# YouTube Shorts Transcript & Captions Downloader - SRT, VTT (`martin10291/youtube-shorts-captions`) Actor

Download captions and subtitles of YouTube Shorts in bulk (single Shorts or whole channels) as SRT, WebVTT and text, plus the hook, word count, pace and a ready-to-post caption with hashtags.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/martin10291/youtube-shorts-captions.md
- **Developed by:** [Martin Petrov](https://apify.com/martin10291) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, Social media, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.75 / 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 Shorts Captions & Subtitles Downloader - SRT, VTT, Text

Download **captions and subtitles of YouTube Shorts** in bulk - from single Shorts or whole channels - as **SRT, WebVTT, plain text and timed sentences**. Every result also includes the **hook (first line), speaking pace, word count and a ready-to-post caption with hashtags**, so you can repurpose Shorts to TikTok and Reels in seconds.

### Use cases

- Repost Shorts to TikTok / Instagram Reels with accurate subtitles
- Study what hooks top creators use in the first 2 seconds
- Translate Shorts captions into another language
- Build datasets of short-form scripts for research or AI training

### Output fields

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `title`, `channelName` | Short title and channel |
| `text` | Full caption text |
| `srt`, `vtt` | Ready-to-use subtitle files |
| `sentences` | Sentences with start times |
| `hook` | First line of the Short |
| `suggestedCaption`, `suggestedHashtags` | Ready-to-post caption |
| `wordCount`, `durationSeconds`, `wordsPerSecond` | Script stats |
| `language`, `isAutoGenerated` | Caption language and type |

### Input

- `shortsUrls`: Shorts URLs/IDs or channel @handles
- `maxShortsPerChannel`: newest Shorts per channel
- `languages` / `translateTo`: caption language and optional translation
- `hashtags`: your hashtags added to every caption

### Pricing

Pay per result. Shorts without captions are skipped and not charged.

### FAQ

**Does it download the video?** No, only the captions. **Does it work with auto-generated captions?** Yes, the `isAutoGenerated` field tells you which type you got. **Can I schedule it?** Yes, run it daily on a channel to collect new Shorts.

### Legal

Reads publicly available captions. Respect the creators' rights when reusing content.

# Actor input Schema

## `shortsUrls` (type: `array`):

Shorts URLs or IDs, or channel URLs / @handles (their newest Shorts are used).

## `maxShortsPerChannel` (type: `integer`):

How many of the newest Shorts to take from each channel.

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

Preferred caption languages, e.g. en, es. Falls back to any language.

## `translateTo` (type: `string`):

Language code to translate captions into using YouTube translation, e.g. en.

## `hashtags` (type: `array`):

Your hashtags added to every suggested caption.

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

Hard limit on saved results (and cost).

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

Apify Proxy is recommended; YouTube often blocks plain server IPs.

## `residentialFallback` (type: `boolean`):

If YouTube blocks the datacenter IP, retry through residential proxy.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "shortsUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/@TED"
  ],
  "maxShortsPerChannel": 5,
  "languages": [
    "en"
  ],
  "hashtags": [],
  "maxItems": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  },
  "residentialFallback": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

Items extracted by the Actor.

# 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 = {
    "shortsUrls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/@TED"
    ],
    "maxShortsPerChannel": 5,
    "maxItems": 5,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("martin10291/youtube-shorts-captions").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 = {
    "shortsUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/@TED"],
    "maxShortsPerChannel": 5,
    "maxItems": 5,
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("martin10291/youtube-shorts-captions").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 '{
  "shortsUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/@TED"
  ],
  "maxShortsPerChannel": 5,
  "maxItems": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call martin10291/youtube-shorts-captions --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,martin10291/youtube-shorts-captions"
        }
    }
}
```

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/ROkz7r252pqEhQMRl/builds/otHtEGrgdfU1xCWYl/openapi.json