Transcript → file

Download a YouTube transcript

To download a YouTube transcript, paste a video link below, pick a format, and save. You get a file — TXT, Markdown, SRT or VTT, with or without timestamps. One step, no sign-in, no daily limit.

Works on any video with captions · or add the Chrome extension for one-click transcripts on every video.

What downloading gives you

Reading the transcript on YouTube is fine in the moment, but it lives in a panel you can’t really take with you. Downloading turns it into a file on your device — something you can open offline, edit, search, load into another tool, or keep for later. The words are the same captions YouTube already serves; downloading just saves them in a format you choose instead of leaving them trapped in the player.

That’s the difference from copying to the clipboard: a download is a file you keep, in the shape the next job needs. For the wider picture, the YouTube transcript overview covers where the words come from.

Download it in one step

No install and no account. Copy the video URL, paste it into the box above, and export:

1. Paste the link into the tool above.
2. Pick a format — TXT, Markdown, SRT or VTT.
3. Download the file to your device.

It takes seconds, and there’s no cap on how many you save. If you download transcripts often, the Chrome extension adds the same export buttons right beside the player — one click on any video, no copying links. For the step-by-step on getting the words first, see how to get the transcript of a YouTube video.

Paste a link, pick a format, save. The transcript as a file you keep.

TXT, Markdown, SRT and VTT

Four formats, because a transcript gets used in very different ways:

• TXT — plain text for notes, email or pasting anywhere.
• Markdown — for docs and note apps like Notion or Obsidian, with clean structure.
• SRT — the widely supported subtitle file for video editors and re-uploads. See YouTube subtitles to SRT.
• VTT — the web-native caption format for HTML5 video and the web.

Pick TXT or Markdown when you want to read or quote the words, and SRT or VTT when you want timed captions. If a file isn’t what you’re after, copying the transcript to the clipboard is the quicker path.

With or without timestamps

Every format can keep the times or drop them, and it changes what the file is for. Leave timestamps on and each line is tagged with its moment — good for citing a quote or building captions. Turn them off and you get clean, running prose — good for reading, notes, or pasting into a document. It’s one toggle before you download, so you can grab both versions of the same video if you need them.

Auto-generated vs creator captions

The file is only as clean as the captions behind it. Creator captions — written by the uploader — are punctuated and read well straight away. Auto-generated captions — YouTube’s speech recognition — are fine for clear speech but arrive without punctuation and stumble on names and jargon. With an auto track, download the TXT, add a few full stops and fix any names, and you’ll have text worth publishing.

Download it in another language

The transcript downloads in the video’s own language by default. Need a different one? Pick it from the translate menu before you export, and the file is written in that language. It runs on the captions, so translating stays free — download a foreign-language talk in the language you actually read, or grab both the original and a translation as two separate files.

What to do with the file

Once it’s downloaded, it fits wherever you work. Keep a TXT for your records or a reading list. Drop a Markdown file into your notes app as a tidy outline. Load an SRT into a video editor to caption a clip, or re-upload cleaned subtitles to your own video. Hand the text to an AI assistant for a summary — it has the exact words, not a guess from audio. Creators download their own transcripts and reshape them into blog posts, show notes and social captions — close to a week of writing from one upload.

A downloaded file also outlives the video. Links rot, uploads get pulled, and a transcript you saved is yours to keep regardless — a small archive of the talks, lectures and interviews you care about. Researchers download a batch of transcripts to read offline or run through their own tools; students keep a folder per course; writers build a swipe file of quotes with timestamps already attached. Because it’s plain text or a standard caption file, nothing locks you in — open it in any editor, on any device, years from now. The job here is to get the file out cleanly; what you build from it is up to you.

Frequently asked questions

How do I download a YouTube transcript?

Paste the video link into the tool above, choose a format — TXT, Markdown, SRT or VTT — and download. It is free, with no sign-in and no daily limit.

What format should I download?

TXT or Markdown for reading and notes; SRT or VTT if you want a timed caption file for editors or re-uploads. Each can keep or drop the timestamps.

Can I download the transcript without timestamps?

Yes. Toggle the timecodes off before you export and the file is clean, running prose with no times.

Is there a download limit?

No. There is no account and no cap — download as many transcripts as you like, however long the videos run.