youtube-transcript-api

YouTube Transcript API Skill

Use this skill when the user wants to extract transcripts from YouTube videos, transcribe videos without captions, translate video content, or process multiple videos in batch.

When to Use

• User asks to get a transcript/subtitles/captions from a YouTube video
• User wants to transcribe a YouTube video that has no captions (ASR)
• User wants to translate a YouTube video transcript to another language
• User needs to process multiple YouTube videos at once
• User wants to build an AI/LLM pipeline that uses YouTube video content
• User wants to repurpose video content into text (blog posts, summaries, etc.)

API Overview

Base URL: https://youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2

Authentication: Bearer token via Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

Users can get a free API key at youtubetranscript.dev.

Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/v2/transcribe	Extract transcript from a single video
POST	/api/v2/batch	Extract transcripts from up to 100 videos
GET	/api/v2/jobs/{job_id}	Check status of an ASR job
GET	/api/v2/batch/{batch_id}	Check status of a batch request

Request Fields

Field	Required	Description
video	Yes (single)	YouTube URL or 11-character video ID
video_ids	Yes (batch)	Array of IDs or URLs (up to 100)
language	No	ISO 639-1 code (e.g., "es", "fr"). Omit for best available
source	No	auto (default), manual, or asr
format	No	timestamp, paragraphs, or words
webhook_url	No	URL for async delivery (required for source="asr")

Credit Costs

Method	Cost	Speed
Native Captions	1 credit	5–10 seconds
Translation	1 credit per 2,500 chars	5–10 seconds
ASR (Audio)	1 credit per 90 seconds	2–20 minutes (async)

Examples

Basic Transcript Extraction (Python)

import requests

API_KEY = "your_api_key"

response = requests.post(
    "https://youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/transcribe",
    headers={
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    json={"video": "dQw4w9WgXcQ"}
)

data = response.json()
for segment in data["data"]["transcript"]:
    print(f"[{segment['start']:.1f}s] {segment['text']}")

Basic Transcript Extraction (JavaScript/Node.js)

const response = await fetch("https://youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/transcribe", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${API_KEY}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ video: "dQw4w9WgXcQ" }),
});

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

Using the Node.js SDK

npm install youtube-audio-transcript-api

import { YouTubeTranscript } from "youtube-audio-transcript-api";

const yt = new YouTubeTranscript({ apiKey: "your_api_key" });

// Simple extraction
const result = await yt.getTranscript("dQw4w9WgXcQ");

// With translation
const translated = await yt.transcribe({
  video: "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  language: "es",
});

// Batch (up to 100 videos)
const batch = await yt.batch({
  video_ids: ["dQw4w9WgXcQ", "jNQXAC9IVRw", "9bZkp7q19f0"],
});

Basic Transcript Extraction (cURL)

curl -X POST https://youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/transcribe \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"video": "dQw4w9WgXcQ"}'

Batch Processing (up to 100 videos)

curl -X POST https://youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/batch \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"video_ids": ["dQw4w9WgXcQ", "jNQXAC9IVRw", "9bZkp7q19f0"]}'

Translation

Add "language": "es" (or any ISO 639-1 code) to get the transcript translated:

curl -X POST https://youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/transcribe \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"video": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "language": "es"}'

ASR Transcription (videos without captions)

For videos that don't have captions, use ASR with a webhook:

curl -X POST https://youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/transcribe \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"video": "VIDEO_ID", "source": "asr", "webhook_url": "https://yoursite.com/webhook"}'

This returns immediately with status: "processing". Results are delivered to the webhook URL when ready. Poll with GET /api/v2/jobs/{job_id} if not using webhooks.

Error Handling

HTTP Status	Error Code	Description
400	invalid_request	Invalid JSON or missing required fields
401	invalid_api_key	Missing or invalid API key
402	payment_required	Insufficient credits
404	no_captions	No captions available and ASR not used
429	rate_limit_exceeded	Too many requests — check Retry-After header

Important Notes

• Always ask the user for their API key if they haven't provided one. Free keys are available at youtubetranscript.dev.
• Omitting the language parameter returns the best available transcript without translation (saves credits).
• ASR is async — always use a webhook URL or poll the jobs endpoint.
• Batch endpoint accepts both YouTube URLs and 11-character video IDs.
• Re-fetching an already-owned transcript costs 0 credits.

Resources

• Website
• Full API Docs & OpenAPI Spec
• npm SDK
• Pricing