The captions are usually there
Turn on CC and the words run over the video one line at a time. That overlay can't be copied or saved.
YouTube Shorts Transcript Generator
Paste the link to a Short and read every spoken line, with timestamps.
youtube.com/shorts/Ab3dE6gH9jK
Ab3dE6gH9jK-transcript.txt
- 0:00 Three things I wish I knew before my first marathon.
- 0:03 One: start slower than feels right.
- 0:06 Two: practise eating on your long runs.
// What it does
TranscriptYou is a free YouTube Shorts transcript generator. The Shorts player has no Show transcript button, so paste the Short's link here: the tool reads its caption track and shows every line as text with a timestamp, ready to copy or save.
No app, extension or account needed.
- Accepts
- youtube.com/shorts/, youtu.be and the app's Share link
- You get
- The Short's captions as text, with or without timestamps
- Files
- .txt or .srt, named after the video ID
- Price
- Free, with no sign-up
// Process
How to get a transcript of a YouTube Short
Four steps, on a phone or a computer.
-
Copy the link to the Short
In the YouTube app, tap Share, then Copy link. On a computer, copy the address:
youtube.com/shorts/and an 11-character video ID. -
Paste it into the box above
Paste it into the field at the top and press Get Shorts transcript. The Short opens on its own page with the text.
-
Pick the caption track
Most Shorts carry one automatic track, marked (auto) in the language menu. Tracks the creator uploaded are listed there too.
-
Copy the text or save a file
Copy takes the whole text, Download saves .txt or .srt, and Timestamps keeps or drops the times. To transcribe YouTube Shorts in a row, paste the next link.
// The Shorts player
Why YouTube Shorts don't show a transcript
YouTube Shorts are vertical videos up to three minutes long, played in a full-screen swipe player. That player has no Show transcript item, even when the Short has captions.
The regular player has the panel
A Short is an ordinary video with its own ID. On a computer, swap /shorts/ for /watch?v= and it opens in the regular player, where ...more leads to Show transcript.
This page skips that detour
Paste the /shorts/ link as it is. TranscriptYou takes the ID, reads the captions and adds the Copy and Download buttons YouTube's panel lacks.
youtube.com/shorts/Ab3dE6gH9jK
youtube.com/watch?v=Ab3dE6gH9jKUnlike a TikTok or an Instagram Reel, a Short sits on a normal YouTube video ID, which is why its captions can be read here and theirs can't.
Paste a Shorts link and read its captions
- No sign-up
- Free
- Any public Short
// Source
Which Shorts have captions
A YouTube Shorts transcript is the Short's caption track. The tool doesn't listen to the audio, so the text is as good as those captions.
Auto-generated captions
YouTube's speech recognition writes them for most talking Shorts, usually within hours of upload. Expect thin punctuation, misheard names and marks like >> for a new speaker or [music].
Captions uploaded by the creator
Some creators add their own, often in several languages. A person checked them, so names and punctuation are usually right. Quote this track when there is one.
Music-only and silent Shorts
No speech, no caption track, no transcript. Dance and slideshow Shorts often fall here, and sung words that do get captions are often misheard.
// Features
YouTube Shorts transcript generator features
What the tool does with one Shorts link.
Every Shorts link format
youtube.com/shorts/, m.youtube.com, youtu.be and the app's Share link with its ?si= tail all work. This YouTube Shorts transcript extractor finds the video ID in each.
Timestamps on or off
Each line starts with its time, such as 0:07. One switch removes the times from the page, from Copy and from the .txt file.
Every caption track the Short carries
The language menu lists the auto track and any the creator uploaded. To keep one as a subtitle file, use the YouTube subtitle downloader.
One-click copy of the whole text
Copy puts the full transcript on the clipboard. A Short runs three minutes at most, so one paste moves every word.
TXT and SRT downloads
Download saves a .txt named after the video ID, or an .srt with start and end times. The format menu sits next to the button.
Works in a phone browser
YouTube Shorts are made for phones, and so is this page. Copy the link in the app, open this page in Safari or Chrome, paste.
A short summary of the Short
For the hook and the main point in two lines, paste the same link into the YouTube video summarizer.
Get the text of a Short in one paste
Paste the link, press the button and copy the words.
// Compared
YouTube app captions vs a Shorts transcript
YouTube gives you two ways to read a Short, and neither lets you keep the text.
| What you need | Shorts player with CC | Regular player | TranscriptYou |
|---|---|---|---|
| See all the words at once | No, one line at a time over the video | Yes, in the Show transcript panel | Yes, the whole text on one page |
| Copy the text | No | Select lines by hand on a computer | One Copy button |
| Save it as a file | No | No download option | .txt or .srt |
| Use it on a phone | Overlay only | Panel opens in the app, no copying | Any mobile browser |
| Share what you read | A link to the Short | A link to the video | A link that reopens the transcript |
// Export
Shorts transcript as TXT or SRT
Choose the file by what you will do with the words of the Short.
| Your task | Download | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Reusing the script for a new video | .txt, Timestamps off | Running text, one caption line per row |
| Quoting a line with the second it is said | .txt, Timestamps on | Every line starts with its time, like [0:07] |
| Re-cutting the Short with the same captions | .srt | Numbered cues with start and end times |
Going from YouTube Shorts to transcript and back to captions takes one download: the .srt keeps the original timings, so an editor places each line where it was. More on the format: YouTube to SRT converter.
Save a Short's captions as a file
Paste the link and press Download.
// Use cases
What people do with a YouTube Shorts transcript
A minute of speech is easy to watch and hard to reuse until it is written down.
Creators reusing a Short's script
A Short that worked becomes the outline of a long video or a caption post. The exact words keep the hook that made people stop scrolling.
Marketers collecting hooks
Paste the top Shorts in a niche one by one and line up their first sentences to see what each creator promises in the first seconds.
Students and language learners
A Short is a small, complete piece of real speech. Read a line, replay it, then try the second track if there is one.
Reading a Short without sound
On a train or in a library, the transcript gives you the whole Short at your own pace. Deaf and hard of hearing viewers get every line at once.
Feeding a Short into an AI chat
ChatGPT, OpenAI's chatbot, can't watch a Short, but it reads the text well. Paste the transcript and ask for title ideas or a longer version of the same point.
The words still belong to the creator: republishing a full script or using it commercially may need their permission.
// Limitations
When a Short has no transcript
When the tool says "No transcript is available for this video", the YouTube Shorts transcript is not available for one of three reasons.
The Short has no caption track yet
Auto captions arrive within hours of upload, and never for Shorts without speech. Try a fresh Short later, or run a speech-to-text app on the file.
The Short is private, age-restricted or removed
The tool reads only what YouTube shows to everyone. If the Short is yours, download its captions in YouTube Studio.
The link is not a YouTube Short
This page reads only YouTube. Check that the address contains youtube.com/shorts/, youtu.be/ or watch?v=.
Try another Short
One link at a time, as many Shorts as you need.
- No sign-up
- Free
- .txt and .srt
// More tools
More free YouTube tools
YouTube transcript generator
The same tool for long videos, lectures and streams.
YouTube to SRT converter
A SubRip file with the original timings, for video editors.
YouTube subtitle downloader
Any caption track saved as a file, in the language you pick.
YouTube video summarizer
The key points of a video, above its full transcript.
// FAQ
YouTube Shorts transcript FAQ
Availability, accuracy, files and cost.
Can you get a transcript of a YouTube Short?
Yes, if the Short has captions. Most talking Shorts get automatic captions from YouTube within hours of upload. Paste the Short's link on this page and the YouTube short transcript appears as text with timestamps, ready to copy or download. Music-only and silent Shorts have no captions, so they have no transcript.
Why is there no Show transcript button on Shorts?
YouTube Shorts play in a full-screen vertical player, and YouTube left the transcript panel out of it. Regular videos keep the panel under ...more. On a computer you can open a Short at youtube.com/watch?v= plus its ID to see the panel, or paste the Shorts link here and copy the text directly.
How do I get a Shorts transcript on my phone?
In the YouTube app, tap Share under the Short, then Copy link. Open this page in your phone's browser, paste the link into the field and press Get Shorts transcript. The text opens on its own page, where Copy puts it on the clipboard and Download saves it to the phone.
Why is a YouTube Shorts transcript not available?
Usually the Short has no caption track. That happens when it has no speech, when it went up minutes ago and YouTube hasn't made captions yet, or when the creator removed them. Private, age-restricted and deleted Shorts can't be read either. Wait a few hours, or check that the link is right.
How accurate are auto-generated captions on Shorts?
Clear speech in a quiet room comes out close to word for word. Fast talk, accents, slang, music under the voice and brand names cause most errors, and automatic captions carry little punctuation. Replay the Short before you quote a line, or use the creator's own track if the language menu lists one.
Can I turn a Shorts transcript into SRT subtitles?
Yes. Pick .srt in the menu next to Download, and the file keeps the start and end time of every caption line. Video editors and players load it next to the video, so a re-cut Short can carry the same captions. The YouTube to SRT page explains the format.
Does TranscriptYou download the Short video?
No. TranscriptYou reads only the Short's captions and never saves the video or its audio. You get text and, if you want it, a .txt or .srt file. To keep the clip itself, download it from YouTube Studio if the Short is yours, or ask the creator.
Is the TranscriptYou Shorts transcript tool free?
Yes. Getting, copying and downloading the text of a Short costs nothing, and there is no account and no watermark. The only limit is anti-abuse rate limiting, which normal use stays well below. Long videos work the same way on the YouTube transcript generator.