How the YouTube transcript generator works
Most YouTube videos carry captions: either subtitles uploaded by the creator or captions generated automatically by YouTube. The generator reads that caption track and turns it into clean text you can copy, with timestamps if you want them. It takes a few seconds and works for any public video.
When a video has no captions, or the automatic ones are poor, use AI transcription instead. Audiotexta then transcribes the audio itself and returns sentences with punctuation and speaker labels.
YouTube's captions versus an AI transcript
Automatic YouTube captions have no punctuation and no speaker changes, and they often mishear names and numbers. They are fine for finding a moment or getting the gist. For quoting, publishing or research, an AI transcript reads much better and can be summarised, translated and exported to Word.
- Instant transcript: free, seconds, as good as the captions YouTube has
- AI transcript: a few minutes, punctuation and speakers, editable, works without captions
What people use YouTube transcripts for
- Quoting a talk or interview accurately in an article
- Turning a lecture or tutorial into study notes
- Searching a long video for the part that matters
- Writing a summary, show notes or a blog post from a video
- Translating a video you cannot follow by ear
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Frequently asked questions
How do I get the transcript of a YouTube video?
Paste the video's link into the box on this page and press Get transcript. You can also open the transcript on YouTube itself: under the video, open the description, scroll down and choose Show transcript.
Is the YouTube transcript generator free?
Yes. Getting, copying and downloading transcripts from YouTube captions is free and needs no account.
How do I download a transcript from YouTube?
Paste the link here, press Get transcript, then choose Download TXT or Download SRT. YouTube's own Show transcript panel lets you read and copy the text but has no download button for viewers.
Can I download a YouTube video transcript with timestamps?
Yes. Keep Show timestamps on and download TXT, or download SRT, which keeps the timing of every line.
Can I search a YouTube transcript?
Yes. Once the text is on the page, use your browser's find (Ctrl+F, or Cmd+F on a Mac) to search the YouTube transcript for a word, then use its timestamp to jump to that moment in the video.
Why does it say the video has no transcript?
Some videos have no captions at all, for example music videos or very new uploads. Use Transcribe with AI to create a transcript from the audio.
Does it work with Shorts and live streams?
Shorts work like any other video. Past live streams work once YouTube has processed their captions; ongoing streams do not.
Can I get the transcript in another language?
If the video has caption tracks in several languages, pick one in the list. Otherwise transcribe it with AI and translate the result on Pro.