# 🎬 TikTok · Instagram · Facebook · YouTube Shorts Transcriber (`scraper-engine/tiktok-instagram-facebook-youtube-shorts-transcriber`) Actor

🎬✨ Transcribe TikTok, Instagram, Facebook & YouTube Shorts fast and accurately. Convert viral videos into searchable text for captions, summaries, SEO & accessibility. ⚡ No hassle—get clean transcripts in seconds. 🚀 Try now!

- **URL**: https://apify.com/scraper-engine/tiktok-instagram-facebook-youtube-shorts-transcriber.md
- **Developed by:** [Scraper Engine](https://apify.com/scraper-engine) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, SEO tools, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $4.99 / 1,000 results

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 a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
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.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.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/platform/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

## 🎬 TikTok · Instagram · Facebook · YouTube Shorts Transcriber

Turn any public **TikTok video**, **Instagram Reel**, **Facebook Reel**, or **YouTube Short** into a clean, **timestamped transcript** with **automatic language detection** — in one click. Perfect for content repurposing, subtitles, research, SEO, and accessibility.

> Paste a link ➡️ get accurate text back. No login, no manual downloads, no copy-pasting.

---

### ✨ Why Choose This Actor?

- 🌍 **4 platforms, 1 tool** — TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube Shorts in a single run.
- 🧠 **Accurate AI transcription** — powered by Whisper with word-level timing and 90+ language auto-detection.
- 🛡️ **Beats blocks automatically** — a built-in **Direct → Datacenter → Residential** proxy ladder keeps working when plain scrapers get rejected.
- ⏱️ **Timestamps included** — every line is time-coded, ready for subtitles (SRT-style) or video search.
- 💾 **Real-time results** — transcripts stream into your dataset as each video finishes; a long run never loses progress.
- 📊 **Clean, multi-view output** — Overview, Transcripts, and Timestamped Lines tabs.

---

### 🔑 Key Features

| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| 🎥 Bulk input | Transcribe many videos in one run — paste a list or upload a file. |
| 🗣️ Auto language detection | Detects the spoken language automatically, or force one for speed. |
| 🧩 Multiple models | Choose Tiny → Large-v3 to balance speed, accuracy, and cost. |
| ⏱️ Timestamped segments | Each line carries `start`/`end` times. |
| 🛡️ Smart proxy fallback | Escalates only when blocked, then sticks with what works. |

---

### 📥 Input

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `start_urls` | array | ✅ | Public video links (TikTok / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube). Bulk supported. |
| `language` | string | ➖ | `auto` (default) or an ISO code like `en`, `es`, `hi`. |
| `whisperModel` | string | ➖ | `tiny` · `base` (default) · `small` · `medium` · `large-v3`. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | ➖ | Apify Proxy settings. Keep enabled so the fallback ladder is available. |

#### Example input

```json
{
  "start_urls": [
    { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6W_841xoprg" },
    { "url": "https://www.tiktok.com/@mrbeast/video/7600180137346256158" },
    { "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DYfGcnSBrT8/" },
    { "url": "https://www.facebook.com/reel/966384272838084" }
  ],
  "language": "auto",
  "whisperModel": "base",
  "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true }
}
````

***

### 📤 Output

Each video produces one dataset record:

```json
{
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6W_841xoprg",
  "videoId": "6W_841xoprg",
  "platform": "youtube",
  "title": "Can a Window Stop a Wrecking Ball?",
  "status": "success",
  "durationSec": 30.0,
  "transcript": "[1.04s - 5.67s] Let's try wood.\n[5.67s - 6.67s] Drop it. ...",
  "plainTranscript": "Let's try wood. Drop it. Oh, that was awesome. ...",
  "detected_language": "en",
  "languageProbability": 0.9976,
  "segments": [
    { "start": 1.04, "end": 5.67, "text": "Let's try wood." }
  ],
  "timestamp": "2026-06-14T06:14:04.022Z"
}
```

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `sourceUrl` | The video link you submitted. |
| `videoId` | Platform video ID. |
| `platform` | `tiktok` · `instagram` · `facebook` · `youtube`. |
| `title` | Video title (when available). |
| `status` | `success` or `failed`. |
| `durationSec` | Audio duration in seconds. |
| `transcript` | Timestamped, line-by-line transcript. |
| `plainTranscript` | Continuous plain-text transcript. |
| `detected_language` | Detected (or forced) language code. |
| `languageProbability` | Confidence of language detection (0–1). |
| `segments` | Array of `{start, end, text}` segments. |
| `timestamp` | When the record was produced (UTC). |

**Output views:** 📊 *Overview* · 📝 *Transcripts* · ⏱️ *Timestamped Lines*.

***

### 🚀 How to Use (Apify Console)

1. Log in at <https://console.apify.com> → **Actors**.
2. Open **TikTok · Instagram · Facebook · YouTube Shorts Transcriber**.
3. Paste your video URLs into **🔗 Video URLs**.
4. (Optional) pick a language and model; leave proxy enabled.
5. Click **Start** and watch transcripts appear in real time. 🎉
6. Open the **Output** tab and export to **JSON / CSV / Excel**.

### 🤖 Use via API

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/<ACTOR_ID>/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"start_urls":[{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6W_841xoprg"}]}'
```

***

### 💡 Best Use Cases

- ✂️ Repurpose Reels/Shorts into blog posts, threads, and newsletters.
- 📝 Generate subtitles and captions for accessibility.
- 🔍 Make video content searchable and SEO-friendly.
- 📊 Analyze hooks, scripts, and messaging across creators.

***

### 💰 Pricing

Pay-per-event, so you only pay for what you transcribe:

| Event | What it bills |
|---|---|
| **Actor Start** (`base-pay`) | A small flat fee per run. |
| **Transcription** (`row_result`) | One charge per successfully transcribed video (primary event). |

Failed downloads are **not** charged — you only pay for transcripts you actually get.

***

### ❓ FAQ

**Does it work on private videos?**
No — only public content. Private, age-restricted, deleted, or geo-locked videos can't be transcribed.

**Why did a video fail?**
Most failures are private/region-locked content or a temporary platform block. The proxy ladder retries automatically; re-running often succeeds.

**Which languages are supported?**
90+ languages via Whisper. Leave language on **Auto-detect** for mixed batches.

**How accurate are the timestamps?**
Segment-level timing comes straight from the speech model and is reliable for subtitles and search.

***

### ⚖️ Notes & Compliance

- Only **publicly available** content is processed.
- You are responsible for complying with each platform's Terms of Service and applicable laws (GDPR/CCPA, copyright, etc.).

### 🆘 Support

Found a bug or want a new feature? Open an issue from the Actor's **Issues** tab — feedback is welcome!

# Actor input Schema

## `start_urls` (type: `array`):

🎥 Add one or more public video links — TikTok, Instagram Reel, Facebook Reel, or YouTube Short. Bulk input supported: paste a list or upload a file.

## `language` (type: `string`):

🗣️ Language of the speech. Leave as Auto-detect unless you want to force a specific language (improves speed & accuracy for known content).

## `whisperModel` (type: `string`):

⚙️ Accuracy vs. speed trade-off. 'base' is fast and great for most short clips; larger models are more accurate but slower & pricier.

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

🌍 Requests start direct (no proxy). If a platform blocks the request, the actor automatically escalates Datacenter → Residential and sticks with Residential for the rest of the run. Keep Apify Proxy enabled so these fallbacks are available.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "start_urls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6W_841xoprg",
    "https://www.tiktok.com/@mrbeast/video/7600180137346256158"
  ],
  "language": "auto",
  "whisperModel": "base",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# 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 = {
    "start_urls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6W_841xoprg",
        "https://www.tiktok.com/@mrbeast/video/7600180137346256158"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("scraper-engine/tiktok-instagram-facebook-youtube-shorts-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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "start_urls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6W_841xoprg",
        "https://www.tiktok.com/@mrbeast/video/7600180137346256158",
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("scraper-engine/tiktok-instagram-facebook-youtube-shorts-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 '{
  "start_urls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6W_841xoprg",
    "https://www.tiktok.com/@mrbeast/video/7600180137346256158"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call scraper-engine/tiktok-instagram-facebook-youtube-shorts-transcriber --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=scraper-engine/tiktok-instagram-facebook-youtube-shorts-transcriber",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "🎬 TikTok · Instagram · Facebook · YouTube Shorts Transcriber",
        "description": "🎬✨ Transcribe TikTok, Instagram, Facebook & YouTube Shorts fast and accurately. Convert viral videos into searchable text for captions, summaries, SEO & accessibility. ⚡ No hassle—get clean transcripts in seconds. 🚀 Try now!",
        "version": "0.2",
        "x-build-id": "hbHApECUAPFDhaxrw"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/scraper-engine~tiktok-instagram-facebook-youtube-shorts-transcriber/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-scraper-engine-tiktok-instagram-facebook-youtube-shorts-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": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/scraper-engine~tiktok-instagram-facebook-youtube-shorts-transcriber/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-scraper-engine-tiktok-instagram-facebook-youtube-shorts-transcriber",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/scraper-engine~tiktok-instagram-facebook-youtube-shorts-transcriber/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-scraper-engine-tiktok-instagram-facebook-youtube-shorts-transcriber",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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": [
                    "start_urls"
                ],
                "properties": {
                    "start_urls": {
                        "title": "🔗 Video URLs",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "🎥 Add one or more public video links — TikTok, Instagram Reel, Facebook Reel, or YouTube Short. Bulk input supported: paste a list or upload a file.",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string"
                        }
                    },
                    "language": {
                        "title": "🌐 Spoken Language",
                        "enum": [
                            "auto",
                            "en",
                            "es",
                            "pt",
                            "fr",
                            "de",
                            "it",
                            "hi",
                            "ar",
                            "id",
                            "ja",
                            "ko",
                            "zh",
                            "ru",
                            "tr",
                            "nl",
                            "pl",
                            "vi",
                            "th",
                            "bn"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "🗣️ Language of the speech. Leave as Auto-detect unless you want to force a specific language (improves speed & accuracy for known content).",
                        "default": "auto"
                    },
                    "whisperModel": {
                        "title": "🧠 Transcription Model",
                        "enum": [
                            "tiny",
                            "base",
                            "small",
                            "medium",
                            "large-v3"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "⚙️ Accuracy vs. speed trade-off. 'base' is fast and great for most short clips; larger models are more accurate but slower & pricier.",
                        "default": "base"
                    },
                    "proxyConfiguration": {
                        "title": "🛡️ Proxy Configuration",
                        "type": "object",
                        "description": "🌍 Requests start direct (no proxy). If a platform blocks the request, the actor automatically escalates Datacenter → Residential and sticks with Residential for the rest of the run. Keep Apify Proxy enabled so these fallbacks are available.",
                        "default": {
                            "useApifyProxy": true
                        }
                    }
                }
            },
            "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
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```