# YouTube Transcript Scraper - Videos, Channels & Playlists (`cycha/youtube-transcript-scraper`) Actor

Get the transcript of any YouTube video, Short, playlist or whole channel: plain text, timestamped segments and SRT, in the language you choose, with title, channel, duration and views. Videos without captions are free. No API key.

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

## Pricing

from $2.40 / 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.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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

Get the transcript of any YouTube **video, Short, playlist or whole channel** as clean data: plain text ready for ChatGPT, Claude or your RAG pipeline, timestamped segments, and SRT subtitles on request, in the language you choose. Each row also carries the video's title, channel, duration and views. **Videos without captions are free.** No API key, no login, no quota.

- **Bulk:** paste video URLs, a playlist, or a channel (`@handle`) and get every video's transcript in one run.
- **Any language the video has:** creator-written captions first, YouTube's auto-generated captions otherwise. Ask for `en`, `fr`, `es`, `pt-BR`... and fall back to the spoken language when a video has no captions in yours.
- **AI-ready:** one clean `text` field per video plus `wordCount`; `segments` with start times for citations and chapters; `srt` for subtitles.
- **Reliable:** YouTube blocks most cloud servers from transcripts; this actor switches to residential IPs automatically when that happens, at no extra cost to you.
- **$3 per 1,000 transcripts.** You only pay for transcripts delivered.

### Sample output

Real rows from a run on a playlist and a channel:

| Video | Channel | Language | Captions | Words |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| But what is a neural network? / Deep learning chapter 1 | 3Blue1Brown | en | creator | 3,357 |
| Transformers, the tech behind LLMs / Deep Learning Chapter 5 | 3Blue1Brown | en | creator | 5,137 |
| The Insane Engineering of Fiber Optics | Veritasium | en | creator | 6,412 |
| Is there something faster than light? | Veritasium | en | auto-generated | 161 |
| The NEW Tesla Roadster: My Honest Reaction | Marques Brownlee | en | creator | 4,196 |

### Quick start

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk",
    "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZHQObOWTQDNU6R1_67000Dx_ZCJB-3pi",
    "@veritasium"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "maxVideosPerSource": 50
}
```

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `urls` | array | required | Video, Shorts or live URLs or IDs, playlist URLs, channels (`@handle`, `/channel/UC...` or channel URL). |
| `language` | string | empty | Transcript language code (`en`, `fr`, `es`, `de`, `pt-BR`...). Empty = the language spoken in each video. |
| `languageFallback` | boolean | true | No captions in your language: return the spoken-language transcript instead of an error. |
| `includeAutoGenerated` | boolean | true | Allow YouTube's automatic captions when the creator wrote none. |
| `maxVideosPerSource` | integer | 50 | Videos per playlist or channel (newest first for channels). `0` = all. |
| `includeTimestamps` | boolean | true | Add `segments`: `{start, duration, text}` in seconds. |
| `includeSrt` | boolean | false | Add the transcript as SRT subtitles. |

### Output

One row per video:

```json
{
  "videoId": "aircAruvnKk",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk",
  "title": "But what is a neural network? | Deep learning chapter 1",
  "channelName": "3Blue1Brown",
  "channelId": "UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw",
  "durationSeconds": 1120,
  "viewCount": 24934237,
  "isLive": false,
  "description": "What are the neurons, why are there layers, and what is the math underlying it?\nHelp fund ...",
  "language": "en",
  "languageName": "English",
  "isAutoGenerated": false,
  "requestedLanguage": "en",
  "usedFallbackLanguage": false,
  "spokenLanguage": "en",
  "availableLanguages": [
    "ar",
    "bn",
    "cs",
    "de",
    "el",
    "en",
    "..."
  ],
  "text": "This is a 3. It's sloppily written and rendered at an extremely low resolution of 28x28 pixels, but your brain has no trouble recognizing it as a 3. And I want ...",
  "wordCount": 3357,
  "segments": [
    {
      "start": 4.22,
      "duration": 1.18,
      "text": "This is a 3."
    },
    {
      "start": 6.06,
      "duration": 4.653,
      "text": "It's sloppily written and rendered at an extremely low resolution of 28x28 pixels,"
    }
  ],
  "srt": null,
  "source": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk",
  "error": null,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-23T00:20:00+00:00"
}
```

`isAutoGenerated` tells creator-written captions from YouTube's automatic ones. `spokenLanguage` is the language of the audio; `availableLanguages` lists every caption language the video has. Videos that cannot give a transcript get a row with `error` (no captions, private, deleted, region-blocked) and are **not charged**.

### Pricing

**$3 per 1,000 transcripts** (one `transcript` event per video with a transcript), plus a tiny actor-start fee. Rows with an error are free. Store discounts apply on higher Apify plans.

### Use cases

- **AI and RAG:** feed lectures, podcasts and tutorials to ChatGPT, Claude or a vector database
- **Content repurposing:** blog posts, newsletters, show notes and quotes from videos
- **Research and monitoring:** what a channel, a brand or an expert said, searchable
- **SEO and accessibility:** subtitles (SRT) and text versions of your own videos

### Integrations

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("cycha/youtube-transcript-scraper").call(run_input={
    "urls": ["@veritasium"],
    "maxVideosPerSource": 20,
    "language": "en",
})
for row in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    if row.get("text"):
        print(row["title"], row["wordCount"], row["text"][:200])
```

Works with Make, Zapier, n8n, LangChain and LlamaIndex (Apify dataset loaders), schedules and webhooks, and as an MCP tool for AI agents.

### FAQ

**Can it transcribe videos that have no captions?** Not yet: it returns the captions YouTube has (creator-written or auto-generated). YouTube auto-generates captions for most videos in common languages; the few without any are listed with an error and not charged.

**Can it translate?** It returns the languages the video already has captions in (many popular videos have dozens; see `availableLanguages`). Machine translation by YouTube is not offered because YouTube rate-limits it heavily.

**Shorts and live streams?** Yes, as long as they have captions (live streams get them after the broadcast).

**How fast?** About 40 transcripts in 15 seconds in our tests.

**Is it legal?** The actor reads publicly available captions. You are responsible for how you use them and for respecting copyright and YouTube's terms.

### Feedback

Missing a field or a feature? Open an issue on the **Issues** tab. If this saved you time, a short review on the Store page helps other people find it.

### Related actors by the same developer

| Actor | What it does |
|---|---|
| [TikTok Transcript Scraper](https://apify.com/cycha/tiktok-transcript-scraper) | Transcripts of TikTok videos |
| [YouTube Comments Scraper](https://apify.com/cycha/youtube-comments-scraper) | Comments, replies and video stats |
| [YouTube Channel & Search Scraper](https://apify.com/cycha/youtube-channel-scraper) | Every video of a channel, or YouTube search results |
| [Website Content Crawler for AI](https://apify.com/cycha/website-content-crawler) | Websites to clean Markdown for LLMs |

# Actor input Schema

## `urls` (type: `array`):

YouTube video or Shorts URLs (or IDs), playlist URLs, or channels (@handle or channel URL). A playlist or channel gives the transcripts of its videos, newest first for channels.

## `language` (type: `string`):

Language code of the transcript you want, e.g. en, fr, es, de, pt-BR. Leave empty for the language spoken in each video.

## `languageFallback` (type: `boolean`):

When a video has no captions in your language, return its transcript in the spoken language instead of an error.

## `includeAutoGenerated` (type: `boolean`):

Creator-written captions are always preferred. Turn off to skip videos that only have YouTube's automatic captions.

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

For playlist and channel inputs. 0 = all videos.

## `includeTimestamps` (type: `boolean`):

Add the transcript as a list of {start, duration, text} segments next to the plain text.

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

Also return the transcript as an SRT subtitle file (text).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "languageFallback": true,
  "includeAutoGenerated": true,
  "maxVideosPerSource": 50,
  "includeTimestamps": true,
  "includeSrt": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `transcripts` (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 = {
    "urls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium"
    ],
    "language": "en"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("cycha/youtube-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 = {
    "urls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium",
    ],
    "language": "en",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("cycha/youtube-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 '{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium"
  ],
  "language": "en"
}' |
apify call cycha/youtube-transcript-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,cycha/youtube-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/eIIbYllfC891YvsLP/builds/UPViBU94nDe4YR6Sb/openapi.json