# YouTube Transcript Scraper — AI Fallback for Missing Captions (`epicscrapers/youtube-transcript-scraper`) Actor Extract YouTube transcripts with AI-powered fallback when captions are unavailable. Enter a URL or search query, get clean timestamped JSON with segments and word-level timings. Ideal for content repurposing, LLM training data, and video accessibility workflows. - **URL**: https://apify.com/epicscrapers/youtube-transcript-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Epic Scrapers](https://apify.com/epicscrapers) (community) - **Categories:** Developer tools, Social media, AI - **Stats:** 4 total users, 3 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 2 bookmarks - **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars ## Pricing from $0.50 / 1,000 transcriptions 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/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 Transcript Scraper — AI Fallback for Missing Captions Extract YouTube video transcripts, captions, and subtitles at scale. Just provide one or more video URLs and get clean, timestamped JSON output — including segments and word-level timings. When YouTube captions are unavailable, the optional AI transcription fallback automatically downloads the audio and transcribes it using a speech-to-text model. Perfect for content repurposing, LLM training data pipelines, video SEO analysis, accessibility workflows, research, and summarization bots. ### Features - **Extract transcripts** from any YouTube video URL - **Support multiple formats** — JSON3 and VTT caption parsing with automatic deduplication - **Word-level timestamps** — get every word with precise start and end times (when available) - **AI transcription fallback** — when YouTube has no captions, automatically transcribe audio via AI - **Proxy support** — uses residential proxies for reliable access - **Batch processing** — pass multiple URLs in a single run - **Clean JSON output** — transcript, segments, words, video metadata ### Input | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `urlList` | Array of strings | One or more YouTube video URLs | | `useAITranscription` | Boolean | Enable AI fallback when captions are missing | ### Output Each video returns a JSON object with: ```json { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...", "videoId": "abc123", "title": "Video Title", "duration": 300, "language": "en", "transcript": "Full concatenated transcript text...", "segments": [ { "start": 0.0, "end": 2.5, "text": "Welcome to this video" } ], "words": [ { "text": "Welcome", "start": 0.0, "end": 0.6 } ] } ```` When AI transcription is used, the output also includes `"aiTranscription": true`. ### Use Cases - **Content repurposing** — turn videos into blog posts, articles, or social media snippets - **LLM training data** — collect clean, timestamped text for fine-tuning or RAG pipelines - **Video SEO** — extract captions for keyword analysis and search optimization - **Accessibility** — generate text transcripts for hearing-impaired audiences - **Research** — analyze spoken content across large video datasets - **Summarization** — feed transcripts into AI tools for automatic video summaries ### Example Input: ```json { "urlList": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"], "useAITranscription": false } ``` Output includes the full transcript with timestamped segments and word-level timings (when available in the source captions). ### FAQ **Does this work on any YouTube video?**\ Yes, as long as the video has captions (manual or auto-generated). If captions are missing, enable AI transcription fallback. **What languages are supported?**\ All languages that YouTube provides captions for — auto-generated or manual. English is selected by default. **How does the AI fallback work?**\ When enabled and no captions are found, the actor downloads the audio stream and transcribes it using a speech-to-text model. This adds a small processing delay per video. **Can I use this at scale?**\ Yes. Pass multiple URLs in the `urlList` array. The actor processes each video sequentially with residential proxy support for reliability. # Actor input Schema ## `urlList` (type: `array`): Enter the video links ## `useAITranscription` (type: `boolean`): When enabled, if no YouTube captions are found, download the audio and transcribe it using Groq's Whisper API. Requires a Groq API key. ## Actor input object example ```json { "urlList": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw" ], "useAITranscription": false } ``` # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "urlList": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("epicscrapers/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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "urlList": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("epicscrapers/youtube-transcript-scraper").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 '{ "urlList": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw" ] }' | apify call epicscrapers/youtube-transcript-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=epicscrapers/youtube-transcript-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "YouTube Transcript Scraper — AI Fallback for Missing Captions", "description": "Extract YouTube transcripts with AI-powered fallback when captions are unavailable. Enter a URL or search query, get clean timestamped JSON with segments and word-level timings. Ideal for content repurposing, LLM training data, and video accessibility workflows.", "version": "0.0", "x-build-id": "jGagO1xnHZPoUCRfT" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/epicscrapers~youtube-transcript-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-epicscrapers-youtube-transcript-scraper", "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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/epicscrapers~youtube-transcript-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-epicscrapers-youtube-transcript-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/epicscrapers~youtube-transcript-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-epicscrapers-youtube-transcript-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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", "properties": { "urlList": { "title": "URLs", "minItems": 1, "uniqueItems": true, "type": "array", "description": "Enter the video links", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "useAITranscription": { "title": "AI Transcription Fallback", "type": "boolean", "description": "When enabled, if no YouTube captions are found, download the audio and transcribe it using Groq's Whisper API. Requires a Groq API key.", "default": false } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```