# YouTube Video Transcript - Bulk Captions with Timestamps (`tidytools/youtube-video-transcript`) Actor

Paste public YouTube video URLs to get ready-made captions with text and start/end timestamps. Multiple videos per run; unavailable captions and blocked requests are free. $2 per 1,000 caption transcripts.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/tidytools/youtube-video-transcript.md
- **Developed by:** [Yukai Lin](https://apify.com/tidytools) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, AI
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.60 / 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.
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 Video Transcript — Bulk Captions with Timestamps

### What does YouTube Video Transcript do?

**Paste public YouTube video URLs → get one transcript per video with `start` and `end` timestamps.** The default uses existing manual or auto-generated captions. Paste one link or a list; no YouTube API key is needed.

### Input example

```json
{"videos":["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"]}
```

### Output example

One successful row (shortened illustration based on the original YouTube Transcript Scraper's real caption sample, checked on 2026-10-03):

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw",
  "title": "Me at the zoo",
  "language": "en",
  "text": "All right, so here we are ...",
  "segments": [{"start": 1.2, "end": 3.36, "text": "All right, so here we are, in front of the elephants"}],
  "charged": true
}
```

### Pricing

Successful caption transcripts cost $0.002 per video ($2 per 1,000, FREE/BRONZE rate), with no start fee. The optional speech-to-text fallback is off by default and costs $0.006 per started audio minute when it returns a transcript. Larger Apify plans have the same discounts as the original YouTube Transcript Scraper. Failed videos, including videos without captions, are free.

### How to use

The input form starts with **Video URLs**. Three public videos with captions observed in our 2026-10-02 sample are prefilled; caption availability can change. Use **Advanced options** to change timestamps, output shape, or turn on speech-to-text for a video without captions. A short `youtu.be/ID` link also works. For channel or playlist monitoring, use the full YouTube Transcript Scraper.

Each video gives one row. With the default settings, successful rows contain `videoUrl`, `title`, `language`, `text`, `segments` (`start`, `end`, `text`), and `charged`. A video with no caption track returns `success: false`, `failureReason: "captions_unavailable"`, `charged: false` and an explanation. When speech-to-text is enabled, it is a separate `asr-minute` event; a successful caption row uses one `video` event.

### Limitations

This Actor reads public videos only. It does not sign in, solve human verification challenges, or use stealth tools. YouTube may block caption requests (its robots.txt disallows the relevant endpoints); when blocked, the Actor reports a free failure row rather than bypassing the block. Respect creators' copyright when using transcripts.

### FAQ

**Do videos without captions incur a charge?** No. With the default settings, they produce a free error row. You can enable the optional speech-to-text fallback for those videos.

**Can I use a short YouTube URL?** Yes. Paste a `youtu.be/ID` link in Video URLs.

**Can it monitor channels or playlists?** Use the full YouTube Transcript Scraper for those inputs.

# Actor input Schema

## `videos` (type: `array`):

Paste public YouTube watch, Shorts or youtu.be links, one per line. A row is returned for each video; unavailable captions are free.

## `includeTimestamps` (type: `boolean`):

Return a segments list with start, end and text for each caption line.

## `compactTranscript` (type: `boolean`):

Show videoUrl and compact segments with start, end and text. Keep on for this specialized output.

## `includeAsr` (type: `boolean`):

Optional speech-to-text fallback for videos with no caption track. Charged per audio minute only when a transcript is returned.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "videos": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw",
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CXgPVw_-0g",
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpdHe3QZiiY"
  ],
  "includeTimestamps": true,
  "compactTranscript": true,
  "includeAsr": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `transcripts` (type: `string`):

No description

## `full` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 = {
    "videos": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw",
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CXgPVw_-0g",
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpdHe3QZiiY"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("tidytools/youtube-video-transcript").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 = { "videos": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw",
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CXgPVw_-0g",
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpdHe3QZiiY",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("tidytools/youtube-video-transcript").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 '{
  "videos": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw",
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CXgPVw_-0g",
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpdHe3QZiiY"
  ]
}' |
apify call tidytools/youtube-video-transcript --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/Y6rIqGsvIQFiWowKQ/builds/8OUZChxISlXIQbneE/openapi.json