Free YouTube Transcript Generator
Paste a YouTube link and get the full transcript in seconds. Free, no sign-up, with optional timestamps.
Works with any YouTube video or Short that has captions.
YouTube Transcript Generator
How to get the transcript of a YouTube video
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1
Copy the video link
From your browser's address bar, or the Share button in the YouTube app. Shorts links work too.
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2
Paste it and click Convert
Tick "Include timestamps" if you want the time each line is spoken.
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3
Copy the transcript
Use it for notes, quotes, or paste it into ChatGPT or Claude to summarize the video.
A simple YouTube transcript extractor
Free, with no sign-up
No account, no email, no extension to install. Paste a link and get the text.
Timestamps when you need them
Turn on timestamps to see when each line is said, like [01:23], so you can jump back to the right moment.
Clean text, ready for AI
The transcript comes back as plain text with no clutter, so it pastes straight into ChatGPT, Claude, or your notes.
Long videos and Shorts
Podcasts, lectures, interviews, tutorials, and Shorts. If the video has captions, you get the whole transcript.
What people use YouTube transcripts for
- Summarizing long videos with ChatGPT or Claude
- Taking study notes from lectures and tutorials
- Pulling exact quotes for articles and research
- Turning videos into blog posts and social posts
- Reading a video instead of watching it
- Searching a podcast for the part you need
YouTube transcript API
Need transcripts in your own app or automation? Send the video URL to the URL to Text API and get the transcript back as text.
curl -X POST https://urltotext.com/api/v1/urltotext/ \
-H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID", "include_timestamps": true}'YouTube transcript FAQ
Is this YouTube transcript generator really free? +
Yes. You can get transcripts for free without creating an account. Free use is rate limited to keep the service fast for everyone. If you need more, or want to use the API, sign up for a paid plan.
How do I get the transcript of a YouTube video? +
Copy the video's link from your browser or the YouTube app's Share button, paste it into the box above, and click Convert. The full transcript appears below in a few seconds, ready to copy.
Can I get the transcript with timestamps? +
Yes. Tick "Include timestamps" and every line starts with the time it's spoken, like [01:23]. Videos longer than an hour use [1:02:05].
Which videos does it work with? +
Any public YouTube video that has captions, including auto-generated ones. Shorts and long videos both work. We currently fetch English captions. Videos with captions turned off, private videos, and age-restricted videos can't be transcribed.
How do I see the transcript on YouTube itself? +
On a computer, open the video, expand the description below it, and click "Show transcript". The transcript opens next to the video. In the YouTube app, open the description and tap "Show transcript". It's handy for a quick look, but copying it from there is awkward, which is why tools like this one exist.
Can I use the transcript with ChatGPT or Claude? +
Yes, that's what most people do. Copy the transcript and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or another AI tool to summarize the video, pull out key points, or turn it into notes, a blog post, or social posts. Signed-in users can also add an AI prompt to get a summary straight away.
Is there an API for YouTube transcripts? +
Yes. Send the video URL to the URL to Text API and you get the transcript back as text. Add "include_timestamps": true to get timestamps. See the API docs for details.
Do you store the videos or transcripts? +
No. We fetch the captions, return the text to you, and don't keep a copy of the transcript.
Need text from a web page instead? Use the URL to Text converter, or extract text from a PDF.