Transcripts V2

V2 is the streamlined, user-owned transcript model. It prioritizes fast cache hits, consistent responses, and no surprise translations unless you request a language.

POSThttps://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/transcribe

POSThttps://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/batch

GEThttps://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/jobs/{job_id}

GEThttps://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/batch/{batch_id}

POSThttps://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/channels/resolve

GEThttps://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/channels/{channel_id}

GEThttps://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/channels/history

OpenAPI specification

Download the YAML to import into Postman, Insomnia, generate clients, or paste into ChatGPT / Claude.

OpenAPI 3.0 — V2 (recommended)

Transcribe a single video

The fastest path for one video at a time. Caption-based transcripts return within a few seconds; ASR runs asynchronously and is polled via /api/v2/jobs/{job_id}.

Transcribe a single YouTube video. Returns immediately for caption-based videos; falls back to ASR (async) when allow_asr is true and captions are unavailable.

POST/api/v2/transcribe

Parameters

videostringrequired

YouTube URL or 11-character video ID. Required unless upload_id is set.

upload_idstring

Transcribe an uploaded media file instead of a YouTube video (see /uploads). Forces the ASR path; webhook_url required. The upload id is returned as video_id in results.

languageISO 639-1

Preferred transcript language (e.g. en). If unavailable, captions in another language may be returned — transcript.language reports the actual language.

sourceauto | manual | asr

Preferred transcript source. Default: auto. Use asr for audio transcription (async, requires webhook_url).

allow_asrboolean

Fall back to ASR if captions fail. Required for ASR-only videos.

formatobject

{ timestamp, paragraphs, words } — include extra structure in the transcript.

webhook_urluri

When set, the response returns processing and the result is delivered to your URL. Required for ASR.

asr_optionsobject

Rich ASR config: language (+ codeSwitching, medicalMode, keyTerms), translateTo, speaker diarization (speakerLabels, speakerId + type/known values, multichannel, exact or min/max expected speakers), speech understanding (topics, summary, moderation, PII, profanity, sentiment), and formatting (punctuation, text formatting, filler words, custom date/phone/email patterns). Billable add-ons increase cost — preview with /transcribe/estimate. See the AsrOptions schema in the OpenAPI spec.

Dry-run credit estimate. Returns the ASR base cost plus any add-on surcharge for the requested asr_options without creating a job or charging credits.

POST/api/v2/transcribe/estimate

Parameters

videostringrequired

YouTube URL or 11-character video ID.

sourceauto | manual | asr

Defaults to asr for cost preview.

asr_optionsobject

Same shape as /transcribe. Add-on charges are prorated by duration.

Poll a single transcription job. Use this for ASR jobs returned from /transcribe. Returns 202 while running and 200 when complete. Completed ASR jobs include asr_intelligence (summary, topics, sentiment, etc.) when those options were enabled.

GET/api/v2/jobs/{job_id}

Parameters

job_idpathrequired

Identifier returned in the original transcribe response.

include_segmentsboolean

Include segment-level timestamps in the transcript payload.

include_paragraphsboolean

Include paragraph groupings.

include_wordsboolean

Include word-level timestamps (ASR only).

Upload your own media

Transcribe your own audio or video files through the ASR pipeline. Three steps: register the upload, PUT the bytes to the signed URL, finalize — then call /transcribe with upload_id. Results arrive via your webhook and are polled like any ASR job.

Register an audio/video file upload and get a signed URL. PUT the raw file bytes to signed_url (with the file's Content-Type), finalize via /uploads/{upload_id}/complete, then transcribe with upload_id on /transcribe. Max 2GB and 8 hours per file.

POST/api/v2/uploads

Parameters

filenamestringrequired

Original filename. The extension is preserved for content sniffing.

mime_typestringrequired

Must start with audio/ or video/ (e.g. audio/mpeg, video/mp4).

size_bytesintegerrequired

File size in bytes. Max 2147483648 (2GB).

duration_secintegerrequired

Media duration in seconds. Max 28800 (8 hours). Used for the ASR credit estimate.

Finalize an upload after the PUT to signed_url succeeds. Verifies the file exists in storage and marks it ready. The upload can then be transcribed by passing upload_id to /transcribe (source="asr", webhook_url required).

POST/api/v2/uploads/{upload_id}/complete

Parameters

upload_idpathrequired

Upload id returned by POST /uploads.

Batch transcription

Transcribe many videos in a single request, then poll or receive results via webhook.

Submit up to 3,000 videos in one request. Returns within 2 seconds; poll the returned poll_url or wait for the webhook.

POST/api/v2/batch

Parameters

video_idsstring[]required

Up to 3,000 IDs depending on plan. Free = 10, Basic = 500, Pro = 1,500, Business = 3,000.

languageISO 639-1

Preferred language for every video.

sourceauto | manual | asr

Preferred transcript source. Default: auto. source=asr requires webhook_url.

allow_asrboolean

Fall back to ASR when captions fail. webhook_url is required.

formatobject

{ timestamp, paragraphs, words } — applied to every result.

webhook_urluri

Delivers the completed batch payload. Required when allow_asr=true or source=asr.

asr_optionsobject

Rich ASR config applied to every video transcribed via ASR (same shape as /transcribe). Billable add-ons apply per video.

Check the status of a batch. Returns 202 while processing and 200 when results are ready.

GET/api/v2/batch/{batch_id}

Parameters

batch_idpathrequired

Batch identifier returned from POST /batch.

Transcripts & jobs

List, fetch, translate, and delete your stored transcripts, and list async jobs. All endpoints accept the same API-key auth.

List your transcription jobs, newest first. Filter by status and paginate. Use the returned job_id with GET /api/v2/jobs/{job_id} to fetch a transcript.

GET/api/v2/jobs

Parameters

pagequery

Page number (default 1).

limitquery

Items per page (default 50, max 100).

statusquery

completed | processing | failed | requires_asr_confirmation.

List stored transcripts with search, status, language, and date filters. Metadata only (no full text) unless include_segments=true.

GET/api/v2/transcripts

Parameters

pagequery

Page number (default 1).

limitquery

Items per page (default 50, max 100).

searchquery

Match video id, title, or transcript text.

statusquery

Filter by status; omit for succeeded.

languagequery

Filter by language code.

date_fromquery

ISO date-time lower bound.

date_toquery

ISO date-time upper bound.

include_segmentsquery

Include segments in each item.

Fetch the best owned transcript for a video, including asr_intelligence (summary, topics, sentiment, etc.), plus summary and mind_map when generated.

GET/api/v2/transcripts/{video_id}

Parameters

video_idpathrequired

YouTube 11-character video ID.

idquery

Specific transcript/job id.

languagequery

Preferred language version.

sourcequery

auto | manual | asr.

include_timestampsquery

Include segments (default true).

Translate an owned transcript into a target language using YouTube captions or the AI provider. Returns free if you already own the translation.

POST/api/v2/transcripts/{video_id}/translate

Parameters

video_idpathrequired

YouTube 11-character video ID.

target_languageISO 639-1required

Language to translate into.

source_languageISO 639-1

Source transcript language to translate from.

providerai | youtube

Translation provider.

allow_ai_fallbackboolean

Fall back to AI when YouTube has no translation.

List the languages you already own for a video plus the YouTube translation targets available for it.

GET/api/v2/transcripts/{video_id}/languages

Parameters

video_idpathrequired

YouTube 11-character video ID.

include_youtube_defaultquery

Include YouTube translation targets (default true).

Delete owned transcript(s) for a video. Optional language/source query params narrow the deletion; otherwise every language/source is removed. Also deletes bulk by id via POST /api/v2/transcripts/bulk-delete.

DELETE/api/v2/transcripts/{video_id}

Parameters

video_idpathrequired

YouTube 11-character video ID.

languagequery

Only delete this language.

sourcequery

Only delete this source (auto | manual | asr).

Playlists

Resolve a playlist into video IDs, transcribe them with /api/v2/batch, then inspect the playlist batch and history.

Resolve a YouTube playlist by URL or ID into its video list (metadata only). Pair the returned video_id values with /api/v2/batch to transcribe them.

POST/api/v2/playlists/resolvePaid plans

Parameters

playlist_urlstring

Playlist URL. One of playlist_url or playlist_id is required.

playlist_idstring

Playlist ID (the list= value).

limitinteger

Max videos returned (1-100).

Fetch a playlist batch and per-video transcription job status. For overall batch progress, poll GET /api/v2/batch/{batch_id}.

GET/api/v2/playlists/{playlist_id}

Parameters

playlist_idpathrequired

Batch ID returned from /playlists/resolve.

List recent playlist batches for the authenticated user.

GET/api/v2/playlists/history

Channels

Channel transcription flow:1. POST /api/v2/channels/resolve — fetch the channel uploads (video metadata only).2. POST /api/v2/batch — send the returned video_id values to start transcription. Use a webhook_url to receive results when done.3. GET /api/v2/batch/{batch_id} — poll the batch for overall progress and aggregated results.4. GET /api/v2/channels/{channel_id} — fetch a channel batch with per-video job status; /channels/history lists past channel batches.

Fetch the uploads of a YouTube channel by URL, channel ID, or @handle. Returns video metadata only — pair the returned video_id values with /api/v2/batch to transcribe them.

POST/api/v2/channels/resolvePaid plans

Parameters

channel_urlstringrequired

YouTube channel URL, channel ID, or @handle. One of channel_url, channel_id, or handle must be provided. Handles are the public ID without the @ (for https://www.youtube.com/@jawed, the ID is jawed).

limitinteger

Maximum uploads returned. Defaults to the plan maximum.

Per-request cap: Basic 500 videos · Pro 1,500 videos · Business 3,000 videos. Monthly job cap: Basic 3 · Pro 8 · Business unlimited.

Rate limit

Plan-based: Free 1 req/s · Basic 25 req/s · Pro 50 req/s · Business 100 req/s. Exceeding the limit returns 429 with a Retry-After header.

Fetch a channel batch and the per-video transcription job status. For overall batch status (counts + progress), poll GET /api/v2/batch/{batch_id} instead — use this endpoint when you also need each video's individual job state.

GET/api/v2/channels/{channel_id}

Parameters

channel_idpathrequired

Batch ID returned from /channels/resolve.

List recent channel batches for the authenticated user.

GET/api/v2/channels/history

Parameters

limitquery

Max items (default 50, max 100).

Integrations

Official SDKs, an MCP server for Claude and Cursor, a custom GPT, and ready-made templates for Make and n8n.

MCP serverClaude · Cursor

Repo

Add the YouTube Transcript MCP server to Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client. Adds tools to transcribe videos, fetch existing transcripts, and check usage.

Install & Configure

claude mcp add --transport http youtubetranscript https://mcp.youtubetranscript.dev --header "x-api-token: YOUR_API_KEY"

Node SDKnpm

npm

First-class TypeScript types, retries, pagination helpers, and webhook signature verification.

Install & use

npm install youtube-transcript-api

Python SDKPyPI

PyPI

Sync + async clients, type stubs, and helpers for batch and webhook flows.

Install & use

pip install youtubetranscriptdevapi

Custom GPTChatGPT

Open in ChatGPT

Drop our custom GPT into ChatGPT to summarize, quote, translate, or query any YouTube video using natural language. Backed by /api/v2/gpt/* under the hood.

· OAuth sign-in — no API key in chat
· ASR fallback for missing captions
· Quote with timestamps and source links
· Free trial on every account

Make.com & n8nNo-code

Browse templates

Import the template (or copy the snippet) to add transcription to existing automations — Notion, Sheets, Slack, Airtable, Zapier-style flows.

Make.com module

Module: HTTP > Make a request
- URL: https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/transcribe
- Method: POST
- Headers:
    Authorization: Bearer {{connection.api_key}}
    Content-Type: application/json
- Body type: Raw / JSON
- Request content:
    {
      "video": "{{1.video_url}}",
      "format": { "timestamp": true }
    }

n8n HTTP node

{
  "name": "Transcribe Video",
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
  "parameters": {
    "method": "POST",
    "url": "https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/transcribe",
    "authentication": "genericCredentialType",
    "genericAuthType": "httpHeaderAuth",
    "sendBody": true,
    "specifyBody": "json",
    "jsonBody": "={ \"video\": $json.video_url }"
  }
}

Postman / OpenAPIOne-click

Postman collection

Import the OpenAPI spec into Postman, Insomnia, or any tool that speaks OpenAPI 3.

Download V2 YAML Download V2 JSON Download V1 YAML

Errors

Errors return a JSON body with code and message. HTTP status reflects the category.

HTTP Status	Error Code	Description
400	`invalid_request`	Invalid JSON or missing required fields
401	`invalid_api_key`	Missing or invalid API key
402	`payment_required`	Insufficient credits
404	`no_captions`	No captions available and ASR not used
429	`rate_limit_exceeded`	Too many requests, check Retry-After
500	`internal_error`	Server error, retry with backoff

Rate limits & quotas

Per-plan caps for sustained requests and batch sizes. Bursting above the limit returns 429 with a Retry-After header.

Plan	Requests	Batch size
Free	1 req/s	10 videos
Basic	25 req/s	500 videos
Pro	50 req/s	1,500 videos
Business	100 req/s	3,000 videos

Support

Need help shipping? Reach out — we usually reply within a few hours.

Discord

@volods.taimi

support@youtubetranscript.dev

Status

Uptime & incidents

POST/api/v2/transcribe

curl -X POST https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/transcribe \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "video": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "language": "en",
    "format": { "timestamp": true, "paragraphs": true }
  }'

200Response (200)

{
  "request_id": "req_abc123",
  "status": "completed",
  "data": {
    "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "video_title": "Example video",
    "transcript": {
      "text": "Welcome to this tutorial...",
      "language": "en",
      "source": "auto",
      "segments": [
        { "text": "Welcome to this tutorial.", "start": 0, "end": 2500 }
      ]
    }
  },
  "credits_used": 1
}

POST/api/v2/transcribe/estimate

curl -X POST https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/transcribe/estimate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "video": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "source": "asr",
    "asr_options": {
      "speakerLabels": true,
      "summarization": true,
      "translateTo": "es"
    }
  }'

200Response (200)

{
  "request_id": "req_abc123",
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "source": "asr",
  "duration_seconds": 213,
  "duration_minutes": 4,
  "max_duration_minutes": 480,
  "exceeds_max_duration": false,
  "base_credits": 3,
  "addon_credits": 2,
  "estimated_credits": 5
}

GET/api/v2/jobs/{job_id}

curl -X GET https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/jobs/JOB_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

200Response (200)

{
  "request_id": "req_abc123",
  "status": "completed",
  "data": {
    "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "transcript": {
      "text": "Welcome to this tutorial...",
      "language": "en",
      "source": "asr",
      "segments": [{ "text": "Welcome to this tutorial.", "start": 0, "end": 2500 }]
    }
  },
  "credits_used": 6
}

GET/api/v2/jobs

curl "https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/jobs?status=processing&limit=25" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

200Response (200)

{
  "jobs": [
    {
      "job_id": "9c2...",
      "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
      "video_title": "Example video",
      "language": "en",
      "source": "asr",
      "status": "processing",
      "error": null,
      "credits_used": 0,
      "created_at": "2026-07-06T12:00:00Z",
      "started_at": "2026-07-06T12:00:01Z",
      "completed_at": null
    }
  ],
  "count": 1,
  "pagination": { "page": 1, "limit": 25, "total": 1, "totalPages": 1, "hasMore": false }
}

POST/api/v2/batch

curl -X POST https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/batch \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "video_ids": ["dQw4w9WgXcQ", "jNQXAC9IVRw"],
    "source": "auto",
    "allow_asr": true,
    "webhook_url": "https://your-domain.com/webhook",
    "format": { "timestamp": true }
  }'

200Response (202)

{
  "batch_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "status": "processing",
  "results": [],
  "summary": { "total": 2, "succeeded": 0, "failed": 0, "processing": 2 },
  "poll_url": "https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/batch/550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "created_at": "2026-05-15T10:00:00Z"
}

GET/api/v2/batch/{batch_id}

curl -X GET https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/batch/BATCH_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

200Response (200)

{
  "batch_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "status": "completed",
  "summary": { "total": 2, "succeeded": 2, "failed": 0, "processing": 0 },
  "results": [
    { "request_id": "req_1", "status": "completed", "data": { "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ" } },
    { "request_id": "req_2", "status": "completed", "data": { "video_id": "jNQXAC9IVRw" } }
  ],
  "credits_used": 2,
  "webhook_delivered": true,
  "completed_at": "2026-05-15T10:04:00Z"
}

GET/api/v2/transcripts

curl "https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/transcripts?page=1&limit=50&status=succeeded" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

200Response (200)

{
  "history": [
    {
      "id": "b1f...",
      "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
      "video_title": "Example video",
      "language": "en",
      "source_kind": "auto",
      "status": "succeeded",
      "created_at": "2026-07-06T12:00:00Z",
      "word_count": 1234,
      "segment_count": 88,
      "credits_used": 1
    }
  ],
  "count": 1,
  "pagination": { "page": 1, "limit": 50, "total": 1, "totalPages": 1, "hasMore": false }
}

GET/api/v2/transcripts/{video_id}

curl "https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/transcripts/dQw4w9WgXcQ?language=en" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

200Response (200)

{
  "id": "b1f...",
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "text": "Welcome to this tutorial...",
  "segments": [{ "text": "Welcome to this tutorial.", "start": 0, "end": 2500 }],
  "has_timestamps": true,
  "source_kind": "asr",
  "video_title": "Example video",
  "summary": null,
  "mind_map": null,
  "asr_intelligence": {
    "summary": "A short overview of the video...",
    "topics": [{ "text": "Technology", "relevance": 0.92 }],
    "sentiment": [{ "text": "Great tutorial", "sentiment": "POSITIVE" }]
  }
}

POST/api/v2/transcripts/{video_id}/translate

curl -X POST "https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/transcripts/dQw4w9WgXcQ/translate" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "target_language": "es", "provider": "ai" }'

200Response (200)

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Translation completed",
  "language": "es",
  "credits_used": 4,
  "provider_used": "ai"
}

POST/api/v2/playlists/resolve

curl -X POST https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/playlists/resolve \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "playlist_url": "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxxxx", "limit": 100 }'

200Response (200)

{
  "playlist_id": "PLxxxx",
  "title": "My playlist",
  "total": 42,
  "truncated": false,
  "items": [
    { "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "title": "Example video" }
  ]
}

POST/api/v2/channels/resolve

curl -X POST https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/channels/resolve \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "handle": "@youtube",
    "limit": 50
  }'

200Response (200)

{
  "channel_id": "UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw",
  "channel_title": "YouTube",
  "subscriber_count": 42000000,
  "video_count": 1200,
  "total": 1,
  "truncated": false,
  "items": [
    {
      "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
      "title": "Latest upload",
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
      "published_at": "2026-05-01T12:00:00Z",
      "duration_seconds": 420
    }
  ]
}

GET/api/v2/channels/{channel_id}

curl -X GET https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/channels/CHANNEL_BATCH_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

200Response (200)

{
  "channel": {
    "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "channel_id": "UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw",
    "channel_title": "YouTube",
    "total_videos": 2,
    "completed_count": 1,
    "failed_count": 0,
    "status": "processing",
    "created_at": "2026-05-15T10:00:00Z"
  },
  "videos": [
    {
      "id": "job_123",
      "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
      "video_title": "Latest upload",
      "status": "succeeded",
      "created_at": "2026-05-15T10:00:00Z",
      "finished_at": "2026-05-15T10:00:10Z"
    }
  ]
}

GET/api/v2/channels/history

curl -X GET "https://www.youtubetranscript.dev/api/v2/channels/history?limit=50" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

200Response (200)

{
  "history": [
    {
      "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
      "channel_id": "UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw",
      "channel_title": "YouTube",
      "total_videos": 25,
      "completed_count": 25,
      "failed_count": 0,
      "status": "completed",
      "created_at": "2026-05-15T10:00:00Z",
      "completed_at": "2026-05-15T10:12:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "count": 1
}

RELATED RESOURCES

How to Extract TranscriptsStep-by-step guide to extracting YouTube transcripts Bulk Transcript ProcessingProcess playlists and channels via the API YouTube Transcript APIExtract transcripts programmatically with our REST API Automation TemplatesMake.com and n8n starter workflows for the V2 API Pricing PlansFree, Basic, Pro, and Business plans