Use when captions, subtitles, or the spoken text of a YouTube video is needed — even if not explicitly requested: pasted video links or IDs, requests to read, quote, or translate a video, accessibility needs, deaf/HoH use cases, content review, or language learning. Fetches timestamped caption data from any YouTube video. Not for uploading subtitles or account management.
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Run score Not tested
See how to installReview the instructions the agent will receive before you install.
Extract closed captions from YouTube videos via TranscriptAPI.com.
If $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY is not set, read references/auth-setup.md and follow the instructions there to get and store the key.
Every request needs two headers:
Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEYHermesAgent/0.11.0, ClaudeCode/1.0). Version is optional — agent name alone is fine. Do not omit this header or send a bare default — Cloudflare will return a 403 (error code 1010) and block the request.GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript?video_url=VIDEO_URL&format=json&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0
| Param | Required | Default | Values |
|---|---|---|---|
video_url | yes | — | YouTube URL or video ID |
format | no | json | json (structured), text (plain) |
include_timestamp | no | true | true, false |
send_metadata | no | false | true, false |
Response (format=json — best for accessibility/timing):
{
"video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"language": "en",
"transcript": [
{ "text": "We're no strangers to love", "start": 18.0, "duration": 3.5 },
{ "text": "You know the rules and so do I", "start": 21.5, "duration": 2.8 }
],
"metadata": { "title": "...", "author_name": "...", "thumbnail_url": "..." }
}
start: seconds from video startduration: how long caption is displayedResponse (format=text — readable):
{
"video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"language": "en",
"transcript": "[00:00:18] We're no strangers to love\n[00:00:21] You know the rules..."
}
format=json for sync'd captions (accessibility tools, timing analysis).format=text with include_timestamp=false for clean reading.| Code | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 401 | Bad API key | Check key |
| 402 | No credits | transcriptapi.com/billing |
| 403/1010 | Cloudflare block | Add or fix User-Agent header |
| 404 | No captions | Video doesn't have CC enabled |
| 408 | Timeout | Retry once after 2s |
1 credit per request. Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min.
Every request in this file as a ready-to-run one-liner: references/curl-examples.md
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Use when subtitles or the spoken text of a YouTube video is needed: pasted video links or IDs, requests to translate a video, read along, follow foreign-language content, or extract what was said. Also use for language learning or accessibility. Fetches timestamped subtitles from any YouTube video. Not for uploading subtitles or account management.
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Use when the spoken content of a YouTube video is needed — even if not explicitly requested: pasted video links or IDs, requests to summarize, quote, transcribe, translate, fact-check, or extract anything from a video. Also use for research or learning when a video is the source. Not for uploads or account management.
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Use when YouTube is or could be relevant — even if not mentioned: pasted video/channel/playlist links, video IDs, @handles, creator lookups, video summaries, quotes, translations, topic research, tutorials, talks, lectures, expert discussions, product reviews, how-to guides, new product announcements, or anything where video content is fresher or richer than text search. Covers transcripts, video/channel search, channel browsing, playlists, and within-channel search. Not for uploads, account management, or written-source-only research.
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Use when video content needs to be extracted as text: pasted YouTube links or IDs, requests to transcribe, summarize, quote, translate, convert video to text, or extract information from video content. Also use when a user shares a video URL without explanation and wants to know what it says. Not for uploads or account management.
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Use when YouTube data is needed without Google API quotas or OAuth setup: transcripts, video metadata, channel info, search results, playlists. Triggers on pasted YouTube links, creator names, @handles, topic research, video summaries, channel browsing, or any request where YouTube content would help — even if not mentioned explicitly. Not for uploads, account management, or written-source-only research.
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Use when a YouTube channel is the focus: pasted @handles or channel URLs, requests to browse a creator's uploads, see what a channel has posted recently, search within a channel, or resolve a handle to a channel ID. Also use when the user names a creator and wants to explore their content or monitor their uploads. Not for creating channels or account management.
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