# Download Twitter Spaces: MP3 and Transcripts, Tested


You can download a Twitter (X) Space as long as **the host recorded it**. The host can save their own recordings from X's data download tool. Anyone else can save a recorded Space with a downloader such as yt-dlp, or with an API that returns the MP3 and a timestamped transcript. Unrecorded Spaces cannot be downloaded at all.

*Last updated November 5, 2026. X's recording rules were re-verified against the X Help Center on that date, and the API timings come from our own test the same day.*

## How do you download a Twitter Space?

To download Twitter Spaces, **first check that the Space was recorded**: a recorded Space shows a replay you can play after it ends. If you are the host, request your data from X's download tool, which includes your recorded Spaces. If you are not the host, paste the Space link into a downloader or send it to a **Spaces download API**, which returns an **MP3** and, if you ask, a **timestamped transcript**. A Space that was never recorded has no replay, so no tool can save it.

### Can you download a Space you didn't host?

Yes, when it was recorded. A recorded Space is replayable by anyone, so any downloader can save that replay.

### Can you download a live Space?

GetXAPI's docs list running Spaces as downloadable as well as ended ones with a replay. We tested ended Spaces only.

### Is there a free way?

Yes. The host's data download and yt-dlp are both free. An API trades a small fee for no setup and a transcript.

## Which Twitter Spaces can be downloaded?

X's Help Center is clear on the rule: hosts **choose to record a Space before it starts**, and hosts can download copies of their recorded Spaces for as long as X keeps them. For unrecorded Spaces, X keeps the audio for **30 days only to review rule violations** (120 days if a violation is found). That audio is never offered to listeners.

The same rules apply when you download X Spaces, as they are now called. So before you try any tool, open the Space link. If it plays a replay, it can be downloaded. If it says the Space has ended with no replay, nothing can.

Before you queue a job, the [Space info endpoint](https://docs.getxapi.com/docs/spaces/spaces-info) tells you whether a Space can be saved: `downloadable: true` with `stream_type: "replay"` means a recording exists. We called it 40 times across four recorded Spaces on November 5, 2026, including one that had ended the evening before, and it answered `true` every time.

![Decision flow for downloading an X Space: if it was not recorded there is no replay to download; if it was recorded, the host uses X's data download and anyone else uses a downloader or API to get an MP3 and transcript.](https://www.getxapi.com/blog/content/images/download-twitter-spaces-decision.webp)

*Only recorded Spaces can be downloaded. The host can use X's data download; anyone else needs a downloader or an API.*

## Download Twitter Spaces recordings as MP3 with an API

The [Download Space endpoint](https://docs.getxapi.com/docs/spaces/spaces-download) runs as a job: you queue it, get a `job_id`, and poll until the files are ready.

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.getxapi.com/twitter/spaces/download" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "space_url": "https://x.com/i/spaces/1YGNrbnLljQGw", "transcribe": false }'

# then poll (free) until status is "done"
curl "https://api.getxapi.com/twitter/spaces/download/spc_8f1040349eb446038462fdb2dfbfef50" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
```

When the status reaches `done`, the response carries `mp3_url` (plus `transcript_url` and `transcript_json_url` for a transcript). We ran this on November 5, 2026, on a 58-minute recorded Space:

| Request | Time to done | What came back |
|---|---|---|
| MP3 only | 53 seconds | 27.8 MB MP3, 64 kbps, mono, 48 kHz, 3,471 seconds long |
| MP3 + transcript | 3 minutes 21 seconds | the MP3, a 741-line timestamped `.txt` and a `.json` with 741 segments |

![How a Spaces download job works: send the Space link, poll the job as it moves from queued through downloading, uploading and transcribing to done, then collect the MP3, transcript text file and transcript JSON.](https://www.getxapi.com/blog/content/images/download-twitter-spaces-job.webp)

*A download is a job: queue it, poll it for free, and collect the MP3 and transcript files when it reaches done.*

Each download costs **$0.05**, plus **$0.015 per minute** of audio when you ask for a transcript, so a one-hour Space with a transcript is $0.95 (full table on the [pricing page](https://www.getxapi.com/pricing)). Polling is free, rate limited to 30 requests a minute. Files stay up for **7 days**.

## How to get a Twitter Space transcript

Set `"transcribe": true` on the same request. The text file reads like this:

```text
[00:10:08 → 00:10:12]  essentially taking, if you own these AI credits
[00:10:12 → 00:10:16]  and are also using them as your daily driver,
```

The JSON version holds a `segments` array with `start`, `end` and `text` for each line, plus the full `text`, which is the form to feed into search, summaries or an LLM.

**One thing to check:** many Spaces open with music or silence while the host waits for listeners. In our test, a Space with a ten-minute intro produced a single stray line before the speakers started, and everything after the first speech was accurate English. Glance at the first segment or two before you index the text.

## Twitter Spaces downloaders compared

| Route | Who can use it | Output | Cost | Setup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| X data download | The host only | The host's recorded Spaces | Free | Request your data from X and wait for the archive |
| Free web downloaders | Anyone | MP3 of a recorded Space | Free, some with paid extras | Paste the link |
| [yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/supportedsites.md) | Anyone | Audio, via its `twitter:spaces` extractor | Free | Install a command-line tool; works as long as the extractor keeps up with X |
| GetXAPI API | Anyone, from code | MP3 plus optional timestamped transcript | $0.05 + $0.015 per transcript minute | One POST and a poll |

To find Spaces worth saving, search posts with the `filter:spaces` operator from the [advanced search operators guide](https://www.getxapi.com/blogs/twitter-advanced-search-operators). For one Space, a web downloader or yt-dlp is enough. For many Spaces, transcripts, or a pipeline that archives a show every week, the API is the one built for it. The same key also reads [tweets and profiles](https://www.getxapi.com/twitter-api-key).

## Why a Twitter Space won't download

**It was never recorded.** No replay exists, so every tool fails. With the API, the job fails or the request returns `422` at queue time.

**The Space is not downloadable.** If the Space info endpoint returns `downloadable: false`, there is no replay to save, usually because the host never recorded it.

**The link is not a Space.** Use the `x.com/i/spaces/...` link, not the link of a post that shares it.

To try the API on your own Spaces, [sign up](https://www.getxapi.com/signup) and use the free signup credit on a short one first.

## Sources

- [X Help Center: About X Spaces (recording, what happens after a Space ends)](https://help.x.com/en/using-x/spaces)
- [yt-dlp: Supported sites (twitter:spaces extractor)](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/blob/master/supportedsites.md)
- [GetXAPI Docs: Download Space (MP3, transcript, job status, pricing)](https://docs.getxapi.com/docs/spaces/spaces-download)
- [GetXAPI Docs: Space info](https://docs.getxapi.com/docs/spaces/spaces-info)

*Checked 2026-11-05.*

## Download Twitter Spaces FAQ

### Can you download Twitter Spaces for free?

Yes, two ways. A host can download their own recorded Spaces from X's data download tool, and the open-source yt-dlp lists a twitter:spaces extractor for any recorded Space. An API costs money but returns a clean MP3 and an optional transcript without running anything yourself.

### Can I download a Space I only listened to?

Yes, if the host recorded it. A recorded Space can be replayed by anyone, so a downloader or API can save that same recording. If the host did not record it, there is nothing to download.

### Can you download a Twitter Space after it ends?

Only if it was recorded. X says hosts choose to record before the Space starts. Unrecorded Spaces keep no public replay; X holds their audio for 30 days only to review rule violations.

### How long does it take to download a Space?

In our test on November 5, 2026, a 58-minute Space came back as an MP3 in 53 seconds, and as an MP3 plus transcript in 3 minutes 21 seconds.

### What format is a downloaded Space?

An MP3. Ours was a 27.8 MB file at 64 kbps, mono, 48 kHz for 58 minutes of audio. Transcripts come as a timestamped text file and as JSON with start, end and text for each segment.

### How long are downloaded files kept?

GetXAPI hosts the MP3 and transcript files for 7 days after the job is created, behind signed links that last about 6 hours each time you poll. Save them somewhere permanent if you need them longer.

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*Originally published on [getxapi.com](https://www.getxapi.com/blogs/download-twitter-spaces), where it is kept current.*