# Facebook Video & Reel Transcript Scraper (`axlymxp/facebook-video-transcript-scraper`) Actor

Get Facebook video and Reel transcripts without login. Paste video links or pages and get timestamped text from Facebook's own captions, or Whisper AI speech-to-text when a video has none, with views, reactions and page name. Videos without speech are not charged.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/axlymxp/facebook-video-transcript-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [axly](https://apify.com/axlymxp) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, AI, Videos
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.50 / 1,000 transcript from facebook captions

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

## Facebook Video & Reel Transcript Scraper

Get the words spoken in Facebook videos and Reels as text. Paste video links (or a page name) and get a **timestamped
transcript for each video**, plus views, reactions, comments, page name and post text. The actor uses **Facebook's own
caption track** when a video has one, and transcribes the audio with **Whisper AI** when it doesn't, so videos without
captions still get a transcript. No login, no cookies, no API keys.

**Who it is for**

- **Marketers and agencies**: study what top pages actually say in their Reels, and the hooks that open their best videos.
- **Brand and social-listening teams**: find product and brand mentions in spoken content, not only in post text.
- **AI and RAG pipelines**: feed Facebook video speech into LLMs, summarizers and search indexes as clean text.
- **Newsrooms and researchers**: archive and search what publishers and public figures say in their videos.
- **Creators and video editors**: get ready-made SRT/VTT subtitles for your own videos.

### What you get

| Field | Example | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `url`, `videoId`, `isReel` | `https://www.facebook.com/reel/1624229872678769/` | |
| `ownerName`, `ownerId`, `ownerUrl` | `Gordon Ramsay` | the page or profile that posted the video |
| `title`, `description` | | the video title (when set) and the post text |
| `createdAt` | `2026-10-26T17:00:43Z` | UTC |
| `viewCount`, `reactionCount`, `commentCount` | `54203`, `2838`, `142` | when Facebook shows them logged out (views are often missing on `/reel/` links, present on watch and page-video links) |
| `durationSeconds` | `210.9` | |
| `transcript` | `[{"start": 1.56, "end": 6.22, "text": "Some of the best food I had in India was street food and every"}, …]` | timed segments, or one string (see **Transcript format**) |
| `transcriptSource` | `facebook_captions` or `ai_whisper` | where the text came from |
| `hook` | `Some of the best food I had in India was street food and every` | the opening line (segments starting in the first 3 seconds) |
| `language`, `isAutoGenerated`, `isTranslated` | `en`, `true`, `false` | `isTranslated` is true when the caption track is Facebook's automatic translation |
| `availableCaptionLanguages` | `["en_US", "es_LA", "pt_PT"]` | Facebook caption tracks on the video |
| `srt`, `vtt` | | subtitle files as text, with **Add SRT and VTT subtitles** |
| `wordCount`, `hasSpeech`, `audioSeconds` | | |
| `thumbnailUrl`, `videoUrl` | | thumbnail and a direct MP4 link (expires after a few hours) |
| `sourcePage` | `cnn` | the page input a video came from (page mode) |
| `error`, `errorReason` | `no_speech` | set when a video could not be transcribed |

Videos without speech (music-only clips, silent videos), removed or private videos and other failures are listed with an
`error` code so you can see what happened to every input, and you are not charged for them.

### How to use it

1. Add **Facebook videos and Reels**: Reel links (`facebook.com/reel/…`), watch links (`facebook.com/watch/?v=…`),
   page video links (`facebook.com/<page>/videos/…`), share links (`fb.watch/…`, `facebook.com/share/v/…`) or bare video IDs.
2. Or add **Pages**: a page URL or vanity name such as `nasa` or `gordonramsay`. The actor transcribes the videos shown on
   the page's Videos tab without login (usually the latest 9-40 videos), up to **Max videos per page**.
3. Pick the **Transcript source**:
   - `auto` (default): Facebook's caption track when there is one, Whisper AI otherwise.
   - `captions`: Facebook's captions only, never AI. Videos without captions come back as `no_captions` rows.
   - `ai`: always transcribe the audio with Whisper, for example to translate everything to English.
4. Run, then export the dataset as JSON, CSV or Excel, or use the API.

#### Input options

| Option | Default | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `videoUrls` | – | Facebook video/Reel links or IDs |
| `pageUrls` | – | pages or profiles whose Videos-tab videos to transcribe |
| `maxVideosPerPage` | 10 | videos per page |
| `transcriptSource` | `auto` | `auto`, `captions` or `ai` |
| `languages` | `["en"]` | preferred caption languages, in order (Facebook often offers automatic translations) |
| `fallbackToAnyLanguage` | `true` | use the video's original caption track when none match |
| `translateToEnglish` | `false` | English output for non-English speech in AI transcripts |
| `outputFormat` | `segments` | `segments`, `text` or `both` |
| `includeSubtitleFiles` | `false` | add `srt` and `vtt` subtitle text to each row |
| `maxVideos` | 100 | cap for the run |
| `maxAudioMinutes` | 30 | longer videos without captions (e.g. live-stream replays) are skipped (`error: too_long`) instead of AI-transcribed |
| `proxyConfiguration` | none | not needed; the actor switches to Apify proxies on its own when Facebook refuses an IP |

#### Example input

```json
{
  "videoUrls": [
    "https://www.facebook.com/reel/1624229872678769",
    "https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1863947697952668"
  ],
  "pageUrls": ["cnn"],
  "maxVideosPerPage": 5,
  "transcriptSource": "auto",
  "outputFormat": "both",
  "includeSubtitleFiles": true
}
```

#### Example output

```json
{
  "videoId": "1624229872678769",
  "url": "https://www.facebook.com/reel/1624229872678769/",
  "isReel": true,
  "ownerName": "Gordon Ramsay",
  "createdAt": "2026-10-26T17:00:43Z",
  "durationSeconds": 210.9,
  "viewCount": null,
  "reactionCount": 372,
  "commentCount": 14,
  "availableCaptionLanguages": ["en_US", "es_LA", "hi_IN", "id_ID", "pt_PT", "ta_IN", "te_IN", "th_TH", "ur_PK", "vi_VN"],
  "transcriptSource": "facebook_captions",
  "language": "en",
  "isAutoGenerated": true,
  "isTranslated": false,
  "hook": "Some of the best food I had in India was street food and every",
  "transcript": [
    {"start": 1.563, "end": 6.223, "text": "Some of the best food I had in India was street food and every"},
    {"start": 6.223, "end": 10.303, "text": "little food stall was cooking up something spicy, something"}
  ],
  "error": null
}
```

### Scheduling and integrations

Schedule a run on your competitors' pages every day to transcribe their newest videos, or call it from Make, Zapier or the
API whenever you collect new links, and send the dataset to Google Sheets, Slack or a webhook. A run interrupted mid-way
resumes where it stopped when started again with the same input, without duplicate rows.

### Use with AI assistants (MCP)

Apify's MCP server exposes this actor as a tool, so Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other MCP clients can call it directly:
*"Transcribe the latest 10 videos on the BBC News Facebook page and summarize each one"*. Use `outputFormat: "text"` for
compact input.

### FAQ

**Do I need a Facebook account or cookies?** No. Only public videos are read, logged out.

**Where do the transcripts come from?** Many Facebook videos carry a caption track (auto-generated by Facebook or uploaded
by the page); the actor returns it as is (`transcriptSource: facebook_captions`). For videos without one, the actor runs
OpenAI's Whisper (base model) on the audio (`ai_whisper`). Clear speech transcribes well; music, slang or crosstalk lower
accuracy, and sung lyrics are transcribed like speech.

**Which languages?** Facebook often adds automatic translations of a video's captions, and you choose the preferred
order. Whisper detects ~100 spoken languages and can translate them to English.

**Why does a video say `no_speech`?** Videos with only music, silent clips and ASMR without talking have nothing to
transcribe. These rows are free.

**How many videos does page mode find?** Facebook shows logged-out visitors only the videos on the first screen of a
page's Videos tab, usually 9-40. For a page's full history, paste the video links instead.

**Group videos, private videos, Stories?** Not supported: only public videos that open without login.

**Is this legal?** The actor reads publicly available videos without logging in. You are responsible for how you use the
data, in particular personal data under GDPR/CCPA and Meta's terms.

**Something failed?** Rows carry an `error` code and reason. If you see many `blocked` rows, re-run later or set a
residential `proxyConfiguration`, and open an issue on the actor page.

# Actor input Schema

## `videoUrls` (type: `array`):

Reel URLs (`facebook.com/reel/…`), watch links (`facebook.com/watch/?v=…`), page video URLs (`facebook.com/<page>/videos/…`), `fb.watch` / `facebook.com/share/v/…` share links or bare numeric video IDs.

## `pageUrls` (type: `array`):

Facebook pages or creator profiles (URL or vanity name such as `nasa`). The actor transcribes the videos shown on the page's Videos tab without login (typically the latest 9-40).

## `maxVideosPerPage` (type: `integer`):

How many of each page's Videos-tab videos to transcribe.

## `transcriptSource` (type: `string`):

`auto` uses Facebook's own caption track when the video has one and falls back to AI speech-to-text (Whisper) otherwise. `captions` never runs AI (videos without captions come back as free `no_captions` rows). `ai` always transcribes the audio, e.g. for translation.

## `languages` (type: `array`):

2-letter codes in order of preference (`en`, `es`, `pt`, …) for picking among Facebook's caption tracks (the original track and Facebook's automatic translations). AI transcription always auto-detects the spoken language.

## `fallbackToAnyLanguage` (type: `boolean`):

When no caption track matches your languages, use the video's original-language track instead of AI.

## `translateToEnglish` (type: `boolean`):

For AI transcripts: output English text for non-English speech (Whisper translate). Use with source `ai` to translate every video.

## `outputFormat` (type: `string`):

`segments`: `transcript` is an array of `{start, end, text}` (seconds). `text`: one joined string. `both`: segments in `transcript`, the string in `transcriptText`.

## `includeSubtitleFiles` (type: `boolean`):

Adds ready-to-use `srt` and `vtt` subtitle text to every transcript row.

## `maxVideos` (type: `integer`):

Upper bound for one run. You pay only for videos that return a transcript.

## `maxAudioMinutes` (type: `integer`):

Longer videos without captions (e.g. live-stream replays) are listed free with `error: too_long` instead of being AI-transcribed.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Not needed: the actor connects directly and falls back to Apify proxies on its own. Set your own proxy only if you see `blocked` rows.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "videoUrls": [
    "https://www.facebook.com/reel/1624229872678769",
    "https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1863947697952668"
  ],
  "pageUrls": [],
  "maxVideosPerPage": 10,
  "transcriptSource": "auto",
  "languages": [
    "en"
  ],
  "fallbackToAnyLanguage": true,
  "translateToEnglish": false,
  "outputFormat": "segments",
  "includeSubtitleFiles": false,
  "maxVideos": 100,
  "maxAudioMinutes": 30,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "videoUrls": [
        "https://www.facebook.com/reel/1624229872678769",
        "https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1863947697952668"
    ],
    "pageUrls": [],
    "languages": [
        "en"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": false
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("axlymxp/facebook-video-transcript-scraper").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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "videoUrls": [
        "https://www.facebook.com/reel/1624229872678769",
        "https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1863947697952668",
    ],
    "pageUrls": [],
    "languages": ["en"],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("axlymxp/facebook-video-transcript-scraper").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 '{
  "videoUrls": [
    "https://www.facebook.com/reel/1624229872678769",
    "https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1863947697952668"
  ],
  "pageUrls": [],
  "languages": [
    "en"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}' |
apify call axlymxp/facebook-video-transcript-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,axlymxp/facebook-video-transcript-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

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 <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` 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/iuHmlYIgNcJNd20kV/builds/a6XyJNDa3BvhCuYg4/openapi.json