TranscriptYTHow to convert a YouTube video to text
- 1
Paste the YouTube link
Any video, Short, or youtu.be link from the share menu.
- 2
Turn timestamps on or off
Keep [MM:SS] markers for reference, or switch them off for clean, readable text.
- 3
Copy or save as TXT
Paste the text into notes, a doc, or ChatGPT/Claude, or download a .txt file.
For developers
Need transcripts at scale? Use the API.
The same transcripts are available through the TranscriptYT YouTube Transcript API: timestamped JSON, text, SRT, VTT, CSV, or Markdown, 150+ languages, and AI transcription for videos without captions. Or connect the MCP server to Claude, Cursor, or Codex and just paste links in chat.
curl "https://transcript-yt.com/v1/transcript?url=dQw4w9WgXcQ&format=text" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer ts_live_..."
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a YouTube video to text?
Paste the video link above and click Get transcript. The spoken words appear as text you can copy or download as a .txt file, with or without timestamps.
Is the YouTube to text converter free?
Yes. You can convert a few videos a day with no account. A free API key adds 100 more, and paid plans start at $3 a month.
Can I paste the text into ChatGPT or Claude?
Yes. Turn timestamps off for the most compact text, then copy it into any AI chat to summarize, translate, or ask questions about the video.
How accurate is the text?
It comes from the video's captions. Creator-uploaded captions are usually exact; YouTube's auto-generated captions are good but can miss names and technical terms.
What about videos with no captions?
This free converter reads existing captions only. The TranscriptYT API transcribes videos without captions using AI speech-to-text.
Can I convert many videos to text automatically?
Use the API: one request per video returns plain text (format=text), JSON with timestamps, or subtitle files, from any language or AI agent.