YouTube Transcript Scraper

📌 Introduction

The YouTube Transcript Scraper is a robust tool for extracting transcripts from YouTube videos. Whether you need auto-generated captions or user-uploaded subtitles, this scraper delivers accurate, structured transcript data for any video with available captions.

---

🎯 What Does This Tool Do?

• Extracts transcripts from YouTube videos using a full URL
• Supports both auto-generated and manually created captions.
• Outputs transcripts in both JSON and plain text formats for easy integration and analysis.

---

🚀 Key Features

• Retrieve transcripts from any YouTube video with captions
• Accepts only full URLs
• Outputs in JSON and plain text
• Includes timestamps for each transcript segment
• Fast and reliable extraction
• Json output for easy intrgration
• Minimal setup required

---

🔍 Use Cases

• Content Creators: Generate subtitles or repurpose video content.
• Researchers: Perform sentiment analysis, NLP, or content analysis.
• Accessibility: Provide readable transcripts for hearing-impaired users.
• SEO & Summarization: Create searchable summaries and improve discoverability.
• Education: Collect lecture or tutorial transcripts for study and reference.

---

📥 Inputs

What does the scraper accept?

• YouTube Video URL (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ)

Note: The video must have captions enabled (either user-uploaded or auto-generated).

---

🔒 Restrictions

• Only works with videos that have available transcripts.
• Some videos (e.g., live streams, private videos) may not provide transcripts.

---

✅ Example Input

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

---

📤 Outputs

What does the scraper return?

• JSON: Structured transcript with timestamps and text.
• Plain Text: Clean, readable transcript.

Example Output (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" }
  ]
}

Example Output (Plain Text)

0:00 We're no strangers to love
0:05 You know the rules and so do I
0:10 A full commitment's what I'm thinking of

---

⚙️ How to Use

1. Log in or Sign up on Apify Platform.
2. Create a new task and select "YouTube Transcript Actor".
3. Enter the YouTube video URL(s) in the startUrls field.
4. Choose whether to include timestamps (includeTimestamps: "toggle ON" or "toggle OFF").
5. Start the task and receive your transcript in JSON format.

---

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Issue	Possible Cause	Solution
Transcript not found	Video has no captions	Try another video
Invalid URL/ID	Input is incorrect or missing	Check and re-enter the input
Empty transcript	YouTube restricted the transcript	Try another video or region

---

🔗 Additional Resources

• YouTube API Documentation
• Apify Platform
• My Profile

---

🙌 Acknowledgments

This tool was built with the support of the open-source community and the YouTube API. Special thanks to all contributors! 🎉