youtube-transcript

name

youtube-transcript

description

Extracts full transcripts from YouTube videos — with or without timestamps. Use when users need to get text transcription of a YouTube video, download captions, extract video transcript for analysis, convert YouTube video to text, get subtitles from a YouTube URL, transcribe video content for summarization, extract timestamped transcript, get auto-generated captions from YouTube. Also applies to: video content analysis, meeting recap (if recorded to YouTube), video SEO research, content repurposing, podcast transcription.

YouTube — Video Transcript Extraction

Video URL → Full transcript text with optional timestamps

Language

All process output to user follows the user's language.

Objective

Extract the full transcript/captions from any YouTube video that has captions available.

Prerequisites

• browser-act CLI installed and verified

Capability Components

DOM: Extract Transcript via YouTube UI

1. navigate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v={VIDEO_ID}
2. wait stable
3. click "More" button (if present — the "Show more" below description)
4. wait --timeout 2000
5. click "Show transcript" button (look for "Show transcript" or "Transcript" text)
6. wait --timeout 3000
7. get markdown or use eval script below

The transcript panel appears on the right side with timestamped text segments.

DOM: Extract via JavaScript eval

eval "$(python scripts/extract-transcript.py)"

This script extracts all visible transcript segments with timestamps.

DOM: Get Available Languages

eval "$(python scripts/get-languages.py)"

Returns available transcript language options.

DOM: Open Transcript Panel

eval "$(python scripts/open-transcript-panel.py)"

Data Output

Each transcript segment:

• text: The transcribed text
• timestamp: Timestamp in MM:SS format
• segment_index: Sequential segment number

Known Limitations

• Only works for videos that have captions/transcripts enabled
• Some videos may have auto-generated captions which can contain errors
• Long videos may have truncated transcripts in the UI — scroll to load more
• Some videos require the transcript panel to be opened via the "..." menu

Typical Use Cases

1. Content Analysis: Transcribe video content for AI analysis and summarization
2. Video SEO: Extract transcript text for SEO keyword research
3. Content Repurposing: Convert video content into blog posts or articles
4. Language Learning: Get transcripts of foreign language videos
5. Accessibility: Generate text versions of video content
6. Research: Quote extraction from lecture or presentation videos