Developer tutorial

How to scrape YouTube transcripts with cURL (2026)

This tutorial shows how to scrape YouTube transcripts in cURL using the SocialCrawl API. You get the full timestamped transcript of any public video from its watch URL, ready for summarization or search from one GET request, with no YouTube developer account, proxies, or HTML parsing. The code below is runnable as-is, and the response underneath it is a real, unedited call.

Code tested July 2026

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How it works

1
Get a free API keyCreate a SocialCrawl account and copy your API key from the dashboard. Every new account starts with free credits.
2
Set up cURLUse curl, which ships with macOS, Linux, and Windows 10 and later.
3
Call the YouTube Video Transcript endpointSend a GET request to /v1/youtube/video/transcript with your API key in the x-api-key header and the `url` parameter.
4
Read the responseParse the JSON. SocialCrawl returns the full timestamped transcript of any public video from its watch URL, ready for summarization or search in one normalized schema, so you write no HTML parsing or proxy code.

The code

A real, unedited response from the request above.

curl -G "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/youtube/video/transcript" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

[ 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": 3,
  "credits_remaining": 9999,
  "request_id": "req_example000000",
  "cached": false
}

API reference for this endpoint

Prefer another language?

Python Node.js cURL

FAQ

Have a question? We got answers

Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.

Do I need a YouTube developer account to scrape YouTube transcripts?

No. SocialCrawl handles authentication and proxies upstream, so you never register a YouTube app, manage OAuth tokens, or run your own scrapers. One API key returns YouTube data directly.

What does the YouTube Video Transcript endpoint return?

It returns the full timestamped transcript of any public video from its watch URL, ready for summarization or search. The response is normalized into SocialCrawl's unified schema, identical in shape across every platform.

How much does it cost to scrape YouTube transcripts?

Each call costs a small number of credits, and new accounts start with free credits. There are no monthly minimums, so you pay only for the calls you make.

Can I use this cURL code in production?

Yes. The snippet on this page is the real request against the live API. For production, add error handling and follow the response cursor to paginate through large result sets.

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