---
name: spaces-listener
description: Record, transcribe, and summarize X/Twitter Spaces — live or replays. Auto-downloads audio via yt-dlp, transcribes with Whisper, and generates AI summaries.
version: 1.6.0
author: jamesalmeida
tags: [twitter, x, spaces, transcription, summarization, audio, recording]
when: "User asks to record, transcribe, or listen to an X/Twitter Space"
examples:
  - "Record this Space"
  - "Transcribe this X Space"
  - "Listen to this Twitter Space and transcribe it"
  - "Download this Space audio"
metadata:
  openclaw:
    requires:
      bins: ["yt-dlp", "ffmpeg"]
    emoji: "🎧"
---

# spaces-listener

Record, transcribe, and summarize X/Twitter Spaces — live or replays. Supports multiple concurrent recordings.

## Commands

```bash
# Start recording (runs in background)
spaces listen <url>

# Record multiple Spaces at once
spaces listen "https://x.com/i/spaces/1ABC..."
spaces listen "https://x.com/i/spaces/2DEF..."

# List all active recordings
spaces list

# Check specific recording status
spaces status 1

# Stop a recording
spaces stop 1
spaces stop all

# Clean stale pid/meta files
spaces clean

# Transcribe when done
spaces transcribe ~/Desktop/space.m4a --model medium

# Summarize an existing transcript
spaces summarize ~/Desktop/space_transcript.txt

# Skip summarization
spaces transcribe ~/Desktop/space.m4a --no-summarize
```

## Requirements

```bash
brew install yt-dlp ffmpeg openai-whisper
```

For summaries, set `OPENAI_API_KEY` (transcription still works without it).

## How It Works

1. Each `spaces listen` starts a new background recording with a unique ID
2. Recordings persist even if you close terminal
3. Run `spaces list` to see all active recordings
4. When done, `spaces stop <id>` or `spaces stop all`
5. Transcribe with `spaces transcribe <file>`
6. Summaries are generated automatically after transcription (skip with `--no-summarize`)

## Output

Each space gets its own folder under `~/Dropbox/ClawdBox/XSpaces/`:
```
~/Dropbox/ClawdBox/XSpaces/
  space_username_2026-02-03_1430/
    recording.m4a     — audio
    recording.log     — progress log
    transcript.txt    — transcript
    summary.txt       — summary
```

## Critical: Agent Usage Rules

**NEVER set a timeout on Space downloads.** Spaces can be hours long.
yt-dlp stops automatically when the Space ends — don't kill it early.

The correct workflow:
1. Run `spaces listen <url>` — it starts a background process and returns immediately
2. Set a **cron job** (every 5–10 min) to check `spaces list`
3. When recording shows "No active recordings", it's done
4. Transcribe the audio file, summarize, notify the user
5. Delete the cron job

**Do NOT:**
- Use `exec` with a timeout for downloads
- Run competing download processes for the same Space
- Kill the download process manually (unless the user asks)

Audio is staged in `/tmp/spaces-listener-staging/` during recording, then
automatically copied to the final Dropbox output dir when complete. This
avoids Dropbox file-locking issues during long downloads.

## Whisper Models

| Model | Speed | Accuracy |
|-------|-------|----------|
| tiny | ⚡⚡⚡⚡ | ⭐ |
| base | ⚡⚡⚡ | ⭐⭐ |
| small | ⚡⚡ | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| medium | ⚡ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| large | 🐢 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |


---
Source attribution: kbarbel640-del
Original project: https://github.com/kbarbel640-del/skills/blob/e7e336ac628c3e3bd771aff1aaa469c93778f94a/skills/jamesalmeida/spaces-listener/SKILL.md
License: MIT
License information: https://opensource.org/license/mit
Original upstream instructions; downloaded from Dave AI.

## Upstream license notice

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 clawdbot

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.



# Dave AI resource metadata

Creator / publisher: kbarbel640-del
Original project: https://github.com/kbarbel640-del/skills/blob/e7e336ac628c3e3bd771aff1aaa469c93778f94a/skills/jamesalmeida/spaces-listener/SKILL.md
Attribution basis: Source repository record

Fields of work: Content & Media, Marketing
Roles: Content Marketer, Influencer Marketer, Journalist / Editor, PR & Communications, Social Media Manager
Specialties: Specialty not specified
Tools: Ffmpeg, Whisper, Yt Dlp
Country applicability: Country not specified
Classification basis: Source catalog labels
Instruction SHA-256: e00fd0f4e39b1837a9b4cabb4ad3460d1fa03d6b74a1e382fdad47e78851a9cc