# YouTube Bulk Video Transcript (`electrabot.info/youtube-bulk-video-transcript`) Actor

Scrapes transcripts for videos on a YouTube channel.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/electrabot.info/youtube-bulk-video-transcript.md
- **Developed by:** [electra bot](https://apify.com/electrabot.info) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, AI, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $8.00 / 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.

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 Channel Transcript Scraper

Turn a whole **YouTube channel or playlist into transcripts** in one run.
Paste a channel URL — get the full transcript of every video with timestamps,
language info, and video metadata, as JSON, CSV, or Excel. Up to **500 videos
per run**, no browser under the hood.

**Pay per result** — you're only charged for transcripts actually delivered.
Videos without captions are reported, skipped, and never charged.

---

### What can I use it for?

- **AI knowledge bases & RAG** — ingest a creator's or competitor's entire channel as clean text; the `transcript` field is one plain-text string per video, ready for embeddings.
- **Content research at scale** — analyze what a channel talks about across hundreds of videos.
- **Repurposing pipelines** — channel → transcripts → articles, newsletters, show notes.
- **Trend & brand monitoring** — track what's said about your product across a channel's history.
- **Fine-tuning datasets** — build speech/style corpora from specific creators.

---

### Input

| Field | Required | Description |
|-------|----------|-------------|
| **Channel or playlist URL** | ✅ | `@handle`, `/channel/UC…`, `/c/…`, `/user/…`, or any playlist link. Newest videos first. |
| **Max videos** | – | 1–500 (default 30). Each successful transcript = one billable result. |
| **Preferred language** | – | Language code (`en`, `de`, `pt-BR`…). Falls back to English, then the first available track. Human subtitles beat auto-captions. |
| **Proxy configuration** | – | **Automatic by default:** cheap datacenter proxy first, auto-escalating to RESIDENTIAL only if YouTube blocks it. |

### Output

One dataset record per video — same shape as our [YouTube Transcript Scraper](https://apify.com/electrabot.info/youtube-transcript-scraper), plus the source `channelUrl`:

```json
{
  "videoId": "jNQXAC9IVRw",
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@jawed",
  "title": "Me at the zoo",
  "author": "jawed",
  "lengthSeconds": 19,
  "viewCount": 398776873,
  "language": "English",
  "languageCode": "en",
  "isAutoGenerated": false,
  "availableLanguages": ["de", "en"],
  "transcript": "All right, so here we are, in front of the elephants ...",
  "segmentCount": 6,
  "segments": [
    { "start": 1.2, "duration": 2.16, "text": "All right, so here we are, in front of the elephants" }
  ]
}
````

***

### Why this scraper is reliable

- **No browser** — channel listing via flat extraction and transcripts via pure HTTP, built on engines whose maintainers track YouTube's changes daily. Fast cold starts, low cost.
- **Block-aware with automatic escalation** — if YouTube blocks the cheap proxy tier, the scraper instantly retries through a residential proxy, then a fresh session, before ever giving up.
- **Batch-safe checkpoints** — transcripts are saved incrementally; migrations, restarts, or blocks never lose finished work, and a resurrected run resumes without re-charging.
- **Honest run statuses** — captionless videos are reported per video in the `SUMMARY` (and not charged); a run with zero transcripts is marked **Failed**, never a silent empty dataset.
- **Smart language fallback** — preferred language → English → first available; manual subtitles preferred over auto-generated at every step.

### Tips & limits

- Works with public videos that have captions (manual or auto-generated). Members-only, private, or caption-less videos are skipped and reported — never charged.
- A 100-video channel takes roughly 3–5 minutes; 500 videos fit comfortably in one run.
- For hand-picked video lists instead of whole channels, use our [YouTube Transcript Scraper](https://apify.com/electrabot.info/youtube-transcript-scraper).

### Use it from code

**Python** (`pip install apify-client`):

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("electrabot.info/youtube-bulk-video-transcript").call(
    run_input={"channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd", "maxVideos": 50}
)
docs = [item["transcript"] for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items()]
```

**LangChain / LlamaIndex:** both ship Apify loaders — point them at this actor
and map `transcript` to your document text. One channel URL becomes a
ready-to-embed corpus of everything the creator has said.

**n8n / Make / Zapier:** one HTTP node —
`POST https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/electrabot.info~youtube-bulk-video-transcript/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=...`
returns all transcripts as the response body.

### FAQ

**Does it include Shorts and live streams?**
It processes the channel's main videos tab by default. Paste a `/shorts` or `/streams` tab URL to target those instead; ended streams with processed captions work.

**Does it translate transcripts?**
No — it fetches original caption tracks. Choose which via the language preference.

**Why did some videos fail?**
Most commonly: no captions available. Every failed video is listed in the run's `SUMMARY` with the reason. Failed videos are never charged.

**Is scraping transcripts legal?**
This actor only accesses publicly available caption data. You are responsible for complying with applicable laws and YouTube's Terms of Service.

***

### Disclaimer

**This is an unofficial tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by,
or in any way officially connected to YouTube or Google LLC.** "YouTube" and all
related names, marks, and logos are trademarks of their respective owners and are
used here for descriptive purposes only.

This actor only accesses **publicly available** information. You are responsible
for ensuring your use complies with applicable laws, YouTube's Terms of Service,
and any applicable robots and rate-limiting rules. Use it ethically and at your
own risk.

# Actor input Schema

## `channelUrl` (type: `string`):

YouTube channel (@handle, /channel/UC…, /c/…, /user/…) or playlist URL. Newest videos are processed first.

## `maxVideos` (type: `integer`):

How many of the channel's newest videos to transcribe (1-500). Each successful transcript is one billable result.

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

Language code like 'en', 'de', 'es', 'pt-BR'. Falls back to English, then the first available track. Human subtitles are preferred over auto-generated.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Default (recommended): automatic tiering — cheap datacenter proxy first, auto-escalating to RESIDENTIAL only if YouTube blocks it. Pick explicit proxy groups to pin a tier, or disable entirely at your own risk.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd",
  "maxVideos": 30,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `transcripts` (type: `string`):

One record per video: full plain-text transcript, timed segments, language info, and video metadata.

## `runSummary` (type: `string`):

Requested/scraped/failed counts and per-video failure reasons.

# 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 = {
    "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd",
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("electrabot.info/youtube-bulk-video-transcript").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 = {
    "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd",
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("electrabot.info/youtube-bulk-video-transcript").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 '{
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call electrabot.info/youtube-bulk-video-transcript --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=electrabot.info/youtube-bulk-video-transcript",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "YouTube Bulk Video Transcript",
        "description": "Scrapes transcripts for videos on a YouTube channel.",
        "version": "2.0",
        "x-build-id": "SPzTIBQjOFz0z4xab"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/electrabot.info~youtube-bulk-video-transcript/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-electrabot.info-youtube-bulk-video-transcript",
                "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": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/electrabot.info~youtube-bulk-video-transcript/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-electrabot.info-youtube-bulk-video-transcript",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/electrabot.info~youtube-bulk-video-transcript/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-electrabot.info-youtube-bulk-video-transcript",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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",
                "required": [
                    "channelUrl"
                ],
                "properties": {
                    "channelUrl": {
                        "title": "Channel or playlist URL",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "YouTube channel (@handle, /channel/UC…, /c/…, /user/…) or playlist URL. Newest videos are processed first."
                    },
                    "maxVideos": {
                        "title": "Max videos",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 500,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "How many of the channel's newest videos to transcribe (1-500). Each successful transcript is one billable result.",
                        "default": 30
                    },
                    "language": {
                        "title": "Preferred transcript language",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Language code like 'en', 'de', 'es', 'pt-BR'. Falls back to English, then the first available track. Human subtitles are preferred over auto-generated."
                    },
                    "proxyConfiguration": {
                        "title": "Proxy configuration",
                        "type": "object",
                        "description": "Default (recommended): automatic tiering — cheap datacenter proxy first, auto-escalating to RESIDENTIAL only if YouTube blocks it. Pick explicit proxy groups to pin a tier, or disable entirely at your own risk.",
                        "default": {
                            "useApifyProxy": true
                        }
                    }
                }
            },
            "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
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```