Extract transcript

extractTranscript(params, options?): TranscriptResponse

POST/v1/transcripts1 Credit

This is the primary transcript endpoint. Submit a JSON body with the video id and optional format, language, and track policy. GET /v1/transcripts runs the same extractor with query parameters.

Successful requests consume 1 credit. Missing captions return 404 and are not billed.

Security

API Token

The preferred authorization scheme for the YouTube Transcript API. Create a key with transcripts:read in the developer dashboard.

Example: Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

See Authentication for scopes and rate limits.

Accepted permissions (at least one required)

transcripts:read

ParametersExpand Collapse

video_id:string

Body param:

11-character YouTube video ID or a full video URL.

format?:string

Body param:

Output format: word_timestamps, markdown, segments, sentences, text, srt, vtt, json3, or words. Default word_timestamps.

word_level?:boolean

Body param:

Include millisecond word offsets. Only genuine ASR word-level tracks populate words. Default false.

languages?:string[]

Body param:

Prioritized ISO language codes, for example ["en", "es"]. Default ["auto"].

track_policy?:string

Body param:

Track selection: manual_first, asr_first, manual_only, or asr_only. Default manual_first.

deadline_ms?:number

Body param:

Max upstream processing deadline in milliseconds before fallback. Default 10000.

ReturnsExpand Collapse

video_id:string

Echoed YouTube video ID.

language:string

Negotiated ISO language code, for example en or zh-Hans.

track_type:string

ASR (auto-generated) or MANUAL (creator-uploaded).

format:string

Format actually returned.

data:object

Payload shape depends on format. Markdown responses include token estimates for LLM windows.

markdown?:string

Structured paragraphs with timestamp references. Present when format is markdown.

estimated_tokens?:number

Approximate token count of the markdown payload.

segments?:Segment[]

Timed caption segments. Each item may include a words array when word_level is true on ASR tracks.

Word-level tracks

If a video only has manual subtitles without word-level alignment, the API returns segments without fabricating a words array.

Extract transcript

const response = await fetch(
  "https://api.ytapi.dev/v1/transcripts",
  {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.YT_API_KEY}`,
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      video_id: "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
      format: "markdown",
    }),
  },
);

const transcript = await response.json();
console.log(transcript);

import os
import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.ytapi.dev/v1/transcripts",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['YT_API_KEY']}"},
    json={
        "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
        "format": "markdown",
        "word_level": False,
    },
)

print(response.json())

curl -X POST https://api.ytapi.dev/v1/transcripts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $YT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "format": "markdown"
  }'

package main

import (
	"bytes"
	"encoding/json"
	"fmt"
	"net/http"
	"os"
)

func main() {
	payload, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]any{
		"video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
		"format":   "markdown",
	})

	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.ytapi.dev/v1/transcripts", bytes.NewBuffer(payload))
	req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+os.Getenv("YT_API_KEY"))
	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")

	resp, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer resp.Body.Close()
	fmt.Println(resp.Status)
}

200 example

{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "track_type": "ASR",
  "format": "markdown",
  "data": {
    "markdown": "# Never Gonna Give You Up\n\n[00:00] We're no strangers to love...",
    "estimated_tokens": 420
  }
}