MeetStream Quickstart: Create Your First Bot

This guide helps new MeetStream users create their first bot, join a meeting, and retrieve recordings.

Note: Dashboard Setup must be completed before proceeding with the below steps.

1) Create a bot (join Zoom / Google Meet / Microsoft Teams)

Use the Create Bot endpoint:
https://docs.meetstream.ai/api-reference/api-endpoints/bot-endpoints/create-bot

What you need to send

• meeting_link (required): paste the meeting link (Zoom / Google Meet / Microsoft Teams).
• bot_name (required): the display name the bot joins with.
• video_required: send false for an audio-only bot, true only if you actually want video. The API defaults this to true when you leave it out, so send false explicitly. Transcripts, summaries, diarization and speaker timelines all work without video.

Note: Currently MeetStream supports Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams.

Example cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.meetstream.ai/api/v1/bots/create_bot" \
  -H "Authorization: Token <YOUR_API_KEY>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "meeting_link": "<YOUR_MEETING_LINK>",
    "bot_name": "Notetaker",
    "video_required": false
  }'

A successful call returns HTTP 201 with the bot details, including the bot_id. Save it: every follow-up call (status, audio, video, remove) uses it.

Tip: need a meeting to test against? Open meet.new to spin up an instant Google Meet.

Prefer clicking to curl? The API Playground builds the same request from the dashboard: paste the link and bot name on the Core step and send.

2) Check the bot’s status

While the meeting is running you can poll the bot’s state (joining, in call, recording, exited):

curl "https://api.meetstream.ai/api/v1/bots/<BOT_ID>/status" \
  -H "Authorization: Token <YOUR_API_KEY>"

Reference: https://docs.meetstream.ai/api-reference/api-endpoints/bot-endpoints/get-bot-status

You can also watch the bot live in the dashboard under All Bots: open the bot to see its status timeline move through Joining, In Waiting Room, In Meeting and Recording, then post-call processing to Done. Every status is explained in the Bot Status and Error Code Reference.

3) Retrieve audio and video after the bot leaves

After the call ends (or the bot leaves), you can fetch recordings:

Get bot audio

https://docs.meetstream.ai/api-reference/api-endpoints/bot-endpoints/get-bot-audio

Get bot video

https://docs.meetstream.ai/api-reference/api-endpoints/bot-endpoints/get-bot-video

Depending on your setup, processing may take a short time after the bot exits.

4) Remove/stop the bot from an active meeting

Removing a bot is a simple GET with the bot_id in the path and no request body:

curl "https://api.meetstream.ai/api/v1/bots/<BOT_ID>/remove_bot" \
  -H "Authorization: Token <YOUR_API_KEY>"

Reference: https://docs.meetstream.ai/api-reference/api-endpoints/bot-endpoints/remove-bot

Troubleshooting tips

• Double-check whether you’re using the correct API key and header format:
  • Authorization: Token <YOUR_API_KEY>
• Ensure the meeting_link is a valid Zoom/GMeet/Teams meeting URL.
• If video isn’t needed, keep video_required=false to reduce bandwidth and processing time. Leaving the field out is not the same thing: the API records video when it is omitted.
• If you do want video, add "recording_config": {"video_layout": "speaker_view"} so the recording follows the active speaker. The API default is grid_view, a mosaic of everyone.

Next steps

• Get a transcript: add transcription to your bot with post-call transcription or live transcription.
• React to events: receive bot lifecycle updates with webhooks.
• Build with an agent: connect the MeetStream MCP server so Claude or your coding agent can create bots and pull transcripts for you.

Full API reference: https://docs.meetstream.ai/api-reference