# YouTube Transcript: Captions & Subtitles to Text, SRT, VTT (`themineworks/youtube-transcript-scraper`) Actor Get the transcript of any public YouTube video with captions as plain text, timestamped segments, SRT or VTT. Paste a whole list of videos in one run. Manual or auto captions in your language. No API key, no login. Videos without captions are never charged. Works in Claude and ChatGPT via MCP. - **URL**: https://apify.com/themineworks/youtube-transcript-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [The Mine Works](https://apify.com/themineworks) (community) - **Categories:** Videos, AI, MCP servers - **Features:** Limited permissions - **Stats:** 19 total users, 3 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $3.00 / 1,000 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 Transcript: Captions & Subtitles to Text, SRT, VTT [![8 YouTube transcripts in 206 seconds on residential proxy](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/cUXz95yxflDho41nn/records/youtube-transcript-scraper-hero-fix0930.png)](https://console.apify.com/actors/uvZqKi1CJjtKfLgV3/input?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) From **The Mine Works**, makers of [Threads Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/threads-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) and [B2B Leads Finder](https://apify.com/themineworks/b2b-leads-finder?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral), with over 290,000 runs across 310+ public actors. Paste a list of YouTube videos and get each one's transcript back as plain text, timestamped segments, an SRT subtitle file or a WebVTT file, in one run. It reads the captions YouTube shows in its own player, uploaded or auto-generated, in the language you ask for. No YouTube API key, no account, no OAuth, and it works on videos you do not own. ### Why choose this actor? - **You pay only for transcripts you receive.** A video with no captions, a private or deleted video, a bad link, a duplicate or a request YouTube refused costs nothing, and the row says which of those happened. In our 2 October test runs, 7 videos refused by YouTube on the default proxy came back as clear rows and none of them was charged. - **A residential switch for the videos YouTube refuses.** On the default datacenter proxy YouTube often answers "Sign in to confirm you're not a bot": in our runs from 26 September to 2 October, 16 of 53 videos returned a transcript there. Through Apify residential proxy, 9 of 12 did. Turn on `useResidentialProxy` only when you need it; each transcript it delivers is charged as 2 events. - **Four formats at one price, no API key.** `fullText` for AI and search, timed `segments`, and ready-to-save SRT and VTT files. Picking more formats does not change the price, and no Google account or quota is involved. [![Run it on Apify](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/cUXz95yxflDho41nn/records/button-run.png)](https://console.apify.com/actors/uvZqKi1CJjtKfLgV3/input?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) **Part of The Mine Works Social media and video family:** [Threads Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/threads-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral), [Reddit Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/reddit-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral), [Threads Search Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/threads-search-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral), [Instagram Profile Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/instagram-profile-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral), [Instagram Followers & Following](https://apify.com/themineworks/instagram-followers-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral), [Reddit Search Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/reddit-search-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral). ### Try it in one minute Paste this into the JSON tab of the input page and press Start. Three videos usually take well under a minute. ```json { "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc", "https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ", "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0FDjFBj8o" ], "outputFormats": ["text", "segments"], "language": "en" } ``` `videoUrls` takes watch URLs, `youtu.be` short links, `/shorts/`, `/embed/` and `/live/` URLs, or bare 11-character video IDs such as `dQw4w9WgXcQ`, one per line. If a row comes back with `"needsResidentialProxy": true`, YouTube asked that request to sign in. That row is free: run the same video again with `"useResidentialProxy": true`. Apify's free plan includes $5 of credit every month, which covers about 2,000 transcripts at today's Free price ($0.0025 each, no start fee), or about 990 from 12 October 2026 ($0.005 each plus $0.005 per run, in runs of 100). With `useResidentialProxy` on, about half as many. #### Copy to your AI assistant ``` themineworks/youtube-transcript-scraper on Apify. Returns the transcript of public YouTube videos that have captions (uploaded or auto-generated), one row per video, as fullText, timestamped segments, SRT or VTT. Call ApifyClient("TOKEN").actor("themineworks/youtube-transcript-scraper").call(run_input={...}), then client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items. Required: videoUrls (array of watch, youtu.be, shorts, embed or live URLs, or 11-character video IDs). Optional: outputFormats (array of text, segments, srt, vtt; default ["text","segments"]), language (caption language code, default "en"), includeTimestamps (default true), useResidentialProxy (default false; when true the actor fetches through Apify residential proxy and each delivered transcript is charged as 2 transcript-scraped events), proxy (default Apify datacenter proxy). Only rows with status "ok" are charged. Rows with needsResidentialProxy true were refused by YouTube's bot check on the datacenter proxy, are free, and can be rerun with useResidentialProxy true. Rows with _type "summary", "stopped" or "info" are run reports and are never billed. Full spec: GET https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/themineworks~youtube-transcript-scraper/builds/default (Bearer TOKEN), which returns inputSchema and readme. Token: https://console.apify.com/account/integrations?fpr=ymnoit&utm_source=apify-readme&utm_medium=referral ``` ### Key features - **Four output formats per row.** `text` (one `fullText` string), `segments` (timed lines, each `{ start, dur, text }` in seconds), `srt` and `vtt`, in any combination. In SRT and VTT each line ends no later than the next one starts, so YouTube's overlapping auto captions do not show as two stacked, repeating lines. - **Your language first.** An exact match for `language`, then a regional variant (`en` matches `en-US` and `en-GB`), then another track the video offers, uploaded captions before automatic ones. The `language` field on each row says which track you got, and `isAutoGenerated` says whether YouTube made it. - **Two proxy modes, chosen by you.** The default Apify datacenter proxy costs one event per transcript. `useResidentialProxy` switches every request of the run to Apify residential proxy and charges 2 events per transcript delivered. Nothing switches to residential on its own. - **Refusals you can act on.** A video YouTube refuses on the datacenter proxy comes back with `reason: "bot-check"` and `needsResidentialProxy: true`, free, and the run's `summary` row counts them in `videosNeedingResidentialProxy`. - **Long lists without surprises.** Duplicate links are fetched and charged once. After 5 request-level failures in a row, or close to the run's time limit, or when your maximum charge is spent, the run stops cleanly and lists every unprocessed video in a `stopped` row, uncharged, ready to paste into a new run. - **One proof-of-origin token per run.** YouTube requires a token on caption requests; the actor creates it once per run in a lightweight simulated page (no real browser), so 512 MB of memory is enough. ### How to use it #### Basic: one video ```json { "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc"] } ``` On 2 October this video (Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address) returned 244 timed lines and 12,131 characters of uploaded English captions. #### Several videos with subtitle files ```json { "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc", "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0FDjFBj8o", "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID", "dQw4w9WgXcQ" ], "outputFormats": ["text", "srt", "vtt"] } ``` Each `ok` row carries the full SRT and VTT files as strings. Save them as `.srt` or `.vtt` for your player or editor. #### Rerun the videos YouTube refused, on residential After a default run, collect the `url` of every row with `needsResidentialProxy: true` and run them again with the switch on: ```json { "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY", "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc" ], "useResidentialProxy": true } ``` Both were refused on the datacenter proxy in most of our 2 October runs (iG9CE55wbtY in 3 of 4, UF8uR6Z6KLc in 4 of 4). With the switch on, UF8uR6Z6KLc came back as a full transcript, charged as 2 events. Doing it in two steps means you pay the residential price only for the videos that need it. #### Transcripts for RAG and AI agents ```json { "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0FDjFBj8o"], "outputFormats": ["text", "segments"], "includeTimestamps": true } ``` Embed `fullText` in chunks, or embed `segments` so each answer can cite the second it comes from (`start`). #### Spanish captions for a list of talks ```json { "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY"], "language": "es", "outputFormats": ["text", "vtt"] } ``` If a video has no Spanish track you get another one it offers, and `language` on the row tells you which. The actor never translates. #### New videos every week Keep a saved task with the week's video links and run it on a schedule (Console, Schedules, Create new, pick a time such as `0 6 * * 1`). Scheduled runs are billed exactly like manual ones, per transcript delivered. ### Input parameters | Parameter | Type | Default | What it does | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `videoUrls` | array of strings | one example video | Videos to transcribe, one per line: watch URLs, `youtu.be` links, `/shorts/`, `/embed/` and `/live/` URLs, or bare 11-character IDs. Duplicates are fetched and charged once. Channel and playlist URLs are refused (free) | | `outputFormats` | array | `["text", "segments"]` | Any of `text`, `segments`, `srt`, `vtt`. Same price whatever you pick | | `language` | string | `en` | Caption language to prefer, such as `en`, `es`, `hi`, `fr` or `pt`. Falls back to another track the video offers, never translates | | `includeTimestamps` | boolean | `true` | Keeps the `segments` array when `segments` is selected. SRT and VTT always carry their own timings | | `useResidentialProxy` | boolean | `false` | When it is on, the actor fetches through Apify RESIDENTIAL proxy and each delivered transcript is charged as TWO `transcript-scraped` events. That is about $10 per 1,000 transcripts on the Free plan from 12 October 2026, and $5 per 1,000 now. Videos without a transcript are still free. The `proxy` field is ignored while it is on (a country set there is kept) | | `proxy` | object | Apify Proxy (datacenter) | Leave it on the default. Videos refused there are marked `needsResidentialProxy`; use `useResidentialProxy` for them. A residential group picked here instead is charged at the single price, and the cost guard stops such a run after about 100 videos | Calling it from code with input written for another tool? If `videoUrls` is empty, the actor also reads `urls`, `videoIds`, `startUrls` (strings or `{ "url": ... }` objects), `youtube_url` and `videoUrl`. **Run time.** A run has 300 seconds by default. On the datacenter proxy most videos take a few seconds each. Our 11 video residential run took 206 seconds (6 to 51 seconds per video, plus the one-time token setup), so for more than about 15 videos with `useResidentialProxy` on, raise the timeout under Run options. If a run gets close to its limit, it stops about 15 seconds early and lists the videos it did not reach, uncharged. ### What data do you get? One row per video you listed, plus one `summary` row at the end of every run. **Transcript rows** (`status: "ok"`, charged): `videoId`, `url`, `title`, `language`, `isAutoGenerated`, `segmentCount`, `charCount`, and the formats you asked for: `fullText`, `segments`, `srt`, `vtt`. **Rows without a transcript** (free): `status` is `no-caption-track` or `error`, `reason` says why, and `error` explains it in a sentence. Reasons you will see: - `bot-check`: YouTube asked the request to sign in to confirm it is not a bot. On the datacenter proxy the row also has `needsResidentialProxy: true`. - `no-tracks-listed`: no caption track came back. Either the video has none, or YouTube withheld them from this request; one response cannot tell which, and the row says so. - `requested-language-unavailable`: the video has tracks but none usable; `availableLanguages` lists what it has. - `video-unavailable`: private, deleted, age-restricted or members-only. - `invalid-video-id`: a channel, playlist or other link with no video ID. - `caption-fetch-failed`, `caption-track-empty`, `watch-page-http-error`, `watch-page-fetch-failed`, `no-player-data`: the request failed; usually worth a retry later. **Run rows** (never charged): a `stopped` row (`_type: "stopped"`) when the run ended early, with `reason` (`transport-failing`, `run-timeout`, `charge-limit-reached`, `cost-limit` or `residential-proxy-unavailable`), `message`, `videosNotAttempted` and `notAttempted`; a `summary` row (`_type: "summary"`) with `videosRequested`, `transcriptsScraped`, `noCaptionTrack`, `errored`, `duplicatesSkipped`, `chargedFor`, `chargedEvents`, `useResidentialProxy`, `eventsPerTranscript` and `videosNeedingResidentialProxy`; and an `info` row when transcripts were delivered. Fields with no value are left out rather than sent as `null`. The dataset has two views: **Transcripts** (one line per video) and **Full text**. #### Stable fields for automations Present on every `ok` row today (`url`, `status` and `scrapedAt` are on every video row of any kind): | Field | Meaning | | --- | --- | | `videoId` | 11-character YouTube video ID | | `url` | Canonical watch URL | | `title` | Video title | | `language` | Language code of the caption track used | | `isAutoGenerated` | `true` for YouTube's automatic captions | | `segmentCount` | Number of timed lines | | `charCount` | Length of the full transcript text | | `status` | `ok` on a charged transcript | | `scrapedAt` | ISO time the row was written | | `fullText` | Whole transcript, when `text` is selected (default) | | `segments` | Timed lines, when `segments` is selected (default) | These names will not change. New fields may be added next to them. #### Output examples A transcript row from a 2 October run with `useResidentialProxy` on (text and segments, trimmed): ```json { "videoId": "UF8uR6Z6KLc", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc", "title": "Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address", "language": "en", "isAutoGenerated": false, "segmentCount": 244, "charCount": 12131, "fullText": "This program is brought to you by Stanford University. Please visit us at stanford.edu ...", "segments": [ { "start": 7.47, "dur": 2.899, "text": "This program is brought to you by Stanford University." }, { "start": 10.47, "dur": 3.973, "text": "Please visit us at stanford.edu" } ], "status": "ok", "scrapedAt": "2026-10-02T11:22:02.978Z" } ``` With `srt` and `vtt` selected, the same two lines arrive as `"srt": "1\n00:00:07,470 --> 00:00:10,369\nThis program is brought to you by Stanford University.\n\n2\n00:00:10,470 --> 00:00:14,443\nPlease visit us at stanford.edu\n..."` and `"vtt": "WEBVTT\n\n00:00:07.470 --> 00:00:10.369\nThis program is brought to you by Stanford University.\n\n..."`. The same video on the default datacenter proxy earlier that day, refused by YouTube and not charged: ```json { "videoId": "UF8uR6Z6KLc", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc", "status": "error", "reason": "bot-check", "needsResidentialProxy": true, "error": "YouTube asked this request to sign in to confirm it is not a bot (Sign in to confirm you’re not a bot). This happens to many videos on the default datacenter proxy and says nothing about the video itself. Not charged. To get this transcript, run the video again with useResidentialProxy turned on: the actor then fetches through Apify residential proxy and each delivered transcript is charged as 2 transcript-scraped events.", "scrapedAt": "2026-10-02T11:21:00.091Z" } ``` A playlist link, refused up front and free: ```json { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx0sYbCqOb8TBPRdmBHs5Iftvv9TPboYG", "status": "error", "reason": "invalid-video-id", "error": "Could not find a YouTube video ID in this input. Pass a video URL (watch, youtu.be, shorts, embed or live) or an 11-character video ID. Channel and playlist URLs are not supported.", "scrapedAt": "2026-10-02T11:21:00.647Z" } ``` The summary row of the residential run (one transcript, 2 events; trimmed): ```json { "_type": "summary", "status": "summary", "videosRequested": 1, "duplicatesSkipped": 0, "transcriptsScraped": 1, "noCaptionTrack": 0, "errored": 0, "videosNotAttempted": 0, "chargedFor": 1, "chargedEvents": 2, "useResidentialProxy": true, "eventsPerTranscript": 2, "videosNeedingResidentialProxy": 0, "outputFormats": ["text", "segments"], "scrapedAt": "2026-10-02T11:22:02.987Z" } ``` ### Pricing Pay per event: one `transcript-scraped` event for each transcript saved to your dataset, two with `useResidentialProxy` on. Prices change on **12 October 2026**; both are shown. **Until 11 October 2026 (current price, no start fee)** | Per transcript | Free | Bronze (Starter) | Silver (Scale) | Gold and above (Business) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Default proxy, 1 event | $0.0025 | $0.002 | $0.00175 | $0.0015 | | Per 1,000, default proxy | $2.50 | $2.00 | $1.75 | $1.50 | | `useResidentialProxy` on, 2 events | $0.005 | $0.004 | $0.0035 | $0.003 | | Per 1,000, residential | $5.00 | $4.00 | $3.50 | $3.00 | **From 12 October 2026 (already scheduled)** | Per transcript | Free | Bronze (Starter) | Silver (Scale) | Gold and above (Business) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Default proxy, 1 event | $0.005 | $0.0042 | $0.0036 | $0.003 | | Per 1,000, default proxy | $5.00 | $4.20 | $3.60 | $3.00 | | `useResidentialProxy` on, 2 events | $0.01 | $0.0084 | $0.0072 | $0.006 | | Per 1,000, residential | $10.00 | $8.40 | $7.20 | $6.00 | | Start fee, `apify-actor-start` | $0.005 per GB of run memory, minimum one event | same | same | same | **The start fee, exactly.** From 12 October, Apify's `apify-actor-start` event is charged once when a run starts, at $0.005 for each GB of memory, with a minimum of one event. This actor runs on 512 MB by default, so a default run pays one event: $0.005. Before 12 October there is no start fee. **Worked examples on the Free plan.** 100 transcripts on the default proxy: $0.25 today, $0.505 from 12 October. The same 100 with `useResidentialProxy` on: $0.50 today, $1.005 from 12 October. **Never charged:** videos without a caption track, private or unavailable videos, bot-check rows, failed requests, invalid links, duplicate links in the same run, videos a stopped run did not reach, and the `summary`, `stopped` and `info` rows. The charge fires only after an `ok` row is saved. With `useResidentialProxy` on, a video is started only if the maximum charge you set for the run still covers its 2 events. The Pricing tab on this page always shows the rate for your own plan; if it and these tables ever differ, the Pricing tab is right. ### FAQ **Do I need a YouTube API key or a Google account?** No. The actor reads the public caption tracks YouTube serves to every viewer of a video. There is no API key, OAuth, login, cookie or daily quota, and it never signs in to YouTube. YouTube's own Data API only lets you download captions for videos on channels you own. **Why do some rows say "Sign in to confirm you're not a bot"?** YouTube shows that check to many requests that come from datacenter IP addresses, video by video. In our runs from 26 September to 2 October, 16 of 53 videos returned a transcript on the default datacenter proxy. Those rows have `reason: "bot-check"` and `needsResidentialProxy: true`, and they are never charged. **When should I turn on `useResidentialProxy`?** When the videos you need came back with `needsResidentialProxy: true`, or when you would rather pay more per transcript than rerun. Residential traffic costs us about as much per video as the whole default price, so with the switch on each delivered transcript is charged as 2 events: $5 per 1,000 on the Free plan now and about $10 per 1,000 from 12 October 2026. In residential runs, 9 of 12 videos returned a transcript; the others failed at the request level and were free. **How much do 1,000 transcripts cost?** On the default proxy: $2.50 on the Free plan and $1.50 on Gold and above today; from 12 October 2026, $5.00 and $3.00 plus $0.005 per run. Double the per transcript price with `useResidentialProxy` on. Only `ok` rows count. **Am I charged for videos that have no captions?** No. The actor reads existing captions and does not transcribe audio, so a video with no caption track returns `no-caption-track` and is free. The same goes for private, deleted and age-restricted videos, bad links, duplicates and refused requests. **How many videos can I put in one run?** There is no fixed cap on the list. A run has 300 seconds by default, which suits a few dozen videos on the default proxy and about 15 on residential; raise the timeout under Run options for longer lists. A run that nears its limit stops cleanly and lists the rest in a `stopped` row, uncharged. **How fresh are the transcripts?** Each run fetches the captions live from YouTube at that moment, so an edited or newly added caption track shows up on the next run. Nothing is cached between runs. **Can I choose the caption language?** Yes, with `language` (`en`, `es`, `hi`, `de`, `ja` and so on). You get an exact match first, then a regional variant, then another available track, and the row's `language` field says which. It does not translate. **Does it work with Shorts and live stream replays?** Yes, if the video has captions. `/shorts/` and `/live/` URLs are read like watch URLs. Many Shorts have no captions at all; those come back as free `no-caption-track` rows. To transcribe the audio of Shorts without captions, use our [Video Transcriber](https://apify.com/themineworks/instagram-tiktok-video-transcript?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral). **Can I get transcripts for a whole channel or playlist?** Not directly. Channel and playlist URLs are refused with `invalid-video-id`, free. List the channel's videos with our [YouTube Channel Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/youtube-channel?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral), then paste the video URLs here. **What export formats are there?** From the run's Storage tab as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or HTML, or through the Apify API. Skip rows that have a `_type` field if you want transcripts only. **Can I run it on a schedule?** Yes. Save your input as a task and add it under Schedules in Apify Console. Scheduled runs are billed exactly like manual ones, and the schedule itself is free. **Can I use it from Claude, ChatGPT or another AI assistant?** - Connector URL: `https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=themineworks/youtube-transcript-scraper`. - Claude: Settings > Connectors > Add custom connector, paste the URL, sign in with Apify. - ChatGPT: developer mode, add an MCP connector with the URL, sign in with Apify. - Cursor or VS Code: add it as an HTTP MCP server with that URL. - Claude Code: `claude mcp add -t http youtube-transcript-scraper "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=themineworks/youtube-transcript-scraper"`. **Is it legal to use this data?** The actor collects only captions and titles that YouTube shows to anyone watching a public video, and it never signs in. Transcripts are usually the creator's copyrighted work. You are responsible for how you use them, including YouTube's terms, copyright and data protection laws such as GDPR and CCPA. This is general information, not legal advice. ### Integrations - **Google Sheets:** export a run to a sheet, one row per video, with `fullText` in a column. - **Make, Zapier and n8n:** use the Apify app or node to start a run when a new video link arrives and send the transcript on to a document, a CRM or Slack. - **Webhooks:** have Apify call your URL when a run succeeds, then fetch the dataset. - **API and client libraries:** start runs and read datasets from Python, JavaScript or any HTTP client. The "Copy to your AI assistant" block above has the exact call. - **MCP clients:** Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code and Claude Code can call the actor through `https://mcp.apify.com`. - **Next step:** get a channel's video list with our [YouTube Channel Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/youtube-channel?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral), or episode transcripts from podcast feeds with our [Podcast Episode Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/podcast-episode-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral). ### More from The Mine Works **Social media and video** - [Threads Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/threads-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Reddit Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/reddit-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Threads Search Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/threads-search-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Instagram Profile Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/instagram-profile-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Instagram Followers & Following](https://apify.com/themineworks/instagram-followers-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Reddit Search Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/reddit-search-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Twitter / X Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/twitter-x-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Xiaohongshu (RED) Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/xiaohongshu-explore-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Telegram Channel Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/telegram-channel-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Telegram Channel Finder](https://apify.com/themineworks/telegram-channel-finder?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Pinterest Profile Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/pinterest-profile-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [TikTok Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/tiktok-hashtag-search-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) **Leads and business directories** - [B2B Leads Finder](https://apify.com/themineworks/b2b-leads-finder?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Skip Trace Lookup](https://apify.com/themineworks/skip-trace-lookup?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Google Maps Email Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/maps-leads?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [JustDial Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/justdial-business?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) **Marketing, SEO and reviews** - [Facebook Ad Library Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/meta-ad-library-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Google Ads Transparency Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/google-ads-transparency?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Similarweb Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/similarweb-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Google News Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/google-news?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) **LinkedIn** - [LinkedIn Company Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/linkedin-company-details?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [LinkedIn Post Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/linkedin-post-search?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [LinkedIn Employees Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/linkedin-employees?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [LinkedIn Profile Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/linkedin-profile-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) **Real estate** - [Zillow Rentals Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/zillow-rental-listings?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Zillow Sold Comps Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/zillow-recently-sold?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Housing.com Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/housing-com-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [India Real Estate MCP](https://apify.com/themineworks/india-real-estate-mcp?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) **Science, health and government data** - [CourtListener Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/courtlistener-court-records?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Socrata Open Data Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/socrata-open-data?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Academic Research MCP](https://apify.com/themineworks/academic-research-mcp?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [OpenAlex Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/openalex-scholarly-works?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) **Jobs and hiring** - [Foundit Monster India Jobs](https://apify.com/themineworks/foundit-jobs-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Hirist Jobs Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/hirist-jobs-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [India Jobs MCP](https://apify.com/themineworks/india-jobs-mcp?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Naukri Jobs Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/naukri-jobs?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) **Company and business data** - [GST Taxpayer Lookup](https://apify.com/themineworks/gst-taxpayer-lookup?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Company Domain Finder](https://apify.com/themineworks/company-domain-finder?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [World Bank Trade Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/global-trade-data?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [SEC EDGAR Filings Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/sec-edgar-filings?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) **E-commerce and marketplaces** - [Ozon.ru Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/ozon-product-search?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Amazon Product Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/amazon-products?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [⭐ Amazon Reviews Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/amazon-reviews?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Carsales.com.au Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/carsales-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) **Food and local services** - [NoBroker Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/nobroker-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Swiggy Restaurant Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/swiggy-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Zomato Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/zomato-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) **Developer and AI tools** - [Website to Markdown Crawler](https://apify.com/themineworks/rag-crawler?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [GitHub Repo Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/github-repo-intelligence?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [GitHub Skill Finder](https://apify.com/themineworks/github-skill-discovery?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [GitHub Trending Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/github-trending-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) **More tools** - [G2 Reviews Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/g2-reviews-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Tennis Match & Player Data Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/tennis-match-data?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [Flashscore Tennis Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/flashscore-tennis-results-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) - [LandWatch Scraper](https://apify.com/themineworks/landwatch-land-for-sale-scraper?fpr=ymnoit\&utm_source=apify-readme\&utm_medium=referral) ### Support Found a bug or need a field we do not return yet? Open an issue on the Issues tab of this page and we will reply there. To ask for a new data source, email dmineworks@gmail.com. A guide and FAQ for this actor also live at [themineworks.com](https://themineworks.com/actors/youtube-transcript-scraper/). *YouTube Transcript turns a list of public YouTube videos into text, timed segments, SRT and VTT, charges only for transcripts delivered, and fetches the videos YouTube refuses on the default proxy through a residential switch you control.* # Actor input Schema ## `videoUrls` (type: `array`): One or more YouTube videos, one per line. Accepts watch URLs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...), youtu.be short links, /shorts/, /embed/ and /live/ URLs, or a bare 11-character video ID such as dQw4w9WgXcQ. Duplicates are fetched and charged once. Channel and playlist URLs are not supported: list the individual videos. ## `outputFormats` (type: `array`): Which transcript formats to return on each row. text: the whole transcript as one string (fullText). segments: an array of { start, dur, text } lines in seconds. srt and vtt: ready-to-use subtitle files as strings. Choose any combination; the price per transcript is the same. ## `language` (type: `string`): Language code of the caption track to prefer, for example en, es, hi, fr or pt. en also matches en-US and en-GB. If the video has no track in this language, you get another available track instead (uploaded captions first), and the language field on the row says which one you got. This does not translate. ## `includeTimestamps` (type: `boolean`): When on, rows include the segments array (start time and duration of each line, in seconds) if segments is one of the output formats. Turn it off to drop the array. SRT and VTT always carry their own timings. ## `useResidentialProxy` (type: `boolean`): Off by default. On the default datacenter proxy YouTube asks many videos to sign in to confirm they are not a bot; those rows come back with reason bot-check and needsResidentialProxy, and are not charged. Turn this on to fetch them. When it is on, the actor fetches through Apify RESIDENTIAL proxy and each delivered transcript is charged as TWO transcript-scraped events. That is about $10 per 1,000 transcripts on the Free plan from 12 Oct 2026, and $5 per 1,000 now. Videos that return no transcript are still not charged. While this is on, the proxy field below is ignored (a country set there is kept). ## `proxy` (type: `object`): Optional. Leave it on the default, Apify Proxy (datacenter). Videos that YouTube refuses there are marked needsResidentialProxy and are not charged; to fetch them, turn on Use residential proxy above instead of picking a residential group here. A residential group picked here is charged at the single price, and the cost guard stops such a run after about 100 videos. Ignored while Use residential proxy is on. ## Actor input object example ```json { "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" ], "outputFormats": [ "text", "segments" ], "language": "en", "includeTimestamps": true, "useResidentialProxy": false, "proxy": { "useApifyProxy": true } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" ], "language": "en", "proxy": { "useApifyProxy": true } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("themineworks/youtube-transcript-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`πŸ’Ύ Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // πŸ“š Want to learn more πŸ“–? Go to β†’ 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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"], "language": "en", "proxy": { "useApifyProxy": True }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("themineworks/youtube-transcript-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print(f"πŸ’Ύ 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) # πŸ“š Want to learn more πŸ“–? Go to β†’ https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" ], "language": "en", "proxy": { "useApifyProxy": true } }' | apify call themineworks/youtube-transcript-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,themineworks/youtube-transcript-scraper" } } } ``` 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 ` 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/uvZqKi1CJjtKfLgV3/builds/xe3PxZXagtCffWGK6/openapi.json