# YouTube Transcript $8.5/1k (`crucial_binoculars/youtube-search-scraper`) Actor Extract complete, timestamped transcripts from any YouTube video in seconds. Perfect for content creators, researchers, and AI training, this Actor provides a clean, structured output without the need for complex browser automation. - **URL**: https://apify.com/crucial\_binoculars/youtube-search-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Iliya Musa](https://apify.com/crucial_binoculars) (community) - **Categories:** AI, Social media, Automation - **Stats:** 4 total users, 3 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks - **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars ## Pricing from $8.50 / 1,000 results 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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## YouTube Transcript Scraper Actor Documentation ### 🎯 Overview The YouTube Transcript Scraper is a powerful tool designed to extract transcripts from YouTube videos quickly and efficiently. This actor simplifies retrieving textual content from YouTube videos, making it ideal for researchers, content creators, educators, and developers who need video transcripts for analysis, subtitles, or other use cases. This actor supports publicly available YouTube videos with transcripts enabled, ensuring a hassle-free experience. ### 🚀 Why Use This API-Based Scraper? - ⚡ **Fast & Reliable**: No browser automation - direct API calls - 🔄 **No Rate Limits**: ScraperCreators handles YouTube's restrictions - 📊 **Real-time Data**: Get current YouTube data instantly - 🛡️ **Bot Detection Free**: API bypasses all anti-bot measures - 📈 **Scalable**: Handle thousands of requests efficiently - 💰 **Cost Effective**: Pay per use, no infrastructure costs ### ✨ Features - ✅ **Extract transcripts/captions** (manual and auto-generated) - ✅ **Multi-language support** (en, es, fr, de, it, pt, ru, ja, ko, zh, ar) - ✅ **High-fidelity timestamps** with start and duration for each segment - ✅ **Single URL or array** input support - ✅ **Clean JSON output** ready for immediate use - ✅ **Production-ready** with comprehensive error handling - ✅ **Fast processing** - 10-minute video in under 2 seconds ### 🚀 Getting Started Simply provide the YouTube video URL in the input parameter and run the scraper. ### 📥 Input Parameters The actor requires input parameters to function. | Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |-----------|------|---------|-------------| | `startUrls` | Array | `["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELMSD2kdmk"]` | Array of YouTube video URLs to extract transcripts from. Can provide single URL or multiple URLs. | ### 📤 Output The actor outputs transcripts in JSON and table format. #### Example Output ```json { "searchResult": [ { "start": "0.320", "dur": "4.080", "text": "Apache spark an open- Source data" }, { "start": "2.480", "dur": "3.839", "text": "analytics engine that can process" }, { "start": "4.400", "dur": "3.800", "text": "massive streams of data from multiple" }, ... ] } ```` #### Key Fields - `videoUrl`: The input video URL. - `transcript`: An array of objects containing: - `start`: The timestamp indicating when the text appears. - `dur`: The duration of the text segment. - `text`: The transcript text associated with the timestamp. ### 🎯 Use Cases - **🤖 AI Chatbots**: Feed transcripts into GPT-4 or Claude to create "Ask this Video" features. - **🔍 Video Search Engines**: Build searchable transcript databases. - **📝 Content Repurposing**: Instantly turn video scripts into structured blog posts. - **🧭 SEO Automation**: Generate keyword-rich content from video transcripts. - **🎮 Video Navigation**: Create clickable "chapters" for your own video player. - **♿ Accessibility**: Generate SRT or VTT files for localized subtitles. ### ⚡ Performance - **🏃 Speed**: A 10-minute video is scraped in less than 2 seconds. - **💾 Memory**: Runs efficiently on systems with 256MB/512MB RAM. - **🌍 Reliability**: Built-in error handling and automatic retry logic. ### 🔐 Security & Privacy - **🛡️ No Bot Detection**: Bypasses YouTube's "Sign in to confirm you're not a bot" screens. - \*\* Clean Extraction\*\*: Only extracts publicly available caption data. ### 💰 Pricing & Support - **💵 Cost**: $8.5 per 1,000 extractions. - **📧 Support**: Custom features available upon request. - **🔄 Updates**: Regular improvements and language additions. *** 🚀 **Start using the YouTube Transcript Scraper today to transform video content into actionable data!** # Actor input Schema ## `url` (type: `string`): YouTube video URL to extract transcript from (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELMSD2kdmk) ## `additionalUrls` (type: `array`): Optional: Add more YouTube URLs for bulk processing. Leave empty if only using the single URL above. ## `language` (type: `string`): Language code for transcript extraction (e.g., 'en', 'es', 'fr', 'de') ## Actor input object example ```json { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELMSD2kdmk", "additionalUrls": [], "language": "en" } ``` # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = {}; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("crucial_binoculars/youtube-search-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = {} # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("crucial_binoculars/youtube-search-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{}' | apify call crucial_binoculars/youtube-search-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crucial_binoculars/youtube-search-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "YouTube Transcript $8.5/1k", "description": "Extract complete, timestamped transcripts from any YouTube video in seconds. Perfect for content creators, researchers, and AI training, this Actor provides a clean, structured output without the need for complex browser automation.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "rwCsgpmhNClN7qWLu" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/crucial_binoculars~youtube-search-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-crucial_binoculars-youtube-search-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/crucial_binoculars~youtube-search-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-crucial_binoculars-youtube-search-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/crucial_binoculars~youtube-search-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-crucial_binoculars-youtube-search-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "url": { "title": "YouTube URL", "type": "string", "description": "YouTube video URL to extract transcript from (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELMSD2kdmk)", "default": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELMSD2kdmk" }, "additionalUrls": { "title": "Additional URLs (Bulk)", "type": "array", "description": "Optional: Add more YouTube URLs for bulk processing. Leave empty if only using the single URL above.", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "language": { "title": "Transcript Language", "enum": [ "en", "es", "fr", "de", "it", "pt", "ru", "ja", "ko", "zh", "ar" ], "type": "string", "description": "Language code for transcript extraction (e.g., 'en', 'es', 'fr', 'de')", "default": "en" } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```