YouTube Transcript/Subtitle Extractor

Extract transcripts, subtitles, and captions from any YouTube video, channel, or playlist — with full metadata, 30+ languages, and 5 export formats.

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Quick Start

Extract a single video transcript

{
  "mode": "transcript",
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU"
}

Batch extract multiple videos

{
  "mode": "batch_transcript",
  "videoUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU",
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfscVS0vtbw"
  ],
  "languages": ["en"]
}

Extract from a YouTube channel with proxy

{
  "mode": "channel",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@TED",
  "maxVideos": 20,
  "sortBy": "newest",
  "useApifyProxy": true,
  "proxyCountry": "US",
  "proxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
}

Tip: Use transcript_list mode first to discover available languages, then use transcript mode with your preferred language.

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Features

Feature	Description
No API Key or Browser	Works without YouTube Data API key, OAuth, or headless browser
30+ Languages	Supports manual and auto-generated subtitles with translation
5 Operation Modes	Single video, language list, batch (up to 50), channel, and playlist
5 Export Formats	JSON, SRT, VTT, text with timestamps, and plain text

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Use Cases

• Content Repurposing — Convert YouTube videos into blog posts, articles, social media content, or newsletters
• AI & LLM Training Data — Collect structured transcript data for RAG pipelines, fine-tuning, or training datasets
• SEO & Keyword Research — Analyze video transcripts to discover trending keywords and topics in your niche
• Accessibility & Subtitles — Download subtitles in SRT/VTT format for video players, translation projects, or archiving

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Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
mode	string	—	Required. transcript, transcript_list, batch_transcript, channel, or playlist
videoUrl	string	—	YouTube video URL or ID. Required for transcript and transcript_list
videoUrls	array	—	List of YouTube URLs or IDs (max 50). Required for batch_transcript
channelUrl	string	—	YouTube channel URL (@handle, /channel/, /c/). Required for channel
playlistUrl	string	—	YouTube playlist URL. Required for playlist
maxVideos	integer	50	Max videos from channel/playlist (1-500)
sortBy	string	newest	Sort channel videos: newest, oldest, popular
languages	array	["pt","en","es"]	Preferred language codes in priority order
translateTo	string	—	Translate transcript to this language code
outputFormat	string	json	Output format: json, srt, vtt, text_with_timestamps, plain_text
includeMetadata	boolean	true	Include video title, channel, views, duration, keywords
preserveFormatting	boolean	false	Keep HTML formatting tags in transcript text
requestWaiting	number	2	Delay between requests in seconds (batch/channel/playlist modes)
useApifyProxy	boolean	false	Enable Apify residential proxy
proxyGroups	array	["RESIDENTIAL"]	Proxy group. RESIDENTIAL recommended
proxyCountry	string	US	Proxy country code (US, BR, GB, etc.)
customProxyUrl	string	—	Custom proxy URL (overrides Apify Proxy)

Note: Proxy is optional but recommended for production use. Without proxy, YouTube may rate-limit requests from data center IPs. If you get a REQUEST_BLOCKED error, enable the proxy. Proxy usage is billed separately to your Apify account.

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Output Example

{
  "mode": "transcript",
  "data": {
    "video_id": "arj7oStGLkU",
    "video_url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU",
    "title": "Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator | Tim Urban | TED",
    "channel_name": "TED",
    "view_count": 60876042,
    "duration_seconds": 844,
    "language": "English",
    "is_generated": true,
    "snippets": [
      {
        "text": "So in college,",
        "start": 12.64,
        "duration": 1.37,
        "formatted_start": "00:00:12"
      },
      {
        "text": "I was a government major,",
        "start": 15.349,
        "duration": 1.561,
        "formatted_start": "00:00:15"
      }
    ],
    "full_text": "So in college, I was a government major, which means I had to write a lot of papers...",
    "snippets_count": 315
  },
  "metadata": {
    "mode": "transcript",
    "items_count": 315,
    "scraped_at": "2026-02-21T14:14:31.116000+00:00",
    "actor_version": "1.0",
    "proxy_used": false
  }
}

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Output Formats

Format	Description	Use Case
json	Structured JSON with snippets array	API integration, data analysis, LLM pipelines
srt	SubRip subtitle format	Video editors, subtitle embedding, media players
vtt	WebVTT subtitle format	Web video players, HTML5 video, streaming
text_with_timestamps	[HH:MM:SS] text format	Human-readable logs, documentation
plain_text	Text only, no timestamps	Blog posts, summaries, content repurposing

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FAQ

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Support

1. Check the FAQ above for common solutions
2. Test with default values using the single transcript example
3. Contact support through Apify for additional assistance