# Get a YouTube transcript as plain text

**Use case:** 

Paste one YouTube link and get the whole transcript back as plain text plus timestamped segments, with the video title, channel, duration and view count. From the video's own captions, in seconds. $0.0007 per transcript, no start fee.

## Input

```json
{
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw",
  "targetLanguage": "en",
  "captionType": "any",
  "outputFormats": [],
  "listOnly": false,
  "includeMetadata": true
}
```

## Output

```json
{
  "videoId": {
    "label": "Video",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "title": {
    "label": "Title",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "channel": {
    "label": "Channel",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "language": {
    "label": "Language",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "captionType": {
    "label": "Captions",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "durationSeconds": {
    "label": "Seconds",
    "format": "integer"
  },
  "text": {
    "label": "Transcript (plain text)",
    "format": "string"
  }
}
```

## How it works

### 1. Sign up on Apify or log in

The Wicked YouTube Transcript Scraper API Actor is ready to run with the inputs already set for "Get a YouTube transcript as plain text". [Sign up or log in](https://console.apify.com/create-task-from-example/FAVcpUUOG4NTRdPBg) and you'll land in Apify Console with a copy of this exact task.

### 2. Start the "Get a YouTube transcript as plain text" task

The Wicked YouTube Transcript Scraper API Actor will start running based on the input automatically. You can also change all the input fields, like youtube video url or id (one video), language, and more, to match your specific use case.

### 3. Receive the "Get a YouTube transcript as plain text" output

Monitor the progress in real time. You will be notified as soon as your dataset is complete and ready for review. Each result includes data such as video, title, channel, and more.

### 4. Integrate into your workflow

The final output is delivered in JSON, CSV, or Excel format, ready to be plugged into your workflow. You can also [run the "Get a YouTube transcript as plain text" task via API](https://apify.com/myworkingmemory/wicked-youtube-transcript-scraper-api.md).

## FAQ

### Where is the text?

In the \`text\` field of the result: the whole transcript, one caption line per row. The \`data\` field holds the same lines with start time and duration.

### What does it cost?

$0.0007 per delivered transcript ($0.70 per 1,000). No start fee, no per-run fee. A video without captions costs nothing.

### Does it work on every video?

Only public videos that have captions, manual or auto-generated. Private, removed and age-restricted videos cannot be read, and there is no audio transcription or translation.

## About this Actor

This example demonstrates how to use [Wicked YouTube Transcript Scraper API](https://apify.com/myworkingmemory/wicked-youtube-transcript-scraper-api.md) with a specific input configuration. Visit the [Actor detail page](https://apify.com/myworkingmemory/wicked-youtube-transcript-scraper-api.md) to learn more, explore other use cases, and run it yourself.


## How to integrate an Actor?

This Task's input is already configured above. Use it as-is rather than inventing a new one.

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 full API examples (JavaScript, Python, CLI, MCP, OpenAPI), see this Task's Actor page: https://apify.com/myworkingmemory/wicked-youtube-transcript-scraper-api.md

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`).