---
title: "Connect a NAS data source and create a batch transcription task"
description: "Register a NAS SMB shared folder as a data source, create a batch transcription task, trigger a run, and review each file's result"
canonical_url: "https://docs.ardge.com/en/knowledge/scribestt/nas-batch-transcription"
---
# Connect a NAS data source and create a batch transcription task

> Register a NAS SMB shared folder as a data source, create a batch transcription task, trigger a run, and review each file's result

## Overview

Enterprise recordings and video footage usually sit on a NAS. Register the NAS shared folder as a ScribeSTT data source and you can create a batch transcription task: the system scans the source folder, transcribes the audio and video files it finds, and writes the transcripts back into the target folder you specify — no manual uploads.

This article covers creating an SMB data source, setting up a batch transcription task, triggering a run, and reviewing the per-file results.

## What you'll learn

- Register a NAS shared folder on the **Remote data sources** page
- Create a batch transcription task with source and target locations, output format, and scan depth
- Trigger the task and review each file's result in the run history

**Estimated time: about 20 minutes**, not counting batch transcription itself

## Applies to

- ARX OS 1.0 and later
- ScribeSTT 1.3.0 and later

## Before you begin

- An administrator has set up the speech recognition model provider — see [Set up the speech recognition model provider in ScribeSTT](https://docs.ardge.com/en/knowledge/scribestt/model-provider)
- You have a NAS username and password that can reach the target shared folder, and that account can write to the output location
- The ARX device running ScribeSTT and the NAS are on network segments that can reach each other

## What you'll need

Collect these three values before you start:

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      Value
    </th>
    
    <th>
      What it's for
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Where to find it
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>
        The NAS IP address
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Creating the data source
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The network settings page on the NAS
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>
        The NAS username and password
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Creating the data source
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The user management page on the NAS
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>
        The source and target folder paths
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Setting up the task
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The NAS shared folder settings
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

## Step 1: Create the NAS data source

1. In the **Workspace** group in the left navigation, go to the **Remote data sources** page
2. Click **New** at the top right to open the **New data source** dialog
3. Fill in the fields as follows

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      Field
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Value
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Rules and notes
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>
        Name
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      A name that identifies this connection
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Required, up to 50 characters. It can't duplicate an existing data source — that shows "Data source name already exists"
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>
        IP address
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The NAS IP address
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Required, in the <strong>
        SMB settings
      </strong>
      
       section
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>
        Username
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The NAS account
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Required
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>
        Password
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      That account's password
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Required
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>
        Shared folder
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      The shared folder to connect to
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Required. A dropdown whose options load only after you test the connection
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

1. With **IP address**, **Username**, and **Password** filled in, click **Test connection**
2. Pick the folder in the **Shared folder** dropdown
3. Click **Create**

<warning>

**You can't pick a shared folder before testing the connection:**

The **Shared folder** options are fetched from the NAS when you test the connection — they aren't a prefilled list. Until you test, the dropdown is disabled and shows "Test the connection first to load shared folders". Change **IP address**, **Username**, or **Password** and you have to test again.

</warning>

On a successful test the page shows "Connected — N shared folders found". After creation it shows "Data source created", and the connection appears in the list with **SMB** in the **Type** column and **Checking** in the **Status** column, turning to **Normal** once the connection is healthy.

![Remote datasources](https://docs.ardge.com/screenshots/knowledge/en/scribestt/nas-batch-transcription/step-1.webp)

<note>

**List columns:**

**Name**, **Type**, **Address**, **Status**, **Updated**, **Actions**

**Status** has three values: **Checking**, **Normal**, **Failed**

</note>

## Step 2: Create the batch transcription task

1. Go to the **Tasks** page
2. Click **New** at the top right to open the **New task** dialog
3. Fill in the fields as follows

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      Field
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Value
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Rules and notes
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>
        Name
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      A name that identifies the task
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Required, up to 255 characters. It can't duplicate an existing name — that shows "Task name already exists"
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>
        Source folder
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Where the files to transcribe live
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Required. Pick the data source in the dropdown on the left, then the path with <strong>
        Select folder
      </strong>
      
       on the right
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>
        Target folder
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Where transcripts are written back
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Required. Picked the same way; it can use a different data source than the source
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>
        Output format
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      <code>
        .txt
      </code>
      
      , <code>
        .srt
      </code>
      
      , or <code>
        .json
      </code>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Single choice, <code>
        .srt
      </code>
      
       by default
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>
        Scan depth
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      How many folder levels down to scan
    </td>
    
    <td>
      1–100, 10 by default. <code>
        1
      </code>
      
       scans only the source path itself, without entering subfolders
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>
        Schedule
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      When it runs automatically
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Optional, off by default. See <a href="https://docs.ardge.com/en/knowledge/scribestt/schedule-batch-runs">
        Schedule a batch transcription task to run automatically
      </a>
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

1. Click **Create**

To pick a folder, click **Select folder** and expand level by level, then click **Select this level** at the level you want. When a level has no subfolders, the menu shows **No subfolders**.

<warning>

**Source and target must not overlap:**

They can't be the same folder, and neither can be inside the other — otherwise the transcripts written out get picked up as source material on the next run. Violating this shows "The source and output locations can't be the same or nested, or the output would be reprocessed". Overlapping another task's source or target shows "The source or output location can't overlap another task's".

</warning>

The page shows "Task created" and the task appears in the list, with `-` in both the **Latest status** and **Next run** columns.

![Creating a task](https://docs.ardge.com/screenshots/knowledge/en/scribestt/nas-batch-transcription/step-2-1.webp)

![Editing a task](https://docs.ardge.com/screenshots/knowledge/en/scribestt/nas-batch-transcription/step-2-2.webp)

## Step 3: Trigger a run

1. Click the **Trigger task** icon in the task row's **Actions** column

The page shows "Run created, scanning the source folder……".

What a trigger creates is a **run**: the system first scans the source folder for every supported media file, then transcribes them one by one. The task itself is static configuration and is never "run"; every trigger creates a separate run.

![The task list and the run button](https://docs.ardge.com/screenshots/knowledge/en/scribestt/nas-batch-transcription/step-3.webp)

![The task action menu](https://docs.ardge.com/screenshots/knowledge/en/scribestt/nas-batch-transcription/step-3b.webp)

<warning>

**One task can have only one run in progress at a time:**

While a run is still going, the **Trigger task** icon is disabled, and **Edit** and **Delete** are unavailable too — trying them reports "The task has a run in progress and can't be modified".

</warning>

## Step 4: Review the run results

1. Look at the **Latest status** column in the task row
2. Click the run history icon on that row to open **Run history**
3. Click any row to open **Run details**

**Latest status** shows the most recent run's result: **Queued**, **Processing**, **Completed**, **Partially failed**, **Failed**, or **Canceled**. **Partially failed** means some items in that run failed — open **Run details** to see which files.

Each row in **Run history** is one run, with **Created**, **Trigger**, **Status**, **Total**, **Succeeded**, **Failed**, and **Skipped** columns. While a run is still going, an abort icon appears at the right of its row; clicking it shows "Abort command sent".

**Run details** lists every file that run scanned, with **File name**, **Status**, **Audio length**, and **Error message** columns. Errors at the run level appear above the table.

![Run history](https://docs.ardge.com/screenshots/knowledge/en/scribestt/nas-batch-transcription/step-4-1.webp)

![Run details](https://docs.ardge.com/screenshots/knowledge/en/scribestt/nas-batch-transcription/step-4-2.webp)

## How output files are named and where they go

Each source file produces one output file, named by stripping the source file's extension and appending the task's **Output format** extension, written into the task's **Target folder**. A source of `2026-03-kickoff.mp3` with **Output format** `.srt` produces `2026-03-kickoff.srt` in the target folder.

A batch task produces output in one format only — unlike a web upload, where you can select several formats at once.

Transcriptions produced by a batch task don't appear in the list on the **Transcriptions** page; that list covers only transcriptions created by upload.

## Next steps

To process files automatically every day or week, add a schedule to this task — see [Schedule a batch transcription task to run automatically](https://docs.ardge.com/en/knowledge/scribestt/schedule-batch-runs).

## Related articles

- [Why are some files marked as skipped?](https://docs.ardge.com/en/knowledge/scribestt/skipped-files)
- [What to do when a transcription fails](https://docs.ardge.com/en/knowledge/scribestt/transcription-failures)
- [What file formats and size limits does ScribeSTT support?](https://docs.ardge.com/en/knowledge/scribestt/formats-and-limits)


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