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Captions

Extract closed captions and subtitles from YouTube videos.

Rating
5 (455 reviews)
Downloads
9,126 downloads
Version
1.0.0

Overview

Extract closed captions and subtitles from YouTube videos.

Complete Documentation

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Captions

Extract closed captions from YouTube videos via TranscriptAPI.com.

Setup

If $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY is not set, help the user create an account (100 free credits, no card):

Step 1 — Register: Ask user for their email.

bash
node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js register --email USER_EMAIL

→ OTP sent to email. Ask user: _"Check your email for a 6-digit verification code."_

Step 2 — Verify: Once user provides the OTP:

bash
node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js verify --token TOKEN_FROM_STEP_1 --otp CODE

API key saved to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json. See File Writes below for details. Existing file is backed up before modification.

Manual option: transcriptapi.com/signup → Dashboard → API Keys.

File Writes

The verify and save-key commands save the API key to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json (sets skills.entries.transcriptapi.apiKey and enabled: true). Existing file is backed up to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.bak before modification.

To use the API key in terminal/CLI outside the agent, add to your shell profile manually: export TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY=

GET /api/v2/youtube/transcript

bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\
?video_url=VIDEO_URL&format=json&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

ParamRequiredDefaultValues
video_urlyesYouTube URL or video ID
formatnojsonjson (structured), text (plain)
include_timestampnotruetrue, false
send_metadatanofalsetrue, false
Response (format=json — best for accessibility/timing):

json
{
  "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 start
  • duration: how long caption is displayed
Response (format=text — readable):

json
{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "transcript": "[00:00:18] We're no strangers to love\n[00:00:21] You know the rules..."
}

Tips

  • Use format=json for sync'd captions (accessibility tools, timing analysis).
  • Use format=text with include_timestamp=false for clean reading.
  • Auto-generated captions are available for most videos; manual CC is higher quality.

Errors

CodeMeaningAction
402No creditstranscriptapi.com/billing
404No captionsVideo doesn't have CC enabled
408TimeoutRetry once after 2s
1 credit per request. Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min.

Installation

Terminal bash

openclaw install captions
    
Copied!

💻Code Examples

node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js register --email USER_EMAIL

node-scriptstapi-authjs-register---email-useremail.txt
→ OTP sent to email. Ask user: _"Check your email for a 6-digit verification code."_

**Step 2 — Verify:** Once user provides the OTP:

node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js verify --token TOKEN_FROM_STEP_1 --otp CODE

node-scriptstapi-authjs-verify---token-tokenfromstep1---otp-code.txt
> API key saved to `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`. See **File Writes** below for details. Existing file is backed up before modification.

Manual option: [transcriptapi.com/signup](https://transcriptapi.com/signup) → Dashboard → API Keys.

## File Writes

The verify and save-key commands save the API key to `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json` (sets `skills.entries.transcriptapi.apiKey` and `enabled: true`). **Existing file is backed up to `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.bak` before modification.**

To use the API key in terminal/CLI outside the agent, add to your shell profile manually:
`export TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY=<your-key>`

## GET /api/v2/youtube/transcript

-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

--h-authorization-bearer-transcriptapikey.txt
| 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):

}

.txt
- `start`: seconds from video start
- `duration`: how long caption is displayed

**Response** (`format=text` — readable):
example.sh
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\
?video_url=VIDEO_URL&format=json&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"
example.json
{
  "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": "..." }
}
example.json
{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "transcript": "[00:00:18] We're no strangers to love\n[00:00:21] You know the rules..."
}

Tags

#image_and-video-generation

Quick Info

Category Content Creation
Model Claude 3.5
Complexity One-Click
Author therohitdas
Last Updated 3/10/2026
🚀
Optimized for
Claude 3.5
🧠

Ready to Install?

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openclaw install captions