Free tool
YouTube transcript to text
Paste a YouTube transcript here, copied from the panel under the video, and get clean text: the timestamps come out, the short caption lines join into paragraphs and tags like [Music] disappear. Copy it, or save it as text, Word or SRT.
- Free
- No sign-up
- Nothing is uploaded
Nothing is uploaded: your browser reads the file.
Want transcripts of your own lectures, interviews and calls too? NoteOwl transcribes them on your Mac, unlimited, and keeps every transcript searchable.
How it works
How do you get the transcript of a YouTube video?
Open the video on YouTube and, in the video description, click Show transcript. The transcript opens beside the video. Select its lines, copy them, and paste them here to turn them into clean, readable text.
- 1
Open the transcript
On youtube.com, expand the video’s description and click Show transcript. It appears next to the video.
- 2
Copy the lines
Click just before the first line, scroll to the end, Shift-click after the last line, and copy (⌘C on a Mac, Ctrl+C on Windows).
- 3
Paste and clean
Paste it in the box above. Choose paragraphs, timestamps and tags, then copy the text or download it.
Which YouTube videos have a transcript?
Any video with captions. That includes captions the creator added and the automatic captions YouTube makes with speech recognition, so many videos with clear speech have one. With no captions, there is no Show transcript button.
What does the cleaner change?
Only the layout. The words stay exactly as YouTube wrote them; the timestamps, the short broken lines and the sound tags are what change. Below, a copied transcript and the text this page makes of it.
0:00 [Music] 0:03 okay so the question everyone asks is 0:06 how long should a cover letter be? 0:09 The short answer: one page. 0:12 Three paragraphs is plenty 0:14 >> and what goes in the first one? 0:17 >> Why you want this job, not any job.
okay so the question everyone asks is how long should a cover letter be? The short answer: one page. Three paragraphs is plenty and what goes in the first one? Why you want this job, not any job.
- 0:04, 0:07, 0:09… on their own lines
- In the clean textRemoved, or one [0:04] at the start of each paragraph
- Short caption lines
- In the clean textJoined into sentences and paragraphs
- [Music], [Applause], ♪
- In the clean textRemoved, or kept if you untick it
- >> marking a new speaker
- In the clean textA new paragraph
- A time said in the video, like “at 0:12”
- In the clean textKept as words: a time that goes back isn’t a timestamp
- The panel’s own labels above the first line
- In the clean textLeft out
| In the copied text | In the clean text |
|---|---|
| 0:04, 0:07, 0:09… on their own lines | Removed, or one [0:04] at the start of each paragraph |
| Short caption lines | Joined into sentences and paragraphs |
| [Music], [Applause], ♪ | Removed, or kept if you untick it |
| >> marking a new speaker | A new paragraph |
| A time said in the video, like “at 0:12” | Kept as words: a time that goes back isn’t a timestamp |
| The panel’s own labels above the first line | Left out |
Can you turn a YouTube transcript into subtitles?
Yes, when you copy it with its timestamps: Download .srt makes each line a caption that lasts until the next one starts. For your own videos, YouTube Studio gives you the caption file itself: Subtitles, the video, Options, then Download subtitles.
To change a caption file’s format, use the subtitle converter, or the SBV to SRT converter for an SBV file; to read one as text, the SRT to TXT converter.
How do you get transcripts of recordings that aren’t on YouTube?
Transcribe them yourself. NoteOwl transcribes lectures, interviews, calls and other audio and video files on your Mac with on-device AI models, labels each speaker and keeps every transcript searchable. Nothing is uploaded. See NoteOwl’s transcription.
FAQ
Questions about YouTube transcripts
How do I copy a transcript from YouTube?
In the video’s description, click Show transcript, then select the transcript’s lines in the panel that opens and copy them. Copying is easiest in a web browser on a computer, where the lines can be selected like any other text.
Why doesn’t this tool ask for a YouTube link?
It only works with text you paste, so it never contacts YouTube. You copy the transcript that YouTube itself shows you, and NoteOwl’s cleaner turns it into text in your browser.
How do I remove the timestamps from a YouTube transcript?
Paste it into NoteOwl’s cleaner with Keep timestamps unticked. Every timestamp is removed and the lines are joined into paragraphs. Tick Keep timestamps to keep one at the start of each paragraph.
Why is there no YouTube video transcript to open?
YouTube shows a transcript only for videos that have captions. If a video has neither captions from its creator nor automatic captions, there is no transcript to open or copy.
Can I download the transcript as an SRT file?
Yes, when you copy it with its timestamps. Press Download .srt and each transcript line becomes a caption that lasts until the next line starts, for up to 7 seconds.
Does it work for transcripts in other languages?
Yes. The cleaner works on the text and timestamps, whatever the language, and leaves the words exactly as YouTube wrote them.
Is the transcript I paste uploaded anywhere?
No. The cleaning happens in your browser, and the text and downloads stay on your device.
Keep exploring
More subtitle tools
- Subtitle converterConvert subtitles between SRT, VTT, SBV and ASS, or to plain text, in your browser; SSA scripts and meeting transcripts work too
- SRT to VTT converterConvert SRT to VTT, VTT to SRT, or either to clean text with each speaker’s lines merged, in your browser; Zoom and Teams transcripts work
- Subtitle shifterMove every caption in an SRT, VTT, SBV or ASS file earlier or later, or re-sync it from two points; only the times change
- Online subtitle editorEdit an SRT or VTT file in your browser: change text and times, add and delete captions, catch overlaps and over-fast captions, download
Related
- YouTube video summarizerPaste the transcript under a YouTube video and get a summary, the key points and key moments with its timestamps; never contacts YouTube
- SRT to TXT converterTurn an SRT subtitle file into plain text: numbers and timestamps removed, broken lines joined into paragraphs
- Audio to textTranscription software for your Mac: drop in an audio or video file and get a speaker-labelled transcript with timestamps, unlimited, with nothing uploaded
- Audio to text converterTranscribe audio to text free: drop in an MP3, M4A, WAV or other recording and get an AI transcript with times, as text, SRT, VTT or Word; nothing is stored
- Lecture recorderRecord lectures in the room through your Mac’s microphone, in an online class with no bot, or from a file, then turn them into study notes
Transcripts of your own recordings, on your Mac
Free to download. Runs entirely on your Mac.
macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) · 16 GB memory minimum, 24 GB recommended
About NoteOwl
NoteOwl is private AI meeting notes and memory for the Mac. It captures meetings without a bot joining the call, labels every speaker, writes summaries and action items, and builds a memory of every conversation that you can chat with — fully offline, because the speech recognition and the AI run on the Mac itself. Dictation into any app is free; Pro is a one-time purchase.
NoteOwl pricing: what’s free and what Pro adds
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