How to get a YouTube transcript (3 easy ways)

Start with captions

A transcript comes from the captions attached to a video. Some creators upload captions themselves; many other videos get automatic captions from speech recognition. If a video has no captions at all, no caption-based tool can produce a transcript for it.

Method 1: use a transcript generator

The fastest way is to paste the video link into the tool on our homepage and choose Get transcript. The full transcript appears with clickable timestamps, search, copy and downloads.

1. Copy the link from the address bar or Share → Copy link.
2. Paste it on transcriptyoutube.com and choose Get transcript.
3. Copy the text or download TXT, SRT, VTT or Markdown.

Method 2: the URL shortcut

Open the video on YouTube, click the address bar and type “transcript” directly before “youtube.com”, so that www.youtube.com/watch?v=… becomes www.transcriptyoutube.com/watch?v=…. Press Enter and the transcript opens immediately. It also works for Shorts links.

Method 3: YouTube’s own transcript panel

On a computer, open the video, expand the description and look for “Show transcript”. The panel lists captions with timestamps and lets you click to jump. You can select the text by hand, but there is no download button, and the position of the control changes between layouts and apps.

Search, copy or download

In our reader, search for a word or phrase to filter the transcript, click a line to jump to that moment in the embedded player, and use Copy for the complete text. Choose TXT for documents, SRT or VTT for subtitle timing and Markdown for notes apps.

Check the important words

Automatic captions can mishear names, technical terms and numbers. Listen to the original before quoting a passage, preserve the speaker’s meaning and link back to the source.

Already have a subtitle file?

Open an SRT or VTT file from the homepage to use the same reader. Imported subtitle files are processed in your browser and are never uploaded or published.