YouTube Transcript Downloader
Paste a YouTube link and get the full transcript — as plain text, with timestamps, or as an SRT or VTT subtitle file. Summarise the video in one click, with timestamps that jump straight to the moment. Free, no sign-up.
Summary
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What you're actually getting
This tool doesn't transcribe anything. It reads the caption track YouTube already publishes for the video — which is why it's instant, and why it returns nothing at all when a video has no captions.
That distinction matters for accuracy. A track the creator uploaded or corrected is close to exact. An automatic one is speech recognition output: no punctuation to speak of, no speaker labels, and names, jargon and crosstalk come out wrong. We label which kind you're reading rather than let you assume.
One more honest detail: automatic captions are generated in a rolling window, so consecutive lines overlap in time. Overlapping cues stack on top of each other in a player, so in the SRT and VTT we trim each cue to end where the next begins. Start times are left exactly as YouTube gave them.
Got the transcript — now turn it into a video that gets found. BYSO writes the title, description, tags and chapters from your own video, and generates click-ready thumbnails.
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How do I get a YouTube video's transcript?
Paste the link above and click Get transcript. The tool reads the caption track YouTube already publishes for that video. No sign-up, no extension.
Can I download it as SRT?
Yes — switch to the SRT tab and click Download. You also get VTT, plain text, and text with a timestamp on each paragraph. SRT and VTT keep the original timings, so they drop straight into an editor.
What if the video has no subtitles?
Then there's nothing to read and the tool says so. That happens when the creator disabled captions and YouTube generated none — common on music videos, very short clips, and in languages without automatic recognition.
Are automatic captions accurate?
Roughly. They miss punctuation, mangle names and technical terms, and don't mark who's speaking. A creator-uploaded track is far better, and we label which one you have.
Is downloading a transcript legal?
Reading captions YouTube publishes for a public video is ordinary use — for quoting, notes, translation or accessibility. The text is still someone else's work, so republishing it as your own is a copyright question, not a technical one.
Why are the SRT timestamps slightly different?
Automatic captions are made in a rolling window, so consecutive lines overlap by a second or two. Overlapping cues stack on top of each other in a player, so each cue is trimmed to end where the next begins. Start times are untouched.
Can this summarise a YouTube video?
Yes, and without an account. Click Summarise this video and you get a short abstract plus the key moments, each with a timestamp that opens the video at that point. The summary is built only from the video's own captions, so it does not add facts that were never said.
Can I ask questions about the video?
Yes, with an account. Answers come only from the transcript, and when the video does not cover your question you are told exactly that instead of being given a plausible guess. Each question costs one credit, because the entire transcript is sent to the model every time.
Can I pick a different language?
If the video carries more than one caption track, they all appear as buttons above the text and you can switch between them. Only tracks that already exist on the video are available — nothing is translated here.