# Download YouTube subtitles as SRT and WebVTT files

**Use case:** 

Paste video, playlist or channel links and get each video's subtitles as ready-to-use SRT and WebVTT (.vtt) files, plus the plain-text transcript. Uploader captions are preferred over auto-generated ones. This example downloads the English subtitles of two videos ("Me at the zoo" and 3Blue1Brown's neural network lesson). $0.004 per video with subtitles; videos without captions are free.

## Input

```json
{
  "videos": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw",
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk"
  ],
  "maxVideosPerSource": 100,
  "languages": [
    "en"
  ],
  "fallbackToAnyLanguage": true,
  "includeAutoGenerated": true,
  "includeTimestamps": false,
  "includeSrt": true,
  "includeVtt": true,
  "includeChapters": false,
  "includeMetadata": false,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  },
  "maxRetries": 6,
  "maxConcurrency": 5
}
```

## Output

```json
{
  "url": {
    "label": "Video",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "title": {
    "label": "Title",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "channelName": {
    "label": "Channel",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "status": {
    "label": "Status",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "language": {
    "label": "Language",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "isAutoGenerated": {
    "label": "Auto captions",
    "format": "boolean"
  },
  "wordCount": {
    "label": "Words",
    "format": "integer"
  },
  "durationSeconds": {
    "label": "Duration (s)",
    "format": "integer"
  },
  "viewCount": {
    "label": "Views",
    "format": "integer"
  },
  "publishDate": {
    "label": "Published",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "text": {
    "label": "Transcript",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "errorMessage": {
    "label": "Error",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "scrapedAt": {
    "label": "Scraped at",
    "format": "string"
  }
}
```

## How it works

### 1. Sign up on Apify or log in

The YouTube Transcript Scraper: Channels & Playlists Actor is ready to run with the inputs already set for "Download YouTube subtitles as SRT and WebVTT files". [Sign up or log in](https://console.apify.com/create-task-from-example/Z5mFlJrWYHEJNRGFO) and you'll land in Apify Console with a copy of this exact task.

### 2. Start the "Download YouTube subtitles as SRT and WebVTT files" task

The YouTube Transcript Scraper: Channels & Playlists Actor will start running based on the input automatically. You can also change all the input fields, like youtube videos, playlists, channels or searches, max videos per playlist, channel or search, and more, to match your specific use case.

### 3. Receive the "Download YouTube subtitles as SRT and WebVTT files" output

Monitor the progress in real time. You will be notified as soon as your dataset is complete and ready for review. Each result includes data such as video, title, channel, and more.

### 4. Integrate into your workflow

The final output is delivered in JSON, CSV, or Excel format, ready to be plugged into your workflow. You can also [run the "Download YouTube subtitles as SRT and WebVTT files" task via API](https://apify.com/cairnware/youtube-transcript-scraper.md).

## About this Actor

This example demonstrates how to use [YouTube Transcript Scraper: Channels & Playlists](https://apify.com/cairnware/youtube-transcript-scraper.md) with a specific input configuration. Visit the [Actor detail page](https://apify.com/cairnware/youtube-transcript-scraper.md) to learn more, explore other use cases, and run it yourself.


## How to integrate an Actor?

This Task's input is already configured above. Use it as-is rather than inventing a new one.

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 full API examples (JavaScript, Python, CLI, MCP, OpenAPI), see this Task's Actor page: https://apify.com/cairnware/youtube-transcript-scraper.md

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`).