# YouTube Transcript Scraper: Bulk Videos, Full Text & SRT (`h1018y/anvil-youtube-transcript-scraper-v2`) Actor

Scrapes YouTube transcripts for a whole list of videos in one run. Get the full text, timestamped lines and SRT subtitles with the title, channel and views - youtube to text for RAG, notes or blog posts.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-youtube-transcript-scraper-v2.md
- **Developed by:** [ANVIL Tools](https://apify.com/h1018y) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, Social media
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.97 / 1,000 results

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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## YouTube Transcript Scraper: Bulk Videos, Full Text & SRT

**YouTube Transcript Scraper** - Paste a list of YouTube links and get every transcript back as full text, timestamped lines and an .srt file, in one run.

### What does YouTube Transcript Scraper do?

Many videos in one run, each row with the full transcript text, timestamped lines, an SRT subtitle text, the title, channel and views - and a video without captions gets a clear status row instead of failing the whole run.

- Paste many video links or IDs in one run
- Full transcript text plus timestamped lines
- Ready SRT subtitle text per video
- Title, channel, length and views on every row
- Pick languages in order, uploaded captions first

### Who uses YouTube Transcript Scraper, and for what

- AI builders - feed whole playlists of talks into a RAG index
- Bloggers - turn a video into a written post in minutes
- Researchers - pull the words of 100 interviews into one CSV
- Editors - get .srt subtitles to fix and re-upload

### Why this YouTube Transcript Scraper?

The weak ones break when YouTube changes its pages or blocks data-center addresses, so runs fail and users leave bad reviews. This YouTube Transcript Scraper checks every run and tells you plainly when a page could not be read, instead of returning empty or wrong rows.

### Data you get from YouTube Transcript Scraper

Every result is one flat row with these fields (values from a real run):

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| `videoId` | IELMSD2kdmk |
| `url` | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELMSD2kdmk |
| `status` | ok |
| `title` | Apache Spark in 100 Seconds |
| `channel` | Fireship |
| `channelId` | UCsBjURrPoezykLs9EqgamOA |
| `lengthSeconds` | 199 |
| `viewCount` | 601403 |
| `description` | Try Brilliant free for 30 days https://brilliant.org/fireshi... |
| `availableLanguages` | \["en (auto)"] |
| `language` | en |
| `languageName` | English (auto-generated) |
| `isAutoGenerated` | true |
| `wordCount` | 673 |
| `text` | Apache spark an open- Source data analytics engine that can ... |
| `segments` | \[{"start": 0.32, "dur": 4.08, "text": "Apache spark an open-... |
| `srt` | 1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:04,400 Apache spark an open- Source... |

### How to use YouTube Transcript Scraper

1. Press **Start** - the form already holds an example that works.
2. Put in your own input (see the fields on the Input tab).
3. Run it once, or put it on an **Apify Schedule** to get fresh rows every day.
4. Download the results as JSON, CSV or Excel, or send them to Google Sheets, Zapier, Make, the Apify API or an AI agent (Apify MCP server).

#### Input example

```json
{
  "videos": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELMSD2kdmk",
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"
  ],
  "languages": [
    "en"
  ],
  "fallbackToAnyLanguage": true,
  "includeSegments": true,
  "includeSrt": true,
  "maxItems": 2,
  "useApifyProxy": true
}
```

#### Output example (a real run)

```json
[
  {
    "videoId": "IELMSD2kdmk",
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELMSD2kdmk",
    "status": "ok",
    "title": "Apache Spark in 100 Seconds",
    "channel": "Fireship",
    "channelId": "UCsBjURrPoezykLs9EqgamOA",
    "lengthSeconds": 199,
    "viewCount": 601403,
    "description": "Try Brilliant free for 30 days https://brilliant.org/fireship You’ll also get 20% off an annual premium subscription.\n\nLearn the basics of Apache Spark - a data processing tool for large-scale analytics and machine learning. Discover how the world's largest companies use Spark to analyze massive datasets. \n\n#programming #ai #thecodereport \n\n💬 Chat with Me on Discord\n\nhttps://discord.gg/fireship\n\n🔗 Resources\n\nScala in 100 Seconds https://youtu.be/I7-hxTbpscU\nApache Kafka in 100 Seconds https://youtu.be/uvb00oaa3k8\n\n📚 Chapters\n\n🔥 Get More Content - Upgrade to PRO\n\nUpgrade at https://fireship.io/pro\nUse code YT25 for 25% off PRO access \n\n🎨 My Editor Settings\n\n- Atom One Dark \n- vscode-icons\n- Fira Code Font\n\n🔖 Topics Covered\n\n- What is Apache Spark?\n- Apache Spark vs Hadoop\n- Apache Spark quickstart tutorial\n- Who created Apache Spark?\n- Tools build with Java\n- How companies perform machine learning at scale",
    "availableLanguages": [
      "en (auto)"
    ],
    "language": "en",
    "languageName": "English (auto-generated)",
    "isAutoGenerated": true,
    "wordCount": 673,
    "text": "Apache spark an open- Source data analytics engine that can process massive streams of data from multiple sources like an octopus juggling chainsaws it was created in 2009 by mate zaharia at UC Berkeley's amp lab around this time the amount of data being collected on the internet was exploding from megabytes to pedabytes making it impossible to analyze on a single machine but there was already a clever programming model called map reduce you map data into key value pairs Shuffle and sort them into groups by key then reduce each group to to compute a final result this allowed large data sets to be distributed across multiple machines but there was still a huge bottleneck caused by dis iio aache spark fixed this by doing most of its work in memory instead of reading from disk which can be up to 100 times faster and that's a game Cher for big data analytics and machine learning it's used by Amazon to analyze e-commerce data by NASA's jet propulsion lab to analyze deep space along with 80% of Fortune 500 companies to process all their data desp
```

One flat row per result.

### How much does YouTube Transcript Scraper cost?

You pay only per result (pay per event) - no monthly fee, no minimum, and the price per result is lower on Apify's Bronze, Silver and Gold plans. The exact price is on the **Pricing** tab. Apify's free plan credit is enough to try it on real input.

| You want | What you pay for |
|---|---|
| A quick test with the example | a few results |
| A daily scheduled run | only the rows that run returns |
| A big one-off export | the results delivered - set a maximum in the input |

### Also searched as

- youtube transcript
- youtube transcript api
- youtube subtitles download
- youtube captions to text
- youtube to text
- bulk youtube transcripts

### FAQ

**Does YouTube Transcript Scraper need a login, cookies or an API key?** No. It reads public pages only.

**Can I run YouTube Transcript Scraper on a schedule?** Yes - with Apify Schedules; each run returns fresh rows.

**Can I call it from Python, JavaScript or an AI agent?** Yes - through the Apify API, the Apify client libraries or the Apify MCP server.

**Is it legal?** It collects only data anyone can see without logging in. You are responsible for using it within the source site's terms and data protection law (GDPR, CCPA).

**What if the site blocks a request?** The run retries from a fresh connection and, if it still cannot read the page, stops with a clear message - never with made-up rows.

**Do I need proxies?** No setup needed - YouTube Transcript Scraper uses Apify Proxy by default where the site needs it.

### Troubleshooting

- **No results:** check the input (a public URL or a search term that returns results in a normal browser), then try the example input once.
- **Fewer results than expected:** raise the maximum in the input; some sites show only a part of their data without logging in, and YouTube Transcript Scraper never logs in.
- **The run stopped with a message:** the message says what the site answered; run it again later or with fewer items.

### Your feedback

Missing a field, found a bug, or need another site? Open an issue on the **Issues** tab - issues are answered and fixed. If YouTube Transcript Scraper saved you time, a short review on this page helps others find it.

Data source: [www.youtube.com](https://www.youtube.com)

### More tools from this developer

- [Tweet Scraper: Tweet Details by URL, No Login or Cookies](https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-tweet-scraper)
- [YouTube Thumbnail Downloader: Bulk, Every Size & Titles](https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-youtube-thumbnail-downloader)
- [ML Conference Finder: NeurIPS, ICLR & ICML Alternatives](https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-ml-conference-finder)
- [YouTube Transcript Scraper: Find Every Moment a Word Is Said](https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-youtube-transcript-scraper)
- [Facebook Ads Library Scraper: Only New Ads & Days Running](https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-facebook-ads-library-scraper)
- [Reddit Scraper: Keyword Alerts for New Posts & Comments](https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-reddit-scraper)
- [Twitter Scraper: New Tweets From Any X Account, No Login](https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-twitter-scraper)
- [Facebook Posts Scraper: New Posts & Engagement Growth](https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-facebook-posts-scraper)

# Actor input Schema

## `videos` (type: `array`):

Video links (watch, youtu.be, Shorts, live) or 11-character video IDs. One per line - paste as many as you like.

## `languages` (type: `array`):

Language codes you want, best first (e.g. en, es, de). Uploaded captions are taken before auto-generated ones.

## `fallbackToAnyLanguage` (type: `boolean`):

If none of your languages exist, return the transcript that is there instead of nothing.

## `includeSegments` (type: `boolean`):

Each line with its start time and duration in seconds.

## `includeSrt` (type: `boolean`):

A ready .srt subtitle text in the srt field.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many videos.

## `useApifyProxy` (type: `boolean`):

Recommended. YouTube limits plain data-center traffic.

## `proxyGroups` (type: `array`):

Optional, e.g. RESIDENTIAL.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "videos": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELMSD2kdmk",
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"
  ],
  "languages": [
    "en"
  ],
  "fallbackToAnyLanguage": true,
  "includeSegments": true,
  "includeSrt": true,
  "maxItems": 2,
  "useApifyProxy": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

All result rows (open as table, JSON, CSV or Excel).

# 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 = {
    "videos": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELMSD2kdmk",
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"
    ],
    "languages": [
        "en"
    ],
    "includeSrt": true,
    "maxItems": 2,
    "useApifyProxy": true
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("h1018y/anvil-youtube-transcript-scraper-v2").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 = {
    "videos": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELMSD2kdmk",
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw",
    ],
    "languages": ["en"],
    "includeSrt": True,
    "maxItems": 2,
    "useApifyProxy": True,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("h1018y/anvil-youtube-transcript-scraper-v2").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "videos": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELMSD2kdmk",
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"
  ],
  "languages": [
    "en"
  ],
  "includeSrt": true,
  "maxItems": 2,
  "useApifyProxy": true
}' |
apify call h1018y/anvil-youtube-transcript-scraper-v2 --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,h1018y/anvil-youtube-transcript-scraper-v2"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/qlS8GdzSPfmhpOGDM/builds/33jnv247j3bftUlzX/openapi.json