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
View Source →
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.
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:
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
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"
| 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 |
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 displayed
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..."
}
Tips
- Use
format=jsonfor sync'd captions (accessibility tools, timing analysis). - Use
format=textwithinclude_timestamp=falsefor clean reading. - Auto-generated captions are available for most videos; manual CC is higher quality.
Errors
| Code | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 402 | No credits | transcriptapi.com/billing |
| 404 | No captions | Video doesn't have CC enabled |
| 408 | Timeout | Retry once after 2s |
Installation
openclaw install captions
💻Code Examples
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: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](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"
| 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):}
- `start`: seconds from video start
- `duration`: how long caption is displayed
**Response** (`format=text` — readable):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"{
"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": "..." }
}{
"video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"language": "en",
"transcript": "[00:00:18] We're no strangers to love\n[00:00:21] You know the rules..."
}Tags
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