# YouTube Transcript Scraper & API (`johandev_04/youtube-transcript-scraper`) Actor

Enterprise-grade YouTube transcript extraction. Zero data loss, anti-ban proxies, and state persistence for massive data pipelines. Export to JSON/CSV.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/johandev_04/youtube-transcript-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Johan Ortiz](https://apify.com/johandev_04) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars

## Pricing

from $70.00 / 1,000 transcript extracteds

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

<h1>YouTube Transcript Scraper & API</h1>

<p>Extract YouTube video transcripts reliably and at scale. This Actor is built with <strong>enterprise-grade resilience</strong>, making it perfect for long-running data pipelines, AI training, and mass content analysis.</p>

<h2>🛡️ Why choose this Actor? (Enterprise-Grade Resilience)</h2>
<p>Most YouTube scrapers fail the moment YouTube blocks their IP or when the platform restarts their server. This Actor is built to survive:</p>
<ul>
    <li><strong>Zero Data Loss (State Persistence):</strong> Uses <code>Actor.use_state()</code> to save progress. If the server migrates or the run is aborted, it resumes exactly where it left off.</li>
    <li><strong>Smart Retries:</strong> Implements exponential backoff. If YouTube blocks a request, the Actor waits and retries (up to 5 times) before logging the error and moving on.</li>
    <li><strong>Anti-Ban Protection:</strong> Built-in support for Apify's Residential Proxies to bypass YouTube's cloud IP bans.</li>
</ul>

<h2>🚀 Features</h2>
<ul>
    <li><strong>Full Transcript:</strong> Get the text, start time, and duration of every caption segment.</li>
    <li><strong>Multiple Languages:</strong> Tries to fetch Spanish or English first, falls back to the original language.</li>
    <li><strong>Pay-Per-Event:</strong> Only pay for successful extractions. If it fails, you don't pay.</li>
</ul>

<h2>📖 How to use</h2>
<ol>
    <li>Go to the <strong>Input</strong> tab.</li>
    <li>Enter your list of YouTube video URLs in the <code>videoUrls</code> field.</li>
    <li>(Optional) Set a <code>maxItems</code> limit.</li>
    <li>Click <strong>Start</strong>.</li>
    <li>Download your data in JSON or CSV format from the <strong>Storage</strong> tab.</li>
</ol>

<h2>📊 Output Data</h2>
<p>The dataset will contain a clean JSON object for each video:</p>
<pre><code>{
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...",
  "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "extractedAt": "2026-10-20T06:09:49.635956+00:00",
  "transcript": [
    {
      "text": "We're no strangers to love...",
      "start": 18.64,
      "duration": 3.24
    }
  ]
}</code></pre>

# Actor input Schema

## `videoUrls` (type: `array`):

Lista de URLs de YouTube (videos, shorts, etc.)

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

Límite total de videos a procesar.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "videoUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
  ],
  "maxItems": 50
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

Dataset containing video IDs, URLs, and the full transcript.

# 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 = {
    "videoUrls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("johandev_04/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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("johandev_04/youtube-transcript-scraper").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 '{
  "videoUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
  ]
}' |
apify call johandev_04/youtube-transcript-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,johandev_04/youtube-transcript-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

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/tIi9vRdbpyvakzPeI/builds/B0qaRjGPOi4feA9WF/openapi.json