# YouTube Transcript Scraper (`shanks0x0/youtube-transcript-scraper`) Actor

Extracts full transcripts and metadata from YouTube videos. Supports single videos, channels, and playlists — returns timestamped segments, plain text, SRT, or VTT with video title, channel name, duration, and language info. No API key or proxy needed.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/shanks0x0/youtube-transcript-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Meherab Hossain](https://apify.com/shanks0x0) (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 $4.00 / 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

## YouTube Transcript Scraper

An Apify Actor that extracts transcripts (captions/subtitles) from YouTube videos, channels, and playlists. It tries the lightweight YouTube Innertube/timedtext API first (HTTP-only, no browser), and falls back to Playwright headless browser when the API path fails.

**Pricing:** $0.01 per successfully extracted transcript (Pay-Per-Event).

### Features

- **Video, channel, and playlist support** — paste any YouTube URL
- **Timed segments** — each transcript comes with start time, duration, and text
- **Multiple output formats** — segments (default), plain text, SRT, VTT
- **Language preferences** — specify preferred languages in order
- **Translation** — fetch transcripts translated into another language via YouTube's `tlang` parameter
- **Auto-generated captions** — optionally include or exclude ASR captions
- **Smart proxy strategy** — starts without proxy, switches to residential proxy after 3 consecutive IP blocks
- **Browser fallback** — Playwright Chromium used when the HTTP API path fails
- **PPE pricing** — only charged on success, no charge for failures

### Input

| Field | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `source` | string | yes | — | YouTube video/channel/playlist URL or bare ID |
| `sourceType` | enum | no | `auto` | Force source interpretation: `auto`, `video`, `channel`, `playlist` |
| `maxVideos` | integer | no | 50 | Max videos for channels/playlists (0 = unlimited, capped at 500) |
| `languages` | string[] | no | `[]` | Ordered language preference (e.g. `["en", "es"]`) |
| `translateTo` | string | no | `""` | Translation target language code (e.g. `"es"`) |
| `format` | enum | no | `segments` | Output format: `segments`, `plain`, `srt`, `vtt` |
| `includeAutoGenerated` | boolean | no | `true` | Include ASR captions |
| `useProxy` | enum | no | `auto` | Proxy strategy: `auto`, `always`, `never` |
| `useBrowserFallback` | boolean | no | `true` | Enable Playwright fallback |

#### Example input

```json
{
    "source": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "languages": ["en"],
    "format": "segments"
}
````

### Output

Each result is a JSON object with:

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `videoId` | string | 11-char YouTube video ID |
| `videoUrl` | string | Full watch URL |
| `title` | string | Video title |
| `channelName` | string | Channel/uploader name |
| `channelId` | string | Channel ID (UC...) |
| `publishedAt` | string | ISO 8601 publish date |
| `durationSeconds` | integer | Video duration in seconds |
| `language` | string | Language code of the fetched caption track |
| `isAutoGenerated` | boolean | True if ASR captions |
| `isTranslated` | boolean | True if a translation was fetched |
| `transcript` | string | Full transcript text (for `plain`/`srt`/`vtt` formats; empty for `segments`) |
| `segments` | array | Timed segments: `{start, duration, text}` (for `segments` format) |
| `extractionMethod` | string | `innertube_api`, `playwright`, or `failed` |
| `error` | string | Error message if extraction failed |

#### Example output

```json
{
    "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video)",
    "channelName": "Rick Astley",
    "language": "en",
    "isAutoGenerated": false,
    "isTranslated": false,
    "transcript": "",
    "segments": [
        {"start": 0.0, "duration": 4.5, "text": "We're no strangers to love"},
        {"start": 4.5, "duration": 3.2, "text": "You know the rules and so do I"}
    ],
    "extractionMethod": "innertube_api",
    "error": ""
}
```

### Architecture

```
Actor.main()
  │
  ├─ 1. Parse & validate input
  ├─ 2. Resolve source → list of video IDs
  │    ├─ video URL → [1 video ID]
  │    ├─ channel URL → scrape /videos → N video IDs
  │    └─ playlist URL → scrape playlist → N video IDs
  ├─ 3. For each video ID:
  │    ├─ TRY: Innertube API (HTTP-only)
  │    │    ├─ Fetch watch page HTML
  │    │    ├─ Extract ytInitialPlayerResponse
  │    │    ├─ Parse captionTracks
  │    │    ├─ Select best track (language pref)
  │    │    └─ GET baseUrl → parse JSON3 → segments
  │    ├─ IF API FAILS & browser fallback enabled:
  │    │    └─ TRY: Playwright headless browser
  │    └─ IF BOTH FAIL: output with extractionMethod=failed
  ├─ 4. Push results to dataset
  └─ 5. Charge $0.01 per successful transcript (PPE)
```

### Proxy Strategy

| `useProxy` | Behavior |
|---|---|
| `auto` (default) | Start with direct requests. If 3 consecutive IP-block errors (403/429), switch to Apify residential proxy. |
| `always` | Use Apify residential proxy from the start. |
| `never` | Never use proxy. If IP is blocked, the video fails (browser fallback still tried without proxy). |

### Local Development

#### Install dependencies

```bash
pip install -r requirements.txt
playwright install --with-deps chromium
```

#### Run locally

```bash
## Single video
python -m src.main dQw4w9WgXcQ

## With JSON input
echo '{"source": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "format": "plain"}' | python -m src.main

## Run tests
pytest tests/ -v
```

#### Building for Apify

```bash
apify push
```

### Cost Estimation

| Scenario | Videos | Success rate | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single video | 1 | 95% | ~$0.01 |
| Channel (50 videos) | 50 | 80% | ~$0.40 |
| Playlist (100 videos) | 100 | 85% | ~$0.85 |

### Tech Stack

- **Language:** Python 3.12+
- **SDK:** Apify SDK for Python (v2.x)
- **HTTP client:** httpx
- **Browser:** Playwright (Chromium) — fallback only
- **Base image:** `apify/actor-python:3.12`

# Actor input Schema

## `source` (type: `string`):

YouTube video URL, channel URL, or playlist URL. Also accepts bare video IDs (11 chars) or channel IDs (UC...).

## `sourceType` (type: `string`):

Force the interpretation of the source URL. 'auto' detects from the URL pattern.

## `maxVideos` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of videos to process (for channels and playlists). Set 0 for unlimited (capped at 500). Ignored for single video sources.

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

Ordered list of language codes to try (e.g. \['en', 'en-US', 'es']). The first available track matching is used. Empty = accept any language.

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

If set, fetch a translation of the transcript into this language code (e.g. 'es'). Uses YouTube's tlang parameter. Empty = no translation.

## `format` (type: `string`):

How to structure the transcript text in the output.

## `includeAutoGenerated` (type: `boolean`):

If true, include auto-generated (ASR) captions when no manual captions exist. If false, only manual/human-authored captions are returned.

## `useProxy` (type: `string`):

Force proxy usage. 'auto' tries without proxy first, then uses Apify Proxy on failure. 'always' always uses Apify Proxy. 'never' never uses a proxy.

## `useBrowserFallback` (type: `boolean`):

If true, fall back to Playwright headless browser when the HTTP API path fails for a video. If false, skip browser entirely (faster but lower success rate).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "source": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "sourceType": "auto",
  "maxVideos": 50,
  "languages": [
    "en"
  ],
  "translateTo": "",
  "format": "segments",
  "includeAutoGenerated": true,
  "useProxy": "auto",
  "useBrowserFallback": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

Extracted transcript data stored in the default dataset

# 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 = {
    "source": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "maxVideos": 50,
    "languages": [
        "en"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("shanks0x0/youtube-transcript-scraper").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 = {
    "source": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "maxVideos": 50,
    "languages": ["en"],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("shanks0x0/youtube-transcript-scraper").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 '{
  "source": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "maxVideos": 50,
  "languages": [
    "en"
  ]
}' |
apify call shanks0x0/youtube-transcript-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=shanks0x0/youtube-transcript-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "YouTube Transcript Scraper",
        "description": "Extracts full transcripts and metadata from YouTube videos. Supports single videos, channels, and playlists — returns timestamped segments, plain text, SRT, or VTT with video title, channel name, duration, and language info. No API key or proxy needed.",
        "version": "0.1",
        "x-build-id": "QeOkgQHWhSsAR2hwb"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/shanks0x0~youtube-transcript-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-shanks0x0-youtube-transcript-scraper",
                "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": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/shanks0x0~youtube-transcript-scraper/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-shanks0x0-youtube-transcript-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/shanks0x0~youtube-transcript-scraper/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-shanks0x0-youtube-transcript-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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": [
                    "source"
                ],
                "properties": {
                    "source": {
                        "title": "Source URL",
                        "minLength": 2,
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "YouTube video URL, channel URL, or playlist URL. Also accepts bare video IDs (11 chars) or channel IDs (UC...)."
                    },
                    "sourceType": {
                        "title": "Source Type",
                        "enum": [
                            "auto",
                            "video",
                            "channel",
                            "playlist"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Force the interpretation of the source URL. 'auto' detects from the URL pattern.",
                        "default": "auto"
                    },
                    "maxVideos": {
                        "title": "Max Videos",
                        "minimum": 0,
                        "maximum": 500,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Maximum number of videos to process (for channels and playlists). Set 0 for unlimited (capped at 500). Ignored for single video sources.",
                        "default": 50
                    },
                    "languages": {
                        "title": "Preferred Languages",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "Ordered list of language codes to try (e.g. ['en', 'en-US', 'es']). The first available track matching is used. Empty = accept any language.",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "default": []
                    },
                    "translateTo": {
                        "title": "Translate To",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "If set, fetch a translation of the transcript into this language code (e.g. 'es'). Uses YouTube's tlang parameter. Empty = no translation.",
                        "default": ""
                    },
                    "format": {
                        "title": "Output Format",
                        "enum": [
                            "segments",
                            "plain",
                            "srt",
                            "vtt"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "How to structure the transcript text in the output.",
                        "default": "segments"
                    },
                    "includeAutoGenerated": {
                        "title": "Include Auto-Generated",
                        "type": "boolean",
                        "description": "If true, include auto-generated (ASR) captions when no manual captions exist. If false, only manual/human-authored captions are returned.",
                        "default": true
                    },
                    "useProxy": {
                        "title": "Use Proxy",
                        "enum": [
                            "auto",
                            "always",
                            "never"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Force proxy usage. 'auto' tries without proxy first, then uses Apify Proxy on failure. 'always' always uses Apify Proxy. 'never' never uses a proxy.",
                        "default": "auto"
                    },
                    "useBrowserFallback": {
                        "title": "Browser Fallback",
                        "type": "boolean",
                        "description": "If true, fall back to Playwright headless browser when the HTTP API path fails for a video. If false, skip browser entirely (faster but lower success rate).",
                        "default": 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
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```