How to transcribe a YouTube video

YouTube videos can be transcribed into plain text or timed subtitle files. This helps with editing, translation, accessibility, content repurposing, and searchable archives.

Transcribe a YouTube video

Steps

  1. Open Automatic Subtitles and choose the Video Link tab.
  2. Paste the YouTube URL. For restricted videos, use a fresh cookies TXT file if needed.
  3. Choose the spoken language and the export formats you want.
  4. Start the transcription job and wait for the result files.
  5. Download TXT for a transcript, or SRT/VTT for timed subtitles.

Which output should you choose?

TXT is best when you only need readable text. SRT is best for subtitle editors and video platforms. VTT is useful for web players. JSON is useful when you want structured segments for automation or custom tools.

Related pages

For a focused YouTube workflow, visit YouTube subtitles. To translate the generated subtitles, use the subtitle translation guide.