# YouTube Transcript Scraper - Subtitles, Captions, Channels (`coiled_magistrate/youtube-transcript-fast`) Actor

Fast YouTube transcripts & subtitles for videos, Shorts, whole channels, playlists and search results. Plain text, timestamps or SRT, any language. $2 per 1,000 transcripts, videos without captions are free.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/coiled\_magistrate/youtube-transcript-fast.md
- **Developed by:** [TrendsData](https://apify.com/coiled_magistrate) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, AI, Social media
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$2.00 / 1,000 transcripts

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

## YouTube Transcript Scraper - Subtitles & Captions for Videos, Channels, Playlists

Get **YouTube transcripts (subtitles / captions)** for single videos, Shorts, **entire channels, playlists and search results** - as plain text, timestamped segments or ready-to-use **SRT**.

**$2 per 1,000 transcripts.** No start fee, no subscription. **Videos without captions are never charged.**

### Why this scraper

- **Fast** - talks to YouTube's own data API, no browser, no page downloads (about 0.2 s per video)
- **Pay only for results** - private, deleted or caption-less videos appear in the dataset with a clear `error` reason and cost nothing
- **Bulk input** - mix video URLs, `@handles`, channel URLs, playlists and search queries in one run
- **Any language** - choose preferred languages in order (e.g. `es`, `en`), falls back to the original language
- **Human vs auto-generated** - prefers uploaded captions, tells you which one you got (`isAutoGenerated`)
- **Video details included** - title, channel, views, duration, description, tags, thumbnail
- **Automatic retry** through a fresh proxy IP when YouTube rate-limits a request

### Use cases

- **AI / LLM pipelines** - feed video content into ChatGPT, Claude, RAG and vector databases
- **Content repurposing** - turn videos into blog posts, newsletters, social posts
- **SEO & research** - analyse what competitors and creators talk about
- **Summaries, notes and study material** from lectures, podcasts and tutorials
- **Subtitles** - download SRT files for translation or re-upload

### Input example

```json
{
  "videos": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jPQjjsBbIc", "https://youtu.be/jNQXAC9IVRw"],
  "channels": ["@veritasium"],
  "searchQueries": ["how to make sourdough bread"],
  "maxVideosPerSource": 20,
  "languages": ["en"],
  "outputFormat": "both"
}
```

### Output example

```json
{
  "videoId": "8jPQjjsBbIc",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jPQjjsBbIc",
  "title": "How to stay calm when you know you'll be stressed | Daniel Levitin | TED",
  "channelName": "TED",
  "durationSeconds": 740,
  "viewCount": 19926969,
  "language": "en",
  "isAutoGenerated": false,
  "wordCount": 2232,
  "text": "A few years ago, I broke into my own house. I had just ...",
  "segments": [{"start": 13.24, "duration": 2.56, "text": "A few years ago, I broke into my own house."}],
  "availableLanguages": [{"language": "en", "name": "English", "isAutoGenerated": false}],
  "sourceType": "video"
}
```

### Pricing

You pay **$0.002 per video with a transcript** ($2 per 1,000). Videos that have no captions, are private, deleted or blocked are listed with an `error` field and are **not charged**. Set a maximum cost per run in the run options if you want a hard budget.

### FAQ

**Does it work for Shorts and live streams?** Yes, if the video has captions (auto-generated captions are available for most spoken videos).

**Can I get a whole channel?** Yes - add the channel URL or `@handle` and set `maxVideosPerSource`. Choose `Videos`, `Shorts` or `Live streams` in *Channel content*.

**Which languages?** Any language YouTube has captions for. Put your preferred languages in order; if none exists and *Fall back to any language* is on, you get the original track.

### More tools from this author

- [Google Trends Scraper - interest over time, by region, related queries](https://apify.com/coiled_magistrate/google-trends-reliable)
- [Google Trends Trending Now - real-time trending searches for any country](https://apify.com/coiled_magistrate/google-trending-now)
- [Keyword Suggestions - Google, YouTube, Amazon autocomplete](https://apify.com/coiled_magistrate/keyword-suggestions)
- [Tech Stack Detector - Wappalyzer & BuiltWith alternative](https://apify.com/coiled_magistrate/tech-stack-detector)
- [Company Jobs Scraper - Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby & more](https://apify.com/coiled_magistrate/company-jobs-scraper)

# Actor input Schema

## `videos` (type: `array`):

YouTube video, Shorts or live URLs (youtube.com/watch?v=..., youtu.be/..., /shorts/...) or plain 11-character video IDs.

## `channels` (type: `array`):

Channel URLs, @handles or channel IDs (UC...). The newest videos of each channel are processed.

## `channelContent` (type: `string`):

Which channel tab to take videos from.

## `playlists` (type: `array`):

Playlist URLs (youtube.com/playlist?list=...) or playlist IDs.

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Search YouTube and get transcripts of the top video results for each query.

## `maxVideosPerSource` (type: `integer`):

How many videos to take from each channel, playlist or search query.

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

Caption languages in order of preference, e.g. en, es, de, cs. The first available one is used.

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

If none of the preferred languages exists, return the original-language transcript instead of skipping the video.

## `preferManualCaptions` (type: `boolean`):

Use uploaded (human) captions when available, auto-generated ones otherwise.

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

Full plain text, timestamped segments, or both.

## `includeSrt` (type: `boolean`):

Also return the transcript as a ready-to-use .srt subtitle string.

## `includeVideoDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Include description, keywords/tags, thumbnail and live flag (title, channel, views and duration are always included).

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many videos are processed in parallel.

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

Used automatically only when YouTube blocks a request. Starts with Apify datacenter proxy and escalates to residential proxy only if needed.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "videos": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jPQjjsBbIc"
  ],
  "channels": [],
  "channelContent": "videos",
  "playlists": [],
  "searchQueries": [],
  "maxVideosPerSource": 20,
  "languages": [
    "en"
  ],
  "fallbackToAnyLanguage": true,
  "preferManualCaptions": true,
  "outputFormat": "both",
  "includeSrt": false,
  "includeVideoDetails": true,
  "maxConcurrency": 8,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

All transcripts with video details.

## `overview` (type: `string`):

Compact table view.

# 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 = {
    "videos": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jPQjjsBbIc"
    ],
    "channels": [],
    "playlists": [],
    "searchQueries": [],
    "languages": [
        "en"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("coiled_magistrate/youtube-transcript-fast").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 = {
    "videos": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jPQjjsBbIc"],
    "channels": [],
    "playlists": [],
    "searchQueries": [],
    "languages": ["en"],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("coiled_magistrate/youtube-transcript-fast").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=8jPQjjsBbIc"
  ],
  "channels": [],
  "playlists": [],
  "searchQueries": [],
  "languages": [
    "en"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call coiled_magistrate/youtube-transcript-fast --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,coiled_magistrate/youtube-transcript-fast"
        }
    }
}
```

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/uCqQUyV9N5gIhnnlZ/builds/NkED8jUS7bzUitJiz/openapi.json