# YouTube Transcript Scraper (`atalaia/youtube-transcripts`) Actor Get the transcript (captions) of any public YouTube video, Short or live replay: timed segments, plain text, SRT or VTT, in the language you choose (manual or auto-generated, optional YouTube translation), plus video metadata. LLM-ready output, pay only per transcript returned. - **URL**: https://apify.com/atalaia/youtube-transcripts.md - **Developed by:** [Atalaia](https://apify.com/atalaia) (community) - **Categories:** Videos - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per event This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md. ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run. For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below. Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`). # README ### What does YouTube Transcript Scraper do? **YouTube Transcript Scraper** gets the **transcript (captions / subtitles)** of public [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com) videos, **Shorts** and **live-stream replays**, and returns it as clean, **LLM-ready** data: timed segments, plain text, SRT or WebVTT. It works as a simple **YouTube transcript API**: send a list of video URLs or IDs, get one dataset item per video. - ✅ Manual (human) captions and **auto-generated** captions, in the **language you choose**, with a clear fallback when that language doesn't exist - ✅ Optional **translation** with YouTube's own machine translation (`translateTo`) - ✅ Video **metadata** in the same item: title, channel, duration, publish date, view count - ✅ **You only pay for transcripts returned** (plus a small start fee per run). Videos without captions, private or removed videos are reported as errors and never charged - ❌ Does not download video/audio, does not transcribe audio itself, does not scrape comments ### Why use YouTube Transcript Scraper? - **RAG and AI pipelines:** feed talks, podcasts, lectures and tutorials into a vector database or an LLM for summaries, Q\&A and search. - **Content repurposing:** turn videos into blog posts, newsletters, threads and show notes. - **Research and monitoring:** analyze what channels, brands or competitors say in their videos. - **Subtitles:** get SRT or VTT files ready for an editor or a player. It runs on the Apify platform, so you get an **API**, scheduling, webhooks, integrations (Make, Zapier, n8n, LangChain, LlamaIndex...), and proxy rotation built in. Each video is retried with fresh sessions and, when needed, residential IPs, so runs don't fail silently. ### What data can YouTube Transcript Scraper extract? | Field | Type | Description | |---|---|---| | `videoId`, `url` | string | Video ID and canonical watch URL | | `title`, `channelName`, `channelId` | string | Public video and channel metadata | | `durationSeconds`, `viewCount` | integer | Length and views at scrape time | | `publishDate` | string | ISO 8601 publish date | | `language`, `languageName` | string | Caption track that was used | | `isAutoGenerated` | boolean | `true` for YouTube's automatic speech recognition | | `translatedTo` | string / null | Target language of YouTube's translation | | `availableLanguages` | array | All caption tracks on the video: `{code, name, isAutoGenerated}` | | `segments` / `text` / `srt` / `vtt` | array / string | The transcript, in the format you chose | | `wordCount` | integer | Words in the transcript (CJK characters count individually) | | `error`, `errorMessage` | string | Only on videos without a transcript (not charged) | HTML entities are decoded (`'` → `'`) and sound tags such as `[Music]` or `[Applause]` are kept as they appear on YouTube. ### How to scrape YouTube transcripts 1. Click **Try for free** and open the **Input** tab. 2. Paste video URLs or IDs into **Videos** (`watch?v=`, `youtu.be/`, `shorts/`, `live/` and `embed/` links all work). 3. Set **Preferred language** (for example `en`, `pt-BR`, `es`, `ja`), and optionally **Translate to**. 4. Pick an **Output format**: `text` is best for LLMs, `segments` keeps timestamps, `srt`/`vtt` are subtitle files. 5. Click **Start** and download the results as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML, or read them through the API. ### How much does it cost to scrape YouTube transcripts? This Actor uses **pay-per-event** pricing: | Event | Price | When | |---|---|---| | `apify-actor-start` | **US$ 0.005** | Once per run | | `transcript` | **US$ 0.005** | Per video that returned a transcript | | `translation` | **US$ 0.05** | Extra, per video whose transcript was translated with `translateTo` | Examples: 1,000 videos in one run cost **US$ 5.005**. One video in one run costs US$ 0.01. One translated video costs US$ 0.06 (start + transcript + translation). > ⚠️ **Translation is slower and more expensive.** YouTube throttles translated captions heavily, so each translated video takes about **1 to 3 minutes** instead of a few seconds, and costs **US$ 0.05 on top of the transcript**. Leave `translateTo` empty unless you need it. If you only want a transcript in a language that already exists on the video, use `language` instead: it's free of the translation fee. You are **not charged** for videos that have no captions, are private, removed, age-restricted, or fail for any other reason. A failed translation (`translation_failed`) is not charged either. Platform usage (compute, proxy) is included. You can cap the spend of a run with the **Maximum cost per run** setting; the Actor stops cleanly when it is reached. ### Input See the **Input** tab for every option. Example: ```json { "videos": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "https://youtu.be/NNnIGh9g6fA", "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9dMFxnpEkKc" ], "language": "en", "includeAutoGenerated": true, "outputFormat": "text", "includeVideoMetadata": true } ``` **Language fallback.** For each video the Actor picks, in this order: a manual track in `language` → an auto-generated track in `language` → any manual track → any auto-generated track. `pt` also matches `pt-BR`, `en` matches `en-US`, and so on. The item always says which track was used (`language`, `isAutoGenerated`) and lists every track in `availableLanguages`. Turn **Include auto-generated captions** off to get only human-made captions. **Translation.** `translateTo` asks YouTube for its machine translation of the chosen track (for example `"translateTo": "pt"`). If YouTube doesn't offer that language for the video, the item is an error `translation_unavailable` (not charged). If the track is already in that language, no translation is done. ### Output You can download the dataset in various formats such as JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel. Example item with `outputFormat: "segments"` (segments shortened): ```json { "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video) (4K Remaster)", "channelName": "Rick Astley", "channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw", "durationSeconds": 213, "publishDate": "2009-10-24T23:57:33-07:00", "viewCount": 1821342774, "isLiveContent": false, "language": "en", "languageName": "English", "isAutoGenerated": false, "translatedTo": null, "availableLanguages": [ { "code": "en", "name": "English", "isAutoGenerated": false }, { "code": "en", "name": "English (auto-generated)", "isAutoGenerated": true }, { "code": "de-DE", "name": "German (Germany)", "isAutoGenerated": false }, { "code": "ja", "name": "Japanese", "isAutoGenerated": false }, { "code": "pt-BR", "name": "Portuguese (Brazil)", "isAutoGenerated": false }, { "code": "es-419", "name": "Spanish (Latin America)", "isAutoGenerated": false } ], "segments": [ { "start": 1.36, "duration": 1.68, "text": "[♪♪♪]" }, { "start": 18.64, "duration": 3.24, "text": "♪ We're no strangers to love ♪" }, { "start": 22.64, "duration": 4.32, "text": "♪ You know the rules and so do I ♪" } ], "wordCount": 366, "scrapedAt": "2026-09-29T17:14:02.592Z" } ``` With `outputFormat: "text"` the item has `text` (one string) instead of `segments`; with `srt` or `vtt` it has an `srt` or `vtt` string. A video without a transcript (never charged): ```json { "videoId": "ywX-RVl5FFM", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywX-RVl5FFM", "error": "no_captions", "errorMessage": "This video has no captions.", "scrapedAt": "2026-09-29T17:20:30.101Z" } ``` Error codes: `no_captions`, `unavailable` (removed or doesn't exist), `geo_restricted` (the uploader limits the video to some countries and it could not be read from any of them), `private`, `age_restricted`, `members_only`, `live_not_finished` (live now, upcoming or premiere), `translation_unavailable`, `translation_failed`, `no_track_for_filter` (only auto captions exist and you turned them off), `invalid_input`, `blocked` (YouTube refused all retries), `not_processed` (maximum cost per run reached). The dataset has two views: **Transcripts** and **Errors (not charged)**. Run statistics are stored in the `RUN_STATS` key-value record. ### Tips - For LLMs, use `outputFormat: "text"`: it is the most compact. - Auto-generated segments are clipped so they don't overlap (YouTube's own auto lines overlap by design). - Translated transcripts take longer (1 to 3 minutes each) and carry the extra `translation` charge: YouTube throttles translation requests much more than original captions. - Batch many videos in one run: the start fee is charged once per run. - The run only fails when **every** video failed; otherwise failed videos are listed as error items. ### Limits - Only public videos. Private, members-only and age-restricted videos (which require a signed-in account) are reported as errors; the Actor never logs in. - Videos that are **live right now** or upcoming have no transcript yet (`live_not_finished`). Replays work once YouTube has processed them. - Transcripts come from YouTube's captions. If a video has no captions at all (typical for music, ambience or silent videos), there is nothing to return. - **Region-locked videos:** when the uploader limits a video to some countries, the Actor automatically retries from a residential IP in one of the allowed countries. - `publishDate` is best-effort and may be `null` for a few videos. ### FAQ and support **Is it legal to scrape YouTube transcripts?** This Actor only reads publicly available captions and public video metadata. Our Actors are ethical and do not extract any private user data, such as email addresses, gender, or location. They only extract what the user has chosen to share publicly. We therefore believe that our Actors, when used for ethical purposes by Apify users, are safe. However, you should be aware that your results could contain personal data. Personal data is protected by the GDPR in the European Union and by other regulations around the world. You should not scrape personal data unless you have a legitimate reason to do so. If you're unsure whether your reason is legitimate, consult your lawyers. Respect the copyright of the content you process. **Can I use it from code or an AI agent?** Yes: see the **API** tab for ready-made calls (HTTP, JavaScript, Python, CLI), or use it through the Apify MCP server. Found a problem or need a feature? Open an issue in the **Issues** tab. # Actor input Schema ## `videos` (type: `array`): YouTube video URLs (watch?v=, youtu.be/, shorts/, live/, embed/) or bare 11-character video IDs. Duplicates are removed. ## `language` (type: `string`): Language code of the transcript you want (en, pt, pt-BR, es, ja, de...). Fallback order: manual captions in this language, then auto-generated in this language, then any manual track, then any auto-generated track. The output tells you which one was used. ## `includeAutoGenerated` (type: `boolean`): Allow YouTube's automatic (speech recognition) captions when no manual track fits. Turn off to get only human-made captions. ## `translateTo` (type: `string`): Language code to translate the transcript into using YouTube's own machine translation (only when YouTube offers it for the track). Leave empty for the original language. Translated tracks are slower: YouTube rate-limits them heavily. ## `outputFormat` (type: `string`): segments = \[{start, duration, text}] in seconds; text = one plain string (best for LLMs); srt / vtt = subtitle files as a string. ## `includeVideoMetadata` (type: `boolean`): Add title, channel name and ID, duration, publish date and view count. ## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`): How many videos to process in parallel. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Apify Proxy is used by default (datacenter first, residential automatically for videos that keep failing). Pick explicit groups to force them. ## Actor input object example ```json { "videos": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "https://youtu.be/NNnIGh9g6fA", "aqz-KE-bpKQ" ], "language": "en", "includeAutoGenerated": true, "outputFormat": "segments", "includeVideoMetadata": true, "maxConcurrency": 10, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `transcripts` (type: `string`): No description ## `errors` (type: `string`): No description ## `runStats` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "videos": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("atalaia/youtube-transcripts").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "videos": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("atalaia/youtube-transcripts").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}") for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "videos": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } }' | apify call atalaia/youtube-transcripts --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,atalaia/youtube-transcripts" } } } ``` The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer ` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations). ## OpenAPI specification Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/sSVQG0KiY0gfX1o1h/builds/fzJpIYVVs2EwErjCG/openapi.json