# Youtube Transcript Scraper $2/1000 🔆🔆 (`vistics/youtube-transcript-scraper-2-1000`) Actor

Are you in search of a robust solution for extracting transcripts from YouTube videos? Look no further 😉, YouTube-Transcript-Scraper will meet your needs. Our software not only efficiently retrieves transcripts but also provides additional valuable information .👍 😀 Scrap away 🕵‍♂️.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/vistics/youtube-transcript-scraper-2-1000.md
- **Developed by:** [Ilong Mamman](https://apify.com/vistics) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce, Videos, Social media
- **Stats:** 41 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 17 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 results

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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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 | Extract Captions & Subtitles

Extract accurate transcripts from any YouTube video in seconds.
Supports auto-generated captions, manual subtitles, timestamps,
and outputs in both JSON and plain text formats.

⭐ 5.0 Rating | 👥 129 Users | ⚡ Fast & Reliable

***

### What Data Can You Extract?

| Field        | Description                |
| ------------ | -------------------------- |
| `videoUrl`   | Source YouTube video URL   |
| `title`      | Video title                |
| `transcript` | Full transcript text       |
| `timestamp`  | Timestamp for each segment |
| `language`   | Caption language           |

***

### Why Extract YouTube Transcripts?

- ✍️ **Content Repurposing** — Turn videos into blogs, articles & social posts
- 🔍 **SEO** — Create searchable, indexable content from video
- 🧠 **AI & NLP** — Feed transcripts into LLMs, sentiment analysis & summarization
- 📚 **Research** — Analyse speech patterns, topics & trends at scale
- ♿ **Accessibility** — Generate readable transcripts for hearing-impaired users
- 🎓 **Education** — Collect lecture & tutorial transcripts for study

***

### How to Use Carefully

#### 1. Single Video

```json
{
  "videoUrl": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"]
}
```

#### 2. Multiple Videos

```json
{
  "videoUrl": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzEbj3w8bDY"
  ]
}
```

***

### Input Parameters

| Parameter           | Type    | Description                  | Default  |
| ------------------- | ------- | ---------------------------- | -------- |
| `videoUrl`          | Array   | YouTube video URL(s)         | Required |
| `includeTimestamps` | Boolean | Include timestamps in output | `true`   |

> ⚠️ The video must have captions enabled (auto-generated or manual).

***

### Output Example

**JSON:**

```json
{
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "title": "Never Gonna Give You Up",
  "transcript": [
    { "timestamp": "0:00", "text": "We're no strangers to love" },
    { "timestamp": "0:05", "text": "You know the rules and so do I" },
    { "timestamp": "0:10", "text": "A full commitment's what I'm thinking of" }
  ]
}
```

**Plain Text:**

```
We're no strangers to love
You know the rules and so do I
A full commitment's what I'm thinking of
```

***

### Supported Video Types

✅ Regular YouTube videos\
✅ Auto-generated captions\
✅ Manually uploaded subtitles\
✅ Multiple languages\
❌ Live streams (no transcript available)\
❌ Private or age-restricted videos

***

### FAQ

**Can I scrape multiple videos at once?**\
Yes — pass multiple URLs in the `videoUrl` array.

**What languages are supported?**\
Any language that YouTube provides captions for.

**What if the transcript is empty?**\
The video likely has no captions enabled. Try another video
or check if captions are available on YouTube directly.

**Can I use the output with ChatGPT or other AI tools?**\
Yes — the plain text and JSON outputs are ready to feed
directly into any AI or NLP pipeline.

***

### Troubleshooting

| Issue                | Cause                     | Solution              |
| -------------------- | ------------------------- | --------------------- |
| Transcript not found | No captions available     | Try a different video |
| Invalid URL          | Incorrect format          | Use full YouTube URL  |
| Empty transcript     | YouTube restricted access | Try another region    |

***

### Need Help?

Open an issue on the Apify platform — we respond within 24 hours. ⚡

# Actor input Schema

## `timestamps` (type: `boolean`):

If true, returns transcript array with timestamps. If false, returns joined text only.

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

List of YouTube video URLs to scrape transcripts from

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "timestamps": false,
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SieELGaJV8k"
  ]
}
```

# 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 = {
    "startUrls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SieELGaJV8k"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("vistics/youtube-transcript-scraper-2-1000").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 = { "startUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SieELGaJV8k"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("vistics/youtube-transcript-scraper-2-1000").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 '{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SieELGaJV8k"
  ]
}' |
apify call vistics/youtube-transcript-scraper-2-1000 --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,vistics/youtube-transcript-scraper-2-1000"
        }
    }
}
```

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/nV3gcZddkLsgRWhSs/builds/KcQbLoY2bbj1fuU6D/openapi.json