Why does this video have no transcript?

Transcripts come from a video's caption track. If a video has captions disabled and YouTube has not processed automatic captions for it, there is nothing to fetch.

Are the transcripts accurate?

Transcripts from creator-uploaded captions are usually very accurate. Auto-generated captions are good but not perfect, especially with names, niche terms, and heavy accents.

Can I get a transcript with timestamps?

Yes. Toggle timestamps on to see when each line is spoken, or download the SRT file to keep the full timing data.

What languages does the YouTube transcript generator support?

Any language the video has captions in. The transcript comes in the language of the caption track, such as English, Spanish, or Korean. If a video has captions in several languages, you get one of them, and the tool does not translate.

Can I download a YouTube transcript as an SRT or VTT file?

You can download an SRT file, which keeps the start and end time of every caption, or a plain TXT file. There is no VTT download, but most subtitle editors convert SRT to VTT in one step.

Does it work with YouTube Shorts?

Yes. Paste a Shorts link the same way as any other video. Many Shorts have no captions, though, and those have no transcript to fetch.

Is it legal to copy a YouTube transcript?

Fetching a transcript for research, study, or accessibility is fine. The video itself remains the creator's copyrighted work, so quote and reference rather than republishing someone else's transcript as your own content.

Is this transcript generator really free?

Yes. Transcripts are free and unlimited, no signup needed.

Free, no signup

YouTube Transcript Generator

Turn any YouTube video into text in seconds. Paste a link to get the full transcript, then copy it clean, keep the timestamps, or download it as a file.

Works with any public YouTube video that has captions.

How to get a YouTube transcript in 3 steps

Paste a link.

Copy the URL from your browser or the Share button in the YouTube app. Watch links, youtu.be links, Shorts links, and 11-character video IDs all work, as long as the video is public and has captions.

We fetch the captions.

Click Get transcript. The text comes straight from the video's caption track, with the start and end time of every line preserved.

Copy or download.

Grab clean paragraphs for quoting and rewriting, turn on timestamps to see when each line is spoken, or download a TXT or SRT file.

What you can do with a transcript

A transcript turns a video into text you can actually work with. Creators repurpose transcripts into blog posts, newsletters, and social threads. Students and researchers quote and search hours of lectures without scrubbing through playback. Editors use SRT files as the starting point for subtitles and translations. And if you are studying a competitor's video, reading the transcript is the fastest way to see exactly how they structure an argument, a tutorial, or a story.

Blog posts and newsletters

Turn a video into a written post without retyping it. Clean up the transcript, add headings, and you have a first draft that matches what you said on camera.

Captions and subtitles

Download the SRT file to start from accurate timing when you fix captions, add subtitles in your video editor, or prepare a file for translation.

YouTube chapters

Timestamped lines show where each topic starts, so writing chapters for your description takes minutes instead of a full rewatch.

Or let the YouTube Chapter Generator draft them

Quotes and clips

Search the text for the line you remember, copy it word for word, and use its timestamp to cut the exact moment into a Short or social post.

Accessibility

A written version helps viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing, people watching with the sound off, and anyone who would rather read than watch.

Search and research

Search engines cannot watch your video, but they can read a blog post built from its transcript. Transcripts of top videos on your topic also show you the exact wording that works.

Need the key points only? Try the YouTube Video Summarizer

Supported languages

The generator reads the captions YouTube already has for a video, so it works in any language those captions are written in, such as English, Spanish, or Korean. Creator-uploaded captions and YouTube automatic captions both work. You get the transcript in the language of the caption track. If a video has captions in more than one language, you get one of them, and the tool does not translate.

Copy and download formats

Copy to clipboard: Clean text grouped into readable paragraphs, or one caption per line with [0:42]-style timestamps when timestamps are on.
TXT file: A plain text download of exactly what you see, with or without timestamps.
SRT file: Numbered caption blocks with start and end times (00:01:23,450 --> 00:01:26,100), ready for video editors, subtitle tools, and caption uploads in YouTube Studio.

Need WebVTT (.vtt)? Most subtitle editors convert an SRT file to VTT in one step.

From transcript to new content

The transcript of a top video on your topic is research gold: it shows the hooks, the phrasing, and the points that kept people watching. Read it, note what is missing, then write your own take. When you are ready, the free AI Script Generator drafts your script and the AI Description Generator writes the description to match.

YouTube Video Summarizer

Too long to read? Get the key points of any video in seconds.

YouTube Chapter Generator

Turn the video into YouTube chapters with a timestamp list you can paste.

AI Script Generator

Turn what you learned into your own script in seconds.

FAQs

Paste the video link into the box above and click Get transcript. The full transcript appears in seconds, and you can copy it or download it as a TXT or SRT file.

Turn what you learned into your next video

vidIQ gives you keyword research, AI titles, descriptions, and coaching built for YouTube creators.