X Transcript

What is X Transcript Extractor?

X Transcript Extractor is an Apify Actor that extracts transcripts from X (Twitter) videos and recorded Spaces. Just provide a video or Space URL and get back timestamped transcript segments, full text, and video metadata — ready to use in your workflows.

Unlike YouTube or TikTok, X dropped auto-generated captions in late 2022. This Actor uses speech-to-text transcription powered by Deepgram Nova-2 as the primary extraction path — so you always get a transcript, even for content that was never captioned. Output is available in JSON, SRT subtitle, or plain text formats.

Key Features

• Extract X video transcripts with accurate start/end timestamps for every segment
• Support for X Spaces recordings — transcribe recorded Space audio up to 1 hour
• 50+ languages via Deepgram Nova-2 speech-to-text
• Multiple output formats — JSON (structured), SRT (subtitle file), or plain text
• Video metadata included — title, author, duration, thumbnail, and upload date
• No X login or API key required — works with any public video or Space URL
• Handles both x.com and twitter.com URLs — all canonical URL formats are accepted

Use Cases

• Content repurposing — Turn X videos and Spaces into blog posts, newsletters, or social media captions
• Accessibility — Generate subtitles and captions for videos that have no auto-generated captions
• Research and analysis — Analyze what creators, journalists, and brands are saying in X video content
• Podcast-style transcription — Transcribe recorded X Spaces for archival or distribution
• Dataset building — Collect transcripts at scale for training, analysis, or archival
• Translation workflows — Extract text to translate X video content into other languages

How to Extract X Transcripts

1. Go to the X Transcript Extractor on Apify
2. Paste an X video or Space URL into the Video URL field
3. Choose your preferred language and output format
4. Click Start and wait for the run to finish
5. Download your transcript from the Dataset tab

You can also call this Actor via the Apify API to integrate transcript extraction into your own applications and automations.

Input Parameters

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
url	string	Yes	—	X (Twitter) video or Space URL
language	string	No	en	Preferred transcript language (ISO 639-1)
format	string	No	json	Output format: json, text, or srt
includeMetadata	boolean	No	true	Include video metadata (title, author, duration) in the output

Supported URL Formats

All of these URL formats are accepted:

• https://x.com/user/status/1234567890
• https://twitter.com/user/status/1234567890
• https://x.com/i/spaces/1eaKbNZvYQbKX

Output

JSON Format

When format is set to json, the Actor produces a structured dataset with transcript segments, full text, and optional metadata:

{
  "url": "https://x.com/user/status/1234567890",
  "platform": "x",
  "metadata": {
    "title": "My thoughts on the future of AI",
    "author": "techuser",
    "duration_seconds": 62,
    "thumbnail_url": "https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/...",
    "upload_date": "20250310"
  },
  "transcript": {
    "language": "en",
    "segments": [
      { "start": 0.0, "end": 4.1, "text": "I want to share my thoughts on where AI is heading." },
      { "start": 4.1, "end": 8.7, "text": "The pace of progress over the last two years has been remarkable." }
    ],
    "full_text": "I want to share my thoughts on where AI is heading. The pace of progress over the last two years has been remarkable."
  }
}

SRT Format

When format is set to srt, the Actor outputs a standard SRT subtitle file stored in the key-value store under the OUTPUT key:

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,100
I want to share my thoughts on where AI is heading.

2
00:00:04,100 --> 00:00:08,700
The pace of progress over the last two years has been remarkable.

Plain Text Format

When format is set to text, the Actor outputs the full transcript as plain text, one segment per line.

How Much Does It Cost?

The Actor uses Apify Proxy for all requests. Because X blocks datacenter IPs, the Actor uses residential proxies — which are slightly more expensive per request than datacenter proxies but are required for reliable access.

Transcript extraction uses speech-to-text as the primary path for all X content. This involves downloading the audio and calling Deepgram's Nova-2 API, which takes slightly longer than caption-based extraction. Running the Actor on Apify's free tier is sufficient for low-volume use. For bulk extraction, costs scale with the number of videos processed.

Error Codes

If extraction fails, the Actor returns a structured error instead of a transcript:

{ "error": "NO_TRANSCRIPT", "message": "No transcript available for this video: ...", "url": "..." }

Code	Description
INVALID_URL	Not a valid X or Twitter URL
NO_TRANSCRIPT	No audio track available for transcription
VIDEO_NOT_FOUND	Video not found, private, or removed
RATE_LIMITED	Too many requests — retry after a short delay
PLATFORM_ERROR	Unexpected error during extraction
STT_FAILED	Speech-to-text transcription failed
AUTHENTICATION_REQUIRED	Content requires login (NSFW-gated)

FAQ

How do I extract transcripts from X videos?

Paste the X video URL (from x.com or twitter.com) into the Actor's input, choose your language and format, and click Start. The Actor downloads the audio and transcribes it using Deepgram Nova-2 speech-to-text, then returns a clean timestamped transcript.

Does this work with X Spaces?

Yes. The Actor supports recorded X Spaces (up to 1 hour of audio). Provide the Space URL in the format https://x.com/i/spaces/[spaceId] and the Actor will transcribe the full recording.

What languages are supported?

The Actor supports 50+ languages via Deepgram's Nova-2 speech-to-text model, including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, and many more. Pass the ISO 639-1 language code in the language field.

Can I extract transcripts in bulk?

Yes. You can call this Actor via the Apify API or use it with Apify integrations (Zapier, Make, n8n, and more) to process multiple videos or Spaces in sequence or in parallel.

Do I need an X account or login?

No. The Actor works with any public X video or recorded Space without requiring authentication. Content that is gated behind login (e.g., NSFW-flagged posts) will return an AUTHENTICATION_REQUIRED error.