> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://anam.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Download session recordings

> Download a conversation recording from Anam Lab or the API, understand missing recordings, and turn recording or transcripts off for a session.

You can download an available recording of an existing conversation from Anam Lab without using the API. Not every session has a recording.

## Download a recording in Lab

Sign in to [Anam Lab](https://lab.anam.ai) with access to the organization that owns the session.

**1. Open the conversation**

Open **Sessions** and select the conversation you want to download.

**2. Find the recording**

In the session's **Overview** tab, find **Session Recording**. Wait for the recording player to load.

**3. Download the recording**

When the recording is available and has loaded, select **Download** next to **Session Recording** to save it.

## If the recording is unavailable

* **Recording was turned off for this session** means the session was created with recording turned off. See [Turn recording and transcripts on or off](#turn-recording-and-transcripts-on-or-off).
* **Loading recording...** means the player is fetching or loading the video. It does not confirm that a recording exists or give a processing completion time.
* **No recording available** means the player could not load a recording. Missing media, network errors, and unsupported media can lead to this state; it does not identify a single cause.
* **Failed to load recording**, or another error message, indicates a retrieval or playback problem. Try reopening the session to request a fresh recording URL.
* Deleted recordings are not available through the recording API. Lab does not have a separate deleted-recording message; missing media can appear as an unavailable recording. The API distinguishes a deleted recording with a `410` response.

Some session types do not produce Anam recordings. For example, LiveKit sessions are not recorded by Anam; check your LiveKit project's recording setup instead.

> [!WARNING]
>
> Recordings are not available for [Zero Data Retention](https://anam.ai/docs/security/privacy.md) sessions. Downloading through the API does not bypass this restriction.

## Turn recording and transcripts on or off

By default Anam keeps a recording and a transcript of each session, unless the persona uses Zero Data Retention. To stop keeping either one, set it to `false` in `sessionOptions.dataRetention` when you create the session token. This example keeps the transcript and skips the recording:

```json theme={"system"}
{
  "sessionOptions": {
    "dataRetention": {
      "recording": false,
      "transcripts": true
    }
  }
}
```

## Download through the API

For programmatic access, use [get session recording](https://anam.ai/docs/api-reference/sessions/get-session-recording.md). It returns a signed download URL when a recording is available.

The signed URL expires after one hour. This is the URL's validity period, not the recording's retention period. Request a new URL if it expires; doing so does not restore a recording that is no longer available.

Under section 6 of Anam's [Privacy Policy](https://anam.ai/privacy-policy), non-ZDR recordings are retained for **up to 30 days**. Session reports, including transcripts and analytics, remain until the customer deletes them. A recording may be unavailable sooner; the retention period does not guarantee availability. Check the policy and your agreement for the applicable terms.

## Session recordings and generated videos

A session recording captures an existing live conversation. [Avatar videos](https://anam.ai/docs/avatar-videos/overview.md) generate a new video from a script. Creating an avatar video does not retrieve or reconstruct a past conversation recording.


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