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YouTube Transcript Downloader

Paste a YouTube link to read, copy or download its transcript as text or SRT subtitles.

Works with youtube.com/watch, youtu.be and youtube.com/shorts links.

About the YouTube Transcript Downloader

The YouTube Transcript Downloader turns the captions of a YouTube video into text you can read, copy and save. Paste a link and the full transcript appears within seconds, with an option to show timestamps beside each line.

You can copy the transcript as clean plain text, download it as a .txt file, or download it as an .srt subtitle file with proper timings. If the video offers captions in more than one language, a language picker lets you switch between them.

Creators use transcripts to quote a video accurately, to study how a successful video is structured, to write show notes and blog posts, and to make a video easier to search. Researchers and students use them to review long talks and lectures without scrubbing through the video.

The tool reads the public caption tracks YouTube publishes for a video. Auto-generated captions can contain errors, and a video with captions turned off has no transcript to fetch. Transcripts belong to the people who made the video, so use them for reference, accessibility and research, or with the owner's permission.

How to use it

  1. Copy the link of a YouTube video that has captions.
  2. Paste it into the box above and click Get transcript.
  3. Pick a caption language if more than one is available, and turn timestamps on or off.
  4. Copy the text, or download it as a .txt or .srt file.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get the transcript of a YouTube video?

Paste the video link into the box above and click Get transcript. The tool reads the video's public captions and shows them as text that you can copy or download.

Why is there no transcript for some videos?

A transcript only exists when the video has captions. Some creators turn them off, some videos are too new for auto-generated captions to be ready, and private or removed videos cannot be read. The tool tells you which case applies.

Are auto-generated captions accurate?

Auto-generated captions are produced by speech recognition. They are usually good for clear speech in major languages, but they can misspell names, technical terms and words spoken over music. Check important quotes against the video.

What is an SRT file?

SRT (SubRip) is a simple subtitle format. Each entry has a number, a start and end time, and a line of text. Video editors, players and platforms accept it, so you can use it to add subtitles or captions to a video.

Can I download the transcript in another language?

If the video publishes captions in several languages, a language picker appears above the transcript. The tool only lists caption languages that the video actually has.

Can I reuse a transcript I download?

The words in a video belong to its creator. Using a transcript for reference, research or accessibility is generally fine; to republish or repurpose someone else's content, get their permission first. This is general information, not legal advice.

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