How to Get a Transcript of a YouTube Video

Updated 2026-06-13

YouTube has a built-in transcript feature for most videos — you don't need any tool to access it. But the native version has some real limitations: it comes with timestamps on every line, it doesn't work on mobile, and it doesn't exist at all for YouTube Shorts or videos where the creator disabled captions.

Here's how to get a transcript using each method, and what to do in the situations where the standard approach breaks down.

Method 1: YouTube's built-in transcript (free, desktop only)

YouTube includes a transcript panel on most videos. It's not prominently displayed, but it's there if you know where to look.

The main limitations to know upfront: the copied text includes a timestamp before every line ("0:04 So the first thing we need to do"), which creates fragmented, noisy text. You can't copy just the clean words without the timestamps using this method. Additionally, this feature is not available in the YouTube mobile app — the transcript panel exists only on desktop browsers. YouTube Shorts also don't have this button in their player interface.

1
Open the video on desktop
Go to youtube.com on a desktop browser. This won't work in the YouTube iOS or Android app.
2
Click the three-dot (…) menu below the video description
It appears next to the Like, Share, and Save buttons. You may need to expand the description first.
3
Select "Show transcript"
A panel slides open on the right side of the page with the full transcript.
4
Select all and copy
Click inside the transcript panel, use Ctrl+A (Cmd+A on Mac) to select all, then Ctrl+C to copy.
5
Paste where you need it
The pasted text will include timestamps on each line — clean those up manually or use a tool if you need plain text.

Get a clean transcript in one click

Paste a YouTube URL, get plain text without timestamps. Works on Shorts too. Free to try.

Try YouTube Transcript — Free

Method 2: Get clean text without timestamps using a transcript tool

If you want the transcript as plain, continuous text — for feeding to an AI, searching it, translating it, or just reading it — RunCLI's YouTube Transcript tool extracts the same underlying caption data and outputs it without timestamps or line breaks.

Paste the URL and you get a clean block of text you can copy or download as a TXT file. This works on regular YouTube videos and Shorts URLs. The video needs to have captions — it pulls from whatever caption track YouTube has for it.

Cost is 3 credits per video. No sign-up required to try.

1
Go to runcli.ai/youtube-transcript
No extension or installation needed.
2
Paste the YouTube video URL
Standard video URLs and Shorts URLs both work.
3
Click Run
The transcript appears as clean text in a few seconds.
4
Copy or download
Use the Copy button or download as a TXT file.

Method 3: When the video has no captions

Both methods above depend on a caption track existing. If the creator disabled captions, the video is marked "Made for Kids," the video is very new and captions haven't been generated yet, or YouTube simply failed to auto-caption it — there will be no transcript to extract.

In that case, the only option is to transcribe directly from the audio. RunCLI's YouTube Transcriber uses AI speech recognition (Deepgram Nova-3) to generate a transcript from the video's audio regardless of whether captions exist. It supports 100+ languages and can identify multiple speakers.

See the full guide on why YouTube transcripts go missing and how to fix each case.

What can you do with a transcript once you have it?

A clean transcript opens up a lot of use cases that aren't practical with a timestamped copy-paste.

The most common ones:

Feed it to ChatGPT or Claude to get a summary, pull out key quotes, or ask questions about the content.
Translate it — paste into DeepL or ask an AI to translate it into another language.
Search it — Ctrl+F in a text editor to find exactly where something was mentioned.
Create written notes or study guides from lecture or tutorial content.
Use it as a starting point for your own article, script, or show notes.
Reformat as subtitles by adding timestamps back in with an AI or editing tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I copy a YouTube transcript on mobile?

The YouTube mobile app doesn't have a copy button in the transcript panel. Your options on mobile are to use a web-based transcript tool (open runcli.ai/youtube-transcript in your mobile browser) or switch to desktop for this task.

Do all YouTube videos have transcripts?

No. YouTube generates automatic captions for most videos in supported languages, but creators can disable them, and some content categories like "Made for Kids" videos don't support the transcript feature. If the caption track doesn't exist, you'll need AI audio transcription instead.

How do I get a transcript without timestamps?

YouTube's native transcript always includes timestamps. To get plain text without them, use a transcript extraction tool — RunCLI's YouTube Transcript tool strips the timestamps and outputs continuous readable text.

Can I get a transcript of a YouTube Short?

YouTube Shorts don't show a transcript button in the Shorts player, but the underlying caption data sometimes exists. RunCLI's YouTube Transcript tool supports Shorts URLs — paste the Short's URL and it will extract the captions if they're available. For Shorts without captions, use the YouTube Transcriber.

Is it legal to extract and use YouTube transcripts?

Extracting transcripts from public videos for personal use — research, notes, accessibility, studying — is widely accepted and consistent with YouTube's terms for general browsing. If you're republishing the content, quoting briefly for commentary or review is generally considered fair use; reproducing large portions of someone else's content without transformation or attribution is a different matter. This isn't legal advice — when in doubt, check the specific video's license or contact the creator.

What's the difference between YouTube Transcript and YouTube Transcriber on RunCLI?

YouTube Transcript extracts the existing caption track from YouTube — fast and accurate, but requires that captions already exist. YouTube Transcriber uses AI speech recognition to generate a transcript from the audio — works on any video regardless of captions, but takes longer and costs per minute of audio.