🎬 YouTube Transcript & Metadata Extractor

Extract complete transcripts with precise timestamps and comprehensive video metadata from any YouTube video - fast, reliable, and built for scale.

This powerful Apify actor provides professional-grade extraction of YouTube transcripts and video information. Perfect for developers, researchers, content creators, and businesses who need accurate, structured video data for analysis, automation, or content repurposing.

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✨ Key Features

🎯 Complete Data Extraction

• Full Transcripts with second-by-second precision timestamps
• Rich Video Metadata including title, views, likes, and publication date
• Detailed Channel Information with name, ID, subscribers, and verification status
• Video Analytics including word count and estimated duration
• Thumbnail URLs for visual reference

⚡ Performance & Reliability

• Lightning Fast - Optimized crawler for maximum speed
• Smart Caching - Avoid re-processing with built-in cache system
• Dual-Mode Processing - Free mode for reliability, paid mode for dedicated performance
• Batch Processing - Handle multiple videos in a single run
• Automatic Fallback - Seamless switching between processing modes

🛠️ Developer-Friendly

• Clean JSON Output - Ready for any data pipeline or API integration
• Flexible Configuration - Control timestamps, cleaning level, and caching
• Multiple Views - Pre-configured data views for different use cases
• Well-Documented - Clear examples and comprehensive documentation

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🔄 How It Works

1. Input YouTube URLs - Provide one or more video links
2. Configure Options - Choose transcript cleaning level, timestamp inclusion, and caching preferences
3. Run the Actor - Fast, automated extraction begins
4. Get Structured Results - Download complete data in JSON, CSV, or Excel format

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Comment Extraction (Optional)

NEW: This actor can now extract YouTube comments alongside transcripts and metadata using the YouTube Comments Scraper in Standby Mode.

How It Works

When you enable comment extraction, this actor connects to a separate YouTube Comments Scraper instance running in Standby Mode. This architecture provides several advantages:

Benefits of Standby Mode Integration:

• Faster Processing - No actor startup delays for comment extraction
• Real-time Streaming - Comments are extracted and pushed immediately as they become available
• Automatic Resumption - If interrupted, the actor automatically resumes from where it left off
• Efficient Resource Usage - Dedicated comment scraping infrastructure optimized for performance
• Parallel Processing - Metadata and comments are extracted concurrently

Configuration

To enable comment extraction, set extractcomments: true in your input:

{
  "youtubeUrl": [
    { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOO31qFmi9A" }
  ],
  "cleaningLevel": "mild",
  "includeTimestamps": true,
  "extractcomments": true,
  "sortBy": "top",
  "maxComments": 50,
  "maxRepliesPerComment": 5
}

Comment Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
extractcomments	boolean	false	Enable comment extraction
sortBy	string	"top"	Sort method: "top" (most relevant) or "newest" (most recent)
maxComments	integer	10	Maximum number of top-level comments per video (10-100,000)
maxRepliesPerComment	integer	0	Maximum replies per comment. Set to 0 to disable replies (faster)

Output with Comments

When comments are enabled, your output includes:

{
  "videoId": "kOO31qFmi9A",
  "VideoURL": "https://youtu.be/kOO31qFmi9A",
  "Video_title": "Excel in Motion | The Beauty of Data Automation",
  "hasTranscript": true,
  "transcriptText": "Full transcript...",
  "timestamps": [...],
  "commentsExtracted": true,
  "commentCount": 50,
  "comments": [
    {
      "commentId": "UgxQe-6VK3h-LZaul6x4AaABAg",
      "authorName": "@username",
      "text": "Great video!",
      "likeCount": "150",
      "replyCount": 5,
      "publishedTime": "2 days ago",
      "replies": [...]
    }
  ]
}

Pricing

Comment extraction uses the YouTube Comments Scraper actor, which has a pay-per-event pricing model:

Comment Extraction Costs:

• Actor Start: $0.01 (one-time per run)
• Parent Comments: $0.003 per comment (no discount tier)
• Reply Comments: $0.0015 per reply (no discount tier)

Pricing Tiers (with Apify subscription):

• Bronze: 50% discount on parent comments, 47% discount on replies
• Silver: 67% discount on parent comments, 60% discount on replies
• Gold: 73% discount on parent comments, 73% discount on replies

Example Cost Calculation:

• 50 parent comments + 100 replies (no discount):
  • Start: $0.01
  • Comments: 50 × $0.003 = $0.15
  • Replies: 100 × $0.0015 = $0.15
  • Total: $0.31

For detailed pricing information, visit: YouTube Comments Scraper Pricing

Performance Considerations

Enabling comments will increase runtime:

• Without replies: Adds ~5-10 seconds per video
• With replies (10 per comment): Adds ~20-40 seconds per video depending on reply count

Best Practices:

1. Set maxRepliesPerComment: 0 if you don't need replies (10x faster)
2. Start with maxComments: 50 to test, then scale up
3. Use sortBy: "top" for most relevant comments
4. Use sortBy: "newest" for real-time monitoring

Technical Details

This actor uses the YouTube Comments Scraper's Standby Mode API endpoint:

https://dz-omar--youtube-comments-scraper.apify.actor/

The integration:

1. Automatically starts the comment scraper in Standby Mode (if needed)
2. Streams comments in real-time using NDJSON format
3. Handles interruptions and automatically resumes
4. Merges comment data with video metadata seamlessly

For more information about the comment extraction system, see:

• YouTube Comments Scraper Documentation
• Standby Mode Guide

📥 Input Configuration

Simple Input Example

{
  "youtubeUrl": [
    { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC8ilIMH8sk" },
    { "url": "https://youtu.be/tpHZYImuhZg" }
  ],
  "cleaningLevel": "mild",
  "includeTimestamps": true
}

With Comment Extraction

{
  "youtubeUrl": [
    { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOO31qFmi9A" }
  ],
  "cleaningLevel": "mild",
  "includeTimestamps": true,
  "extractcomments": true,
  "sortBy": "top",
  "maxComments": 50,
  "maxRepliesPerComment": 5
}

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
youtubeUrl	array	Required	List of YouTube video URLs (supports all formats: youtube.com, youtu.be, shorts, live)
cleaningLevel	string	mild	Control transcript cleaning: none (raw), mild (remove filler words like "uh", "um"), or aggressive (remove conversational fluff)
includeTimestamps	boolean	true	Include detailed timestamp data for each transcript segment
extractcomments	boolean	false	Enable comment extraction using YouTube Comments Scraper
sortBy	string	top	Comment sort method: top (most relevant) or newest (most recent)
maxComments	integer	10	Maximum number of top-level comments to extract per video (10-100,000)
maxRepliesPerComment	integer	0	Max replies per comment. Set to 0 to disable replies (faster extraction)

Supported URL Formats

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

📤 Complete Output Structure

Each video produces a comprehensive JSON object with all available data:

{
  "videoId": "1TThGG6guf0",
  "VideoURL": "https://youtu.be/1TThGG6guf0",
  "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/1TThGG6guf0",
  "Video_title": "#51 WordPress Custom widget development",
  "published_Date": "Aug 12, 2020",
  "Views": "5,067 views",
  "likes": "122",
  "channel": {
    "name": "Imran Sayed - Codeytek Academy",
    "id": "UC0SDxbLAqoKLACyEPz2wXAg",
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0SDxbLAqoKLACyEPz2wXAg",
    "subscribers": "33.1K subscribers",
    "verified": false
  },
  "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1TThGG6guf0/default.jpg",
  "Description": "create custom widget wordpress without plugin...",
  "hasTranscript": true,
  "transcriptText": "hello and welcome everyone to another episode...",
  "timestamps": [
    {
      "time": "0:08",
      "text": "hello and welcome everyone to another"
    },
    {
      "time": "0:10",
      "text": "episode of advanced wordpress theme"
    }
  ]
}

Output Fields Explained

Video Information

• videoId - Unique YouTube video identifier
• VideoURL - Direct link to the video
• embedUrl - Embeddable video URL
• Video_title - Full video title
• published_Date - Publication or stream date
• Views - View count as displayed on YouTube
• likes - Like count (when available)
• thumbnail - Video thumbnail image URL
• Description - Full video description

Channel Information

• channel.name - Channel name
• channel.id - Unique channel identifier
• channel.url - Direct channel link
• channel.subscribers - Subscriber count
• channel.verified - Verification status badge

Transcript Data

• hasTranscript - Boolean indicating transcript availability
• transcriptText - Complete cleaned transcript as continuous text
• timestamps - Array of time-stamped transcript segments (when included)

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📊 Pre-Configured Data Views

1. Full Video Metadata & Transcripts

Complete dataset with all fields - perfect for comprehensive analysis.

Fields: All video metadata, channel info, transcript, timestamps, analytics

2. Pure Transcript Results

Focused view for transcript-only needs.

Fields: Thumbnail, URL, title, transcript text, timestamps, word count, duration

3. Channels Overview

Channel-focused view for creator analysis.

Fields: Video info, channel name, ID, URL, subscribers, verification status

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⚙️ Processing Modes

Free Mode

• Standard processing speed
• Suitable for small to medium batches
• No additional costs
• Reliable and stable performance

Paid Mode (Faster Results)

• Dedicated infrastructure for accelerated processing
• Optimized for high-volume batch operations
• Faster extraction of large video collections
• Automatic fallback to free mode if needed

Both modes extract identical, high-quality data. Paid mode is ideal when you need faster throughput for large batches.

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💡 Professional Use Cases

Content Creation & Marketing

• Content Repurposing - Transform videos into blogs, social media posts, or newsletters
• SEO Optimization - Extract text content for better search engine indexing
• Subtitle Generation - Create or verify subtitle files for accessibility
• Quote Extraction - Find and highlight key moments for marketing materials

Research & Education

• Academic Research - Analyze lectures, interviews, and educational content at scale
• Sentiment Analysis - Process video content for NLP and sentiment research
• Language Learning - Create study materials from foreign language videos
• Content Analysis - Study speaking patterns, topics, and engagement metrics

Automation & Integration

• AI/ML Training Data - Feed structured transcripts into machine learning models
• Chatbot Training - Use video content to train conversational AI
• API Integration - Seamlessly integrate with your existing data pipelines
• Automated Workflows - Trigger actions based on new video content

Business Intelligence

• Competitor Analysis - Monitor and analyze competitor video content
• Brand Monitoring - Track mentions and sentiment in video content
• Market Research - Extract insights from industry thought leaders
• Customer Feedback - Analyze product reviews and testimonials from videos

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⚙️ Technical Advantages

Built for Performance

• Optimized Crawler - Uses CheerioCrawler for maximum speed and efficiency
• Parallel Processing - Handle multiple videos simultaneously
• Smart Deduplication - Automatically skip duplicate URLs
• Efficient Memory Usage - Configurable memory limits (128MB - 512MB)

Reliable & Robust

• Error Handling - Graceful handling of missing transcripts or blocked videos
• Retry Logic - Automatic retry on temporary failures
• Cache System - Persistent storage of processed videos
• Intelligent Fallback - Seamless mode switching when needed

Universal Compatibility

• Multi-language Support - Works with all languages supported by YouTube
• All Video Types - Standard videos, shorts, live streams, premieres
• Export Formats - JSON, CSV, Excel, or direct API access
• Apify Ecosystem - Seamlessly integrates with other Apify actors

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Performance Metrics

• Speed: 5-10 seconds per typical video in free mode; faster with dedicated infrastructure
• Accuracy: Extracts official YouTube transcripts with 100% fidelity
• Reliability: Built-in retry logic, error handling, and automatic fallback
• Scalability: Handle from single videos to large batch operations (100+)

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🛡️ Legal & Compliance

This actor extracts publicly available transcript and metadata from YouTube. All extracted data is information that YouTube makes accessible through normal viewing.

Important: Please ensure your use complies with:

• YouTube's Terms of Service
• Applicable copyright laws
• Data protection regulations (GDPR, etc.)
• Your specific jurisdiction's laws

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Why Choose This Extractor?

✅ Comprehensive Data - Get both transcripts AND complete metadata in one run ✅ Production-Ready - Battle-tested reliability for professional applications ✅ Developer-Friendly - Clean JSON output, multiple export formats, easy integration ✅ Cost-Effective - Efficient processing minimizes compute costs ✅ Flexible Processing - Choose free or faster dedicated mode based on your needs ✅ Well-Maintained - Regular updates and responsive support ✅ Apify Platform - Leverage the full power of Apify's infrastructure

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Getting Started

1. Sign up for a free Apify account
2. Configure input with your YouTube URLs
3. Select options (transcript cleaning level, timestamps, etc.)
4. Run the actor - It's that simple!
5. Download results in your preferred format

No complex setup, no hidden fees, no surprises. Just reliable data extraction.

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💬 Support & Contact

Need help or have questions? We're here for you:

• 📧 Email: fridaytechnolog@gmail.com
• 🙋 GitHub: DZ-ABDLHAKIM
• 🐦 Twitter: @DZ_45Omar
• 🔧 Apify Profile: dz_omar

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