YouTube Subtitle Scraper - Extract Video Subtitles & Captions

Extract subtitles and captions from any YouTube video instantly. This Apify actor automatically downloads YouTube subtitles in text format, perfect for content analysis, transcription, and SEO optimization.

🚀 Key Features

• Fast Subtitle Extraction - Get YouTube video subtitles in seconds
• Multiple URL Formats - Supports both youtube.com and youtu.be links
• Automatic Retry Logic - Built-in error handling with 3 retry attempts
• Clean Text Output - Structured subtitle data ready for analysis
• No API Key Required - Simple input, instant results

📋 Use Cases

• Content creators analyzing competitor videos
• Researchers extracting video transcripts
• SEO professionals optimizing video content
• Developers building subtitle-based applications
• Students and educators creating study materials

🎯 How to Use

Input

{
  "youtubeUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"
}

Supported URL Formats

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
• https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID

Output

{
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID",
  "subtitles": ["subtitle line 1", "subtitle line 2", "..."],
  "status": "success",
  "totalLines": 150
}

⚡ Quick Start

1. Enter any YouTube video URL
2. Run the actor
3. Download subtitles as structured data

🔧 Technical Details

• Built with Apify SDK for reliable scraping
• Axios for HTTP requests
• Automatic video ID extraction
• Exponential backoff retry mechanism
• Error handling and status reporting

💡 Tips

• Works with videos that have available subtitles/captions
• Extracts auto-generated and manual subtitles
• Returns empty array if no subtitles are available
• Check the status field to verify successful extraction

📊 Output Formats

Export your scraped subtitles in multiple formats:

• JSON
• CSV
• Excel
• HTML

🛠️ Integration

Use this actor via:

• Apify Console
• Apify API
• Apify Client for JavaScript/Python
• Webhooks and Schedules

📝 License

This actor is available for use on the Apify platform.

🔗 Related Actors

• YouTube Video Scraper
• YouTube Channel Scraper
• Video Transcript Analyzer

---

Keywords: YouTube subtitle scraper, extract YouTube captions, download video subtitles, YouTube transcript extractor, video caption downloader, YouTube text extraction, subtitle API, video transcription tool