YouTube Video Transcript API
Scrape YouTube Video Transcript data with one API call. Returns the transcript of a YouTube video as timestamped segments: each with text, start `offset` and `duration` (seconds), language, word count, and speech rate. Supports multiple languages via `language`. When no transcript exists (the owner disabled captions, the video is login-gated or gone, or no caption track matches the requested language) the endpoint returns 404 RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND with `error.details.reason` set to `captions_disabled`, `login_required`, `no_captions`, or `video_gone`, no credits are charged, and retrying returns the same result.
Last updated October 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
Returns the spoken transcript of a video as timestamped segments, each with text, start time and duration, plus language, word count, and speech rate.
Use it for a single video URL; when the video has no captions the reply is a 404 naming the reason, which is expected rather than a failure.
Searching 68 platforms in parallel
TikTok·
Instagram·YouTube·
Facebook·
X·
LinkedIn·
Reddit·
Threads·
Pinterest·
Twitch·
Truth Social·
Snapchat·
Kick·
Bluesky·
Kwai·
Rumble·
Spotify·
Apple Music·TikTok Shop·
Amazon Shop·
Google Shopping·
Trustpilot·
TripAdvisor·
Yelp·
Linktree·
Komi·
Pillar·
lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·
Finance·
Polymarket·
Tavily·
Hacker News·
GitHub·
Perplexity·
Naver·
Utility·
Universal SearchTikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Yelp·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal SearchTikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Yelp·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal SearchTikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Yelp·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal SearchWhat can you do with the Video Transcript API?
The Video Transcript endpoint gives you structured YouTube data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.
Example Request
curl -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/youtube/video/transcript?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdQw4w9WgXcQ"import requests
response = requests.get(
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/youtube/video/transcript",
params={
'url': 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ',
},
headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
data = response.json()const response = await fetch(
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/youtube/video/transcript?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdQw4w9WgXcQ",
{
headers: { "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" },
},
);
const data = await response.json();Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| url | Yes | Full URL of the YouTube video |
| language | No | 2 letter language code, ie 'en', 'es', 'fr' etc. If no caption track matches the language you specify, the request returns 404 RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND (reason `no_captions`) at 0 credits. |
| moments | No | Optional CSV of moment kinds to find in the timestamped transcript: brand, sponsor_read, product_demo, call_to_action. Returns data.moments = [{ kind, start_ms, end_ms, quote }]. Quote is copied from the transcript. Times come from the segments, never from the judge. Price of the extra step is an owner decision; today it does not add credits. |
| brand | No | Optional, with moments=. The company or product to look for, so a namesake is not counted. |
| q | No | Optional question about the video, up to 300 characters, for example q=what discount code do they give. Returns data.moments = [{ kind: "answers_query", start_ms, end_ms, quote }] for each stretch of about six transcript lines that states the answer: a stretch that only shares the topic is left out, and a question the video never answers returns an empty list. The quote is one line copied from the transcript and the times come from the segments. Send moments= or q=, not both. If the step cannot run, the transcript is returned without data.moments and data._warnings carries moments_unavailable. Today it does not add credits. |
What does the YouTube Video Transcript API return?
Every response follows one unified schema. Here is a real, unmodified response body, so you can see the exact fields you get back before spending a credit.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"platform": "youtube",
"endpoint": "/v1/youtube/video/transcript",
"data": {
"transcript": [
{
"text": "[♪♪♪]",
"duration": 1.68,
"offset": 1.36,
"lang": "en",
"wordCount": 0,
"speechRate": 0
},
{
"text": "♪ We're no strangers to love ♪",
"duration": 3.24,
"offset": 18.64,
"lang": "en",
"wordCount": 5,
"speechRate": 93
}
]
},
"credits_used": 0,
"request_id": "req_example000000",
"cached": true,
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"source": "captured",
"captured_at": "2026-10-02T12:45:01.380Z",
"redacted": true
}Live sample illustrating the unified response shape. Field values reflect the record you query.
How does the YouTube Video Transcript API work?
Send a GET request with your API key and get back clean, structured JSON in our unified schema. Supported computed fields are populated when the source provides the required inputs.
Method
GET
Response
JSON
How do you scrape social media data in seconds?
The fastest social media scraping API for developers. Scrape profiles, posts, comments, and analytics from 68 platforms covering 10B+ monthly active users.
One schema, every platform
Query 68 platforms with identical response structures. Write your integration once.
Computed fields, not just scraped
When an endpoint supports these metrics and the source provides the required inputs, the normalized record includes engagement_rate, estimated_reach, content_category, and language. Ready to use.
See your data before you code
Visual Data Explorer. Paste any URL, get rich result cards, sortable tables, CSV export.
import requests
response = requests.get(
'https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tiktok/profile',
params={'handle': 'charlidamelio'},
headers={'x-api-key': 'sc_YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json(){
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"data": {
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"followers": 152400000
},
"engagement": {
"likes": 12400000000,
"engagement_rate": 0.087
},
"metadata": {
"language": "en",
"content_category": "lifestyle"
}
}
}Have a question? We got answers
Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.
Contact usHow do I get a YouTube video's transcript?
Can I request a transcript in a specific language?
How much does a transcript request cost?
Is this good for LLM RAG pipelines?
Which videos have transcripts available?
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