# Video Transcriber - Any Video URL to Text with Timestamps (`seemuapps/universal-video-transcriber`) Actor Turn any video URL into an accurate, timestamped transcript - YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Rumble, Twitch, podcasts, and direct video links. - **URL**: https://apify.com/seemuapps/universal-video-transcriber.md - **Developed by:** [Andrew](https://apify.com/seemuapps) (community) - **Categories:** AI, Videos, Automation - **Stats:** 3 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $20.00 / 1,000 video transcripts This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. 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 ## Video Transcriber - Any Video URL to Text with Timestamps Paste any video URL — YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Rumble, Twitch VODs, SoundCloud, podcast episodes, or a direct MP4/MP3 link — and get back an accurate, timestamped transcript. Works across 1000+ sites, with automatic language detection for dozens of languages. ### What you get - **Full transcript** of the spoken audio as a single clean string - **Timestamped segments** (`MM:SS` / `H:MM:SS` + text) for subtitles, quotes, and chapter notes - **Automatic language detection**, or pass a language hint - **Video metadata**: title, uploader/channel, source site, duration, and video ID - Handles videos up to **3 hours** long - Export to JSON, CSV, or Google Sheets directly from the Apify console ### Supported sources YouTube (videos, Shorts, live VODs), Facebook videos and reels, Vimeo, Rumble, Twitch VODs and clips, Dailymotion, SoundCloud, Streamable, news sites, podcast feeds, direct `.mp4`/`.mp3`/`.m4a` links, and 1000+ other platforms. ### Use cases - **AI & LLM pipelines** — turn spoken content into text for RAG systems, summarizers, and agents - **Content repurposing** — convert webinars, podcasts, and videos into blog posts and newsletters - **Research & journalism** — quote and search long interviews without scrubbing through video - **Meeting & lecture notes** — transcribe recorded sessions hosted anywhere - **Subtitles & accessibility** — generate caption text for videos that have none ### How to use 1. Paste one or more URLs into **Video URLs** 2. (Optional) Set **Spoken language** if you know it (e.g. `en`, `es`); leave on `auto` otherwise 3. Run the actor — one record per video appears in the **Dataset** tab If a site blocks the download, the actor automatically retries through Apify proxies (configurable via the **Proxy** option). ### Output format Each dataset record: ```json { "inputUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw", "videoId": "jNQXAC9IVRw", "title": "Me at the zoo", "uploader": "jawed", "sourceSite": "Youtube", "durationSeconds": 19, "language": "en", "transcript": "All right, so here we are in front of the elephants...", "segments": [ { "start": "00:00", "text": "All right, so here we are in front of the elephants." } ] } ```` Videos with no speech return an empty transcript. ### Notes - Billing scales with video length: a small base fee per video plus a per-minute transcription fee (rounded up to the next minute). - Failed URLs (deleted videos, region locks, unsupported sites) produce an error record and are not charged. - Videos longer than 3 hours are skipped. # Actor input Schema ## `videoUrls` (type: `array`): Video or audio URLs to transcribe - YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Rumble, Twitch VODs, SoundCloud, podcast episodes, direct MP4/MP3 links, and 1000+ other sites. Maximum 25 URLs per run; videos up to 3 hours. ## `language` (type: `string`): Optional ISO 639-1 language hint (e.g. 'en', 'es', 'de'). Leave as 'auto' to detect the language automatically. ## `includeSegments` (type: `boolean`): When enabled, each transcript also includes an array of timestamped segments alongside the full transcript string. ## `proxyMode` (type: `string`): Which proxy to route video downloads through. 'Automatic' tries a direct connection first and escalates to Apify proxies only if the site blocks the download. ## Actor input object example ```json { "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw" ], "language": "auto", "includeSegments": true, "proxyMode": "auto" } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): One record per video: inputUrl, videoId, title, uploader, sourceSite, durationSeconds, language, transcript, and timestamped segments. # 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 = { "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("seemuapps/universal-video-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 = { "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("seemuapps/universal-video-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 '{ "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw" ] }' | apify call seemuapps/universal-video-transcriber --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=seemuapps/universal-video-transcriber", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Video Transcriber - Any Video URL to Text with Timestamps", "description": "Turn any video URL into an accurate, timestamped transcript - YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Rumble, Twitch, podcasts, and direct video links.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "W8mQm8wekpDKxbOHZ" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/seemuapps~universal-video-transcriber/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-seemuapps-universal-video-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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/seemuapps~universal-video-transcriber/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-seemuapps-universal-video-transcriber", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/seemuapps~universal-video-transcriber/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-seemuapps-universal-video-transcriber", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": [ "videoUrls" ], "properties": { "videoUrls": { "title": "Video URLs", "type": "array", "description": "Video or audio URLs to transcribe - YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Rumble, Twitch VODs, SoundCloud, podcast episodes, direct MP4/MP3 links, and 1000+ other sites. Maximum 25 URLs per run; videos up to 3 hours.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "language": { "title": "Spoken language", "type": "string", "description": "Optional ISO 639-1 language hint (e.g. 'en', 'es', 'de'). Leave as 'auto' to detect the language automatically.", "default": "auto" }, "includeSegments": { "title": "Include timestamped segments", "type": "boolean", "description": "When enabled, each transcript also includes an array of timestamped segments alongside the full transcript string.", "default": true }, "proxyMode": { "title": "Proxy", "enum": [ "auto", "none", "datacenter", "residential" ], "type": "string", "description": "Which proxy to route video downloads through. 'Automatic' tries a direct connection first and escalates to Apify proxies only if the site blocks the download.", "default": "auto" } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```