Free YouTube Transcript Generator: Copy or Save as TXT

// What it does

TranscriptYou reads the captions a YouTube video already has and shows them as clean text with a timestamp on every line. Paste a link and the full YouTube transcript is ready to copy or save in seconds.

There is no Chrome extension to install and no account to create.

// Process

How to get a YouTube transcript in three steps

Here is how to get the transcript of a YouTube video, on a computer or a phone.

Paste the video link

Copy the address from your browser bar, or tap Share and then Copy link in the YouTube app. Paste it into the field above.
Pick a subtitle track

Press Get transcript. The default caption track loads in a few seconds, and the language menu above the text switches to another track.
Copy, download or summarize the text

Copy puts the text on the clipboard, Download saves it as a file, and the Timestamps switch keeps or removes the time codes. For key points, open the YouTube summary page.

// Source

Where the transcript text comes from

TranscriptYou's YouTube transcript generator uses the caption track YouTube already serves for the video. It doesn't run speech recognition of its own, so the transcript matches the closed captions viewers see, mistakes included.

Subtitles uploaded by the creator

A person wrote or checked these, so they are usually accurate, with punctuation and correct names. If a language has both kinds, quote this one.

Auto-generated captions

YouTube's speech recognition makes these, and the language menu marks them "auto". Clear speech comes out well, but names, accents and technical terms often don't. Replay the moment before you quote it.

// Features

YouTube transcript generator features

What this YouTube video transcript generator does with a link.

Transcript with timestamps

Every line starts with its time code, so a quote can point to the exact moment. The timing comes straight from the caption track.

Clean text without timestamps

One switch hides the time codes on the page, in Copy and in the .txt file. You get running text for note taking or an AI chat.

Every caption track the video carries

YouTube supports captions in 125+ languages, and the menu lists every track this video has. To keep one as a subtitle file, download YouTube subtitles on their own page.

A link that reopens the transcript

The video opens on a page of its own: /video/, the video ID and its title. Send that address to a classmate and the same transcript opens for them.

Regular videos, Shorts and short links

Watch pages, youtu.be links, YouTube Shorts and embed codes all work, because this YouTube transcript extractor finds the video ID in any of them.

AI summary of the video

If key points matter more than every word, the YouTube video summarizer takes the same link and adds a summary above the transcript.

Paste a link and get the transcript

No sign-up
Free
Any public video

// Export

Export formats: TXT or SRT

Choose the file by what you plan to do with the text.

Which file to download for which task
Your task	Download	What the file contains
Notes, search, pasting into an AI chat	.txt, Timestamps off	Plain text, one caption line per row
Quoting a moment, citing a lecture	.txt, Timestamps on	Every line starts with its time, like [12:05]
Fixing captions, loading them into a player or editor	.srt	Numbered cues with start and end times to the millisecond

Both files are UTF-8. A .txt file is usually all it takes to get from YouTube to text. Choose .srt when the words must stay in sync with the video.

// Compared

YouTube's built-in transcript vs TranscriptYou

YouTube shows its own transcript under ...more and Show transcript. To copy or save that text, you need a YouTube to transcript tool like this one.

YouTube transcript panel compared with TranscriptYou
What you need	YouTube's transcript panel	TranscriptYou
Copy the whole text	Select lines by hand (the mobile app allows no copying)	One Copy button
Save it as a file	No download option	.txt or .srt
Text without time codes	Only on some videos (⋮ → Toggle timestamps); the new panel has no switch	One switch for the page, Copy and Download
Other languages	None: the new panel has only Search transcript	Language menu with every track the video carries
Share what you read	A link to the video	A link that reopens the transcript

Copy the whole transcript in one click

Paste the link and press Copy.

Paste a YouTube link

// Who it is for

Who uses YouTube video transcripts

A video is quick to watch but slow to search. A YouTube video transcript helps whenever you need the exact words.

Students and researchers

A two-hour lecture becomes text you can search with Ctrl+F. Quote a sentence with its timestamp, and anyone can check it against the recording.

Creators and marketers

A published video already holds blog posts and show notes. Content creators can start from what was actually said and write chapter markers from the timestamps.

Language learners reading along

Read the transcript first, then follow the video line by line. If it has a track in a second language, switch to it and compare.

Deaf and hard of hearing viewers

Captions move at playback speed. A transcript lets you read the whole talk at your own pace, with or without sound.

// AI workflow

Use a YouTube transcript with ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini

A chatbot can't always open a YouTube link, but it reads a transcript well. Paste the copied text into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and ask:

Turn this into structured notes with headings
Extract the key points in the order they appear
Make 10 flashcards and a short quiz
Pull the five strongest quotes, word for word
Where does the speaker explain X? Give the timestamp
Write a short summary for someone who missed the talk

A three-hour stream may not fit one message, so send the .txt in parts. Timestamps let you check any YouTube transcript AI answer by replaying it.

Get your first transcript

Any public YouTube video with captions works.

Get transcript

// Limitations

When a YouTube transcript is not the right tool

The video has no captions. The tool reads captions and doesn't transcribe audio. Use a speech-to-text service on the recording instead.
The recording is on your computer. Only YouTube links work here. A local recording needs a transcription app that accepts uploads.
The video is private, members-only or age-restricted. Closed videos can't be read. If the video is yours, you will find its captions in YouTube Studio.
You need exact song lyrics. Automatic captions often mishear sung words, so check lyrics against the artist's official source.

// More tools

Other tools that work from the same link

YouTube Shorts transcript

The text of a Short from its /shorts/ link, with tips for Shorts without captions.

YouTube video summarizer

Key points and a short overview above the full transcript.

YouTube subtitle downloader

Saves any caption track as a file, in the language you choose.

YouTube to SRT converter

Builds a SubRip file with the original timings for video editors.

// FAQ

YouTube transcript FAQ

Availability, files, rights and privacy.

What is a YouTube transcript?

A YouTube transcript is the written text of everything said in a video, taken from its caption track and split into lines with timestamps. YouTube shows it in a side panel, and a YouTube transcript generator such as TranscriptYou turns it into text you can copy and save.

Is TranscriptYou free to use?

Yes. TranscriptYou is a free YouTube transcript generator, and getting or downloading a transcript costs nothing. There is no account and no watermark. The only limit is anti-abuse rate limiting, which normal use stays well below; compare it with paid tools. Summaries on the summarizer page are free too.

Do all YouTube videos have transcripts?

No. A transcript exists only if the video has a caption track. YouTube captions most talking videos in major languages automatically once processing finishes after upload, but creators can remove those captions and silent clips never get any. If there are none, the tool tells you, and this guide explains why a transcript goes missing.

Can you download a transcript from YouTube?

Not from YouTube, because its transcript panel has no download button. Paste the link here and press Download to get a .txt file named after the video ID. For a subtitle file, convert YouTube to SRT on the dedicated page, where that format is preselected.

How do I copy a transcript from YouTube?

Paste the link here and press Copy, and the whole transcript goes to your clipboard. Turn Timestamps off first if you only want the words. On YouTube you would copy the transcript by hand, and the mobile app doesn't allow copying at all.

Is it legal to download a YouTube transcript?

Saving a transcript for your own study or for accessibility is generally fine. The words belong to the video's creator, so publishing the full text or using it commercially may need their permission. This is general information, not legal advice.

Do you store my transcripts or the links I paste?

We don't keep a library of your requests. Transcripts are fetched on demand, rendered in your browser and not tied to your identity. The video's own page address only makes the transcript shareable, and there are no accounts to link requests to. See the privacy policy.

YouTube Transcript Generator