`# ${transcript.title}`,
`Date: ${transcript.date} | Duration: ${transcript.duration}min`,
`Speakers: ${transcript.speakers.map((s: any) => s.name).join(", ")}`,
"",
"## Summary",
transcript.summary?.overview || "(none)",
"",
"## Action Items",
...(transcript.summary?.action_items || []).map((a: string) => `- ${a}`),
"",
"## Transcript",
...transcript.sentences.map((s: any) =>
`[${fmtTime(s.start_time)}] ${s.speaker_name}: ${s.text}`
),
];
return lines.join("\n");
case "srt":
return transcript.sentences.map((s: any, i: number) =>
[
i + 1,
`${fmtSrt(s.start_time)} --> ${fmtSrt(s.end_time)}`,
`${s.speaker_name}: ${s.text}`,
"",
].join("\n")
).join("\n");
case "csv":
const header = "start_time,end_time,speaker,text";
const rows = transcript.sentences.map((s: any) =>
`${s.start_time},${s.end_time},"${s.speaker_name}","${s.text.replace(/"/g, '""')}"`
);
return [header, ...rows].join("\n");
}
}
function fmtTime(sec: number): string {
const m = Math.floor(sec / 60);
const s = Math.floor(sec % 60);
return `${String(m).padStart(2, "0")}:${String(s).padStart(2, "0")}`;
}
function fmtSrt(sec: number): string {
const h = Math.floor(sec / 3600);
const m = Math.floor((sec % 3600) / 60);
const s = Math.floor(sec % 60);
const ms = Math.floor((sec % 1) * 1000);
return `${String(h).padStart(2, "0")}:${String(m).padStart(2, "0")}:${String(s).padStart(2, "0")},${String(ms).padStart(3, "0")}`;
}
Step 3: PII Redaction
const PII_PATTERNS = [
{ regex: /\b[A-Za-z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Za-z0-9.-]+\.[A-Za-z]{2,}\b/g, tag: "[EMAIL]" },
{ regex: /\b\d{3}[-.]?\d{3}[-.]?\d{4}\b/g, tag: "[PHONE]" },
{ regex: /\b\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}\b/g, tag: "[SSN]" },
{ regex: /\b\d{4}[\s-]?\d{4}[\s-]?\d{4}[\s-]?\d{4}\b/g, tag: "[CARD]" },
{ regex: /\b\d{1,5}\s+\w+\s+(Street|St|Avenue|Ave|Road|Rd|Drive|Dr|Lane|Ln)\b/gi, tag: "[ADDRESS]" },
];
function redactText(text: string): string {
let result = text;
for (const { regex, tag } of PII_PATTERNS) {
result = result.replace(regex, tag);
}
return result;
}
function redactTranscript(transcript: any): any {
return {
...transcript,
// Redact organizer email
organizer_email: redactText(transcript.organizer_email || ""),
// Redact sentences
sentences: transcript.sentences?.map((s: any) => ({
...s,
text: redactText(s.text),
speaker_name: s.speaker_name, // Keep speaker names for context
})),
// Redact summary fields too
summary: transcript.summary ? {
...transcript.summary,
overview: redactText(transcript.summary.overview || ""),
action_items: transcript.summary.action_items?.map(redactText),
short_summary: redactText(transcript.summary.short_summary || ""),
} : null,
// Redact attendee info
meeting_attendees: transcript.meeting_attendees?.map((a: any) => ({
displayName: a.displayName,
email: redactText(a.email || ""),
})),
};
}
Step 4: Retention Policy with Automated Cleanup
interface RetentionPolicy {
fullTranscriptDays: number; // Keep full sentences
summaryDays: number; // Keep summary after transcript deleted
deleteAfterDays: number; // Delete everything
}
const DEFAULT_POLICY: RetentionPolicy = {
fullTranscriptDays: 90,
summaryDays: 365,
deleteAfterDays: 730,
};
async function applyRetentionPolicy(policy = DEFAULT_POLICY) {
const data = await getTranscriptList(200);
const now = Date.now();
const results = { kept: 0, archived: 0, deleted: 0 };
for (const t of data.transcripts) {
const ageDays = (now - new Date(t.date).getTime()) / 86400000;
if (ageDays > policy.deleteAfterDays) {
// Delete from Fireflies
await deleteTranscript(t.id);
results.deleted++;
} else if (ageDays > policy.fullTranscriptDays) {
// Archive: keep summary only in your DB
await archiveToSummaryOnly(t.id);
results.archived++;
} else {
results.kept++;
}
}
console.log(`Retention applied: ${results.kept} kept, ${results.archived} archived, ${results.deleted} deleted`);
return results;
}
async function deleteTranscript(id: string) {
// Rate limit: 10 deletes per minute
await fetch(FIREFLIES_API, {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Content-Type": "application/json",
Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.FIREFLIES_API_KEY}`,
},
body: JSON.stringify({
query: `mutation($id: String!) { deleteTranscript(transcript_id: $id) }`,
variables: { id },
}),
});
// Respect rate limit
await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 6500));
}
Step 5: GDPR Data Subject Request
// Handle "right to be forgotten" requests
async function handleDataSubjectDeletion(email: string) {
// Find all transcripts where this person participated
const data = await fetch(FIREFLIES_API, {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Content-Type": "application/json",
Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.FIREFLIES_API_KEY}`,
},
body: JSON.stringify({
query: `query($participants: [String]) {
transcripts(participants: $participants, limit: 100) {
id title date participants
}
}`,
variables: { participants: [email] },
}),
}).then(r => r.json());
const affected = data.data.transcripts;
console.log(`Found ${affected.length} transcripts with ${email}`);
// Option 1: Delete transcripts entirely
// Option 2: Redact the person's contributions
// Choose based on your legal requirements
return {
email,
affectedTranscripts: affected.length,
transcriptIds: affected.map((t: any) => t.id),
};
}
Error Handling
| Issue | Cause | Solution | |-------|-------|----------| | Missing sentences | Transcript still processing | Check before export | | PII in action items | Redaction only on sentences | Redact summary fields too (Step 3 does this) | | Delete rate limit | 10 deletes/min | Add 6.5s delay between deletes | | Large transcript OOM | 2+ hour meeting | Stream or paginate sentences |
Output
- Multi-format transcript export (JSON, text, SRT, CSV)
- PII redaction covering sentences, summaries, and attendee info
- Automated retention policy with configurable thresholds
- GDPR/CCPA data subject request handler
Resources
Next Steps
For enterprise access control, see fireflies-enterprise-rbac.