# YouTube Transcriber (`longen/youtube-transcriber`) Actor Extracts transcripts from YouTube videos. First tries to get available captions, then falls back to downloading audio and transcribing via OpenRouter's Whisper model. Extraia transcrição de videos do youtube. - **URL**: https://apify.com/longen/youtube-transcriber.md - **Developed by:** [Luan Longen](https://apify.com/longen) (community) - **Categories:** AI, Developer tools, Videos - **Stats:** 2 total users, 2 monthly users, 50.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $0.003 / transcription completed This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows. 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/docs.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.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/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 Transcriber Extracts transcripts from YouTube videos with intelligent fallback. First attempts to get available YouTube captions, then falls back to downloading audio and using OpenRouter's Whisper model for transcription. ### Features - Smart Caption Detection: Tries to extract available YouTube captions first (fast, free) - Audio Fallback: Downloads audio and transcribes via OpenRouter's Whisper model - Multi-language Support: Portuguese, English, and more (configurable via 'language' field) - Optional Residential Proxy: Bypass YouTube anti-bot on datacenter IPs (Apify residential proxy) - Audio Chunking: Splits long videos into N-minute segments via ffmpeg for reliable Whisper transcription ### Input ```json { "youtubeUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw_e_vVTq4Y", "openRouterApiKey": "sk-xxx", "openRouterModel": "openai/whisper-large-v3", "language": "pt", "segmentMinutes": 5, "useProxy": false } ```` ### Input Fields - **youtubeUrl** (string, required): Full YouTube URL or short link - **openRouterApiKey** (string, optional): Your OpenRouter API key. Required if video has no captions. - **openRouterModel** (string, optional): Whisper model. Default: openai/whisper-large-v3 - **language** (string, optional): Language code for captions and Whisper. Default: pt - **segmentMinutes** (integer, optional): Audio segment length for Whisper. Smaller = more reliable. Default: 5 - **useProxy** (boolean, optional): Use Apify residential proxy for captions fetch (bypasses YouTube anti-bot on datacenter IPs). Incurs proxy traffic charges. Default: false ### Output Success case (youtube-transcript): ```json { "success": true, "youtubeUrl": "...", "videoId": "...", "transcript": "...", "provider": "youtube-transcript", "language": "pt", "generatedAt": "..." } ``` Success case (openrouter): ```json { "success": true, "youtubeUrl": "...", "videoId": "...", "transcript": "...", "provider": "openrouter", "usage": { "input_tokens": 1234, "output_tokens": 567 }, "generatedAt": "..." } ``` Error case: ```json { "success": false, "youtubeUrl": "...", "error": "...", "details": "...", "generatedAt": "..." } ``` ### Notes - Audio download NEVER uses proxy (CDN tolerates datacenter IPs, residential proxy per GB is expensive for audio) - Self-host outside Apify (AWS EC2/Lightsail) requires your own proxy solution (BrightData, Smartproxy, Oxylabs) or fallback to Whisper when captions fail ### License ISC # Actor input Schema ## `youtubeUrl` (type: `string`): Full YouTube URL or short link (youtube.com, youtu.be, etc.) ## `openRouterApiKey` (type: `string`): Your OpenRouter API key for Whisper transcription ## `openRouterModel` (type: `string`): Whisper model to use. Defaults to openai/whisper-large-v3 ## `language` (type: `string`): Language code (e.g. pt, en, es). Default: pt ## `segmentMinutes` (type: `integer`): Audio segment length for Whisper (1-30). Default: 5 ## `useProxy` (type: `boolean`): Fetch captions through Apify residential proxy ## Actor input object example ```json { "youtubeUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw_e_vVTq4Y", "openRouterModel": "openai/whisper-large-v3", "language": "pt" } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `success` (type: `string`): No description ## `youtubeUrl` (type: `string`): No description ## `videoId` (type: `string`): No description ## `transcript` (type: `string`): No description ## `provider` (type: `string`): No description ## `language` (type: `string`): No description ## `generatedAt` (type: `string`): No description ## `error` (type: `string`): No description ## `details` (type: `string`): No description # 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 = {}; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("longen/youtube-transcriber").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 = {} # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("longen/youtube-transcriber").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 '{}' | apify call longen/youtube-transcriber --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=longen/youtube-transcriber", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "YouTube Transcriber", "description": "Extracts transcripts from YouTube videos. First tries to get available captions, then falls back to downloading audio and transcribing via OpenRouter's Whisper model. Extraia transcrição de videos do youtube.", "version": "2.0", "x-build-id": "aRlKg1PXPhfk7wxal" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/longen~youtube-transcriber/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-longen-youtube-transcriber", "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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/longen~youtube-transcriber/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-longen-youtube-transcriber", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/longen~youtube-transcriber/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-longen-youtube-transcriber", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": [ "youtubeUrl" ], "properties": { "youtubeUrl": { "title": "YouTube URL", "type": "string", "description": "Full YouTube URL or short link (youtube.com, youtu.be, etc.)" }, "openRouterApiKey": { "title": "OpenRouter API Key", "type": "string", "description": "Your OpenRouter API key for Whisper transcription" }, "openRouterModel": { "title": "OpenRouter Model", "type": "string", "description": "Whisper model to use. Defaults to openai/whisper-large-v3" }, "language": { "title": "Language", "type": "string", "description": "Language code (e.g. pt, en, es). Default: pt" }, "segmentMinutes": { "title": "Audio Segment Length (minutes)", "type": "integer", "description": "Audio segment length for Whisper (1-30). Default: 5" }, "useProxy": { "title": "Use Residential Proxy", "type": "boolean", "description": "Fetch captions through Apify residential proxy" } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```