Every YouTube video with captions has a transcript: the full text of what's said, line by line, with timestamps. YouTube just doesn't make it easy to find, won't let you download it, and some videos don't have one at all.
This guide covers how to open a YouTube transcript on a computer and on your phone, how to copy it cleanly, how to download it, and what to do when a video has no transcript.
The short answer
- On a computer: expand the video's description, scroll down, and click Show transcript.
- On the YouTube app: tap the description, then tap Show transcript.
- To download it: YouTube has no download button. Paste the link into a transcript tool such as YouTubeTranscript.dev and export TXT, SRT, VTT or JSON.
How to open the transcript on a computer
- Open the video on youtube.com.
- Below the video, click the description (or ...more) to expand it.
- Scroll to the end of the description and click Show transcript.
The transcript opens in a panel next to the video. Click any line and the video jumps to that moment. To hide the times, open the panel's three-dot menu and choose Toggle timestamps. If the video has captions in more than one language, pick the language at the bottom of the panel.
How to open the transcript on your phone
In the YouTube app on iPhone or Android:
- Tap the video's title or description to open it.
- Scroll down and tap Show transcript.
The transcript scrolls along with the video. You can read it and tap lines to jump, but selecting and copying long text on a phone is fiddly. For that, use a computer or a transcript tool in your phone's browser.
How to copy a YouTube transcript
- Open the transcript panel as above.
- Turn timestamps off with Toggle timestamps if you want plain text.
- Click at the start of the first line and drag to the last line, scrolling as you go.
- Press Ctrl+C (Cmd+C on Mac) and paste wherever you need it.
On long videos, dragging through hundreds of lines is slow and easy to get wrong, and the pasted text often comes out with odd line breaks. A transcript tool gives you the whole transcript with one Copy button.
How to download a YouTube transcript
YouTube itself only lets you download captions for your own videos: in YouTube Studio, open Subtitles, choose the video and language, and download from the three-dot menu.
For any other video, use a transcript downloader:
- Copy the video's link.
- Paste it into YouTubeTranscript.dev and click Extract.
- Click Export and choose a format.
| Format | Best for |
|---|---|
| TXT | Reading, notes, and pasting into ChatGPT or Claude |
| SRT | Subtitles in video editors such as Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve |
| VTT | Subtitles for web video players |
| JSON | Code and data pipelines, with start and end times for every line |
Not sure which subtitle format you need? See SRT vs VTT.
What if a video has no transcript?
If there's no Show transcript button, the video has no captions. The creator may have turned them off, or YouTube couldn't make automatic ones, which happens with music, heavy background noise and very new videos.
You can still get a transcript: a tool with AI speech-to-text listens to the audio and writes it out. YouTubeTranscript.dev does this automatically when a video has no captions, and the same works for your own audio and video files.
Getting transcripts for many videos
Opening transcripts one by one doesn't scale. To get every video in a playlist or channel, paste the playlist or channel link instead; each video's transcript is extracted in one job and saved, so you can search across all of them. Developers can do the same through the YouTube Transcript API.
Summary
- Open: description, then Show transcript (desktop and app).
- Copy: toggle timestamps off, select, copy. A tool's Copy button is faster for long videos.
- Download: only your own videos in YouTube Studio; for anything else, use a transcript downloader.
- No transcript: AI speech-to-text can transcribe the audio.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get the transcript of a YouTube video?+
On a computer, open the video, expand the description, scroll down and click Show transcript. On the YouTube app, tap the description and then Show transcript. If there is no such button, the video has no captions; a transcript tool can transcribe its audio instead.
Can I download a YouTube transcript?+
Not from YouTube itself, unless it's your own video: channel owners can download their captions in YouTube Studio. For any other video, paste the link into a transcript tool such as YouTubeTranscript.dev and export it as TXT, SRT, VTT or JSON.
How do I copy a YouTube transcript without timestamps?+
In the transcript panel, open the three-dot menu and choose Toggle timestamps, then select and copy the text. Or extract it with a transcript tool and export without timestamps.
Why don't I see Show transcript on a YouTube video?+
The video has no captions, either because the creator turned them off or YouTube couldn't create automatic ones (for example, music-only or very short videos). A tool that transcribes the audio with AI can still produce a transcript.
Can I get a YouTube transcript on my phone?+
Yes. In the YouTube app, tap the video's description, scroll down and tap Show transcript. Copying is easier on a computer, or in a transcript tool that works in your phone's browser.