Subtitles

Fetch YouTube video subtitles via [TranscriptAPI.com]().

Setup

If $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY is not set, help the user create an account (100 free credits, no card):

Step 1 — Register: Ask user for their email, generate a secure password.

node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js register --email USER_EMAIL --password SECURE_PASS --json

→ OTP sent to email. Ask user: _"Check your email for a 6-digit verification code."_
⚠️ SAVE THE PASSWORD — you need it again in Step 2!

Step 2 — Verify: Once user provides the OTP (use SAME password from Step 1):

node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js verify --email USER_EMAIL --password SECURE_PASS --otp CODE --json

→ Returns api_key (starts with sk_).

Step 3 — Save: Store the key (auto-configures agent + shell):

node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js save-key --key API_KEY --json

→ Ready to use. Agent runtime picks up the key automatically.

Manual option: [transcriptapi.com/signup]() → Dashboard → API Keys.

GET /api/v2/youtube/transcript

curl -s "
?video_url=VIDEO_URL&format=text&include_timestamp=false&send_metadata=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

Param

Values

Use case

video_url	YouTube URL or video ID	Required
format	json, text	json for sync'd subs with timing
include_timestamp	true, false	false for clean text for reading/translation
send_metadata	true, false	Include title, channel, description

For language learning — clean text without timestamps:

curl -s "
?video_url=VIDEO_ID&format=text&include_timestamp=false" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

For translation — structured segments:

curl -s "
?video_url=VIDEO_ID&format=json&include_timestamp=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

Response (format=json):

{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "transcript": [
    { "text": "We're no strangers to love", "start": 18.0, "duration": 3.5 }
  ]
}

Response (format=text, include_timestamp=false):

{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "transcript": "We're no strangers to love\nYou know the rules and so do I..."
}

Tips

• Many videos have auto-generated subtitles in multiple languages.
• Use format=json to get timing for each line (great for sync'd reading).
• Use include_timestamp=false for clean text suitable for translation apps.

Errors

Code

Action

402	No credits — transcriptapi.com/billing
404	No subtitles available
408	Timeout — retry once after 2s

1 credit per request. Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min.