YouTube Transcript Extractor
Pricing
Pay per event
YouTube Transcript Extractor
Extract accurate, timestamped transcripts from any YouTube video for just $1 per 1000 results. Includes views, likes, channel info, and publish dates all in structured JSON. Scalable, fast, and ideal for developers, analysts, and content creators alike.
4.8 (6)
Pricing
Pay per event
25
Total users
271
Monthly users
105
Runs succeeded
>99%
Issues response
2.2 days
Last modified
12 days ago
Could not extract ytInitialData
Closed
How to prevent this issue
What do you mean can you provide more information please
GiorgeLucas
I had the same issue:
2025-05-30T14:59:06.646Z ACTOR: Pulling Docker image of build nf1dbtmjhDEhibAOk from registry.
2025-05-30T14:59:06.750Z ACTOR: Creating Docker container.
2025-05-30T14:59:06.805Z ACTOR: Starting Docker container.
2025-05-30T14:59:08.396Z INFO System info {"apifyVersion":"3.3.2","apifyClientVersion":"2.12.1","crawleeVersion":"3.13.0","osType":"Linux","nodeVersion":"v20.19.2"}
2025-05-30T14:59:08.730Z 📢 Free user rules:
2025-05-30T14:59:08.731Z – You can run this actor 5 times every 2 hour(s)
2025-05-30T14:59:08.732Z – Each run allows processing up to 10 videos
2025-05-30T14:59:08.733Z – Remaining runs in this window: 4
2025-05-30T14:59:08.738Z – You can process up to 50 more videos in this time window
2025-05-30T14:59:08.739Z ✅ Free user is limited to 10 videos per run.
2025-05-30T14:59:08.740Z 💡 Want unlimited runs and higher video limits?
2025-05-30T14:59:08.741Z Upgrade your Apify account to unlock:
2025-05-30T14:59:08.742Z – Unlimited runs with no hourly restriction
2025-05-30T14:59:08.743Z 🔗 Upgrade now: https://console.apify.com/billing/subscription?openSubscriptionWizard=1
2025-05-30T14:59:08.743Z Processing 1 videos with configuration: { transcriptOnly: false, requireTimestamps: false }
2025-05-30T14:59:08.886Z Processing batch 1-1 of 1
2025-05-30T14:59:09.257Z Failed to scrape i9bK5kyxDvY: Could not extract ytInitialData
2025-05-30T14:59:10.349Z Batch progress: 1/1 | Success: 0 | Failures: 0
2025-05-30T14:59:10.424Z Scraping completed! Final stats: { success: 0, failures: 0, skipped: 0 }
Thank you for using this actor.
The main reason you're getting no results with the message Could not extract ytInitialData is due to YouTube's lock mechanisms. Specifically, YouTube has blocked the IP address of the container running the actor, which prevents it from accessing the necessary data.
This actor is the cheapest option on the platform at just $0.001 per result, primarily because it does not use proxy rotation. In contrast, other actors such as Charles', which cost $0.003 per result, use proxies but are often slower in performance.
I’m currently working on a solution to reduce the impact of YouTube’s blocking mechanisms. Hopefully, within the next two weeks, I’ll release an improved version that can get more results without increasing the price.
Thank you for your understanding and support!
Best regards, Abdlhakim hefaia (DZ_Omar)
ridhokhalis99
Thank you, let us know when it's solved 👍🏻
Thanks again for your patience!
I’ve just made changes to the actor's code to help improve the number of results you can extract, even with a free Apify account.
🔧 What changed: The actor now uses a smarter approach that reduces the chances of getting blocked by YouTube.
🧠 How it works with your account: Apify free accounts come with 5 unique IPs (used over 2 days), so even without proxy rotation, you can extract results reliably as long as you stay within those IP limits. If you need to process even more videos, you can use another free account to continue, or upgrade for proxy support and higher limits.
Let me know how it works for you now — happy to keep improving it!
Best, Abdlhakim Hefaia (DZ_Omar)
