Is a script the same as a transcript?

For this tool, yes. Both mean the spoken words as text. A script written before filming can differ from what was actually said, and this tool returns what was said.

Does it work on videos without captions?

No. It reads the caption track YouTube provides and does not transcribe audio. If a video has no captions, there is nothing to extract.

Can I get the script in another language?

If the video has captions in other languages, a language menu appears in the result. Pick one and the script reloads in that language.

Is it free, and do I need an account?

It is free and needs no account. Each visitor can extract the script of one video, and the limit resets 30 days after the first use.

Do you store the scripts?

Extracted scripts are kept for up to a week so repeat requests for the same video load faster. Nothing is tied to an account.

How do I copy the transcript of a YouTube video?

Paste the video link above and click Extract script. When the text appears, click Copy, or download it as TXT. Turn on With timestamps first if you want the time before each line.

Can I convert a YouTube video to text for free?

Yes. Paste the link and the tool returns the video’s captions as text at no cost and without an account. It reads existing captions, so it cannot convert audio to text for a video that has none.

YouTube Script Extractor

Paste a YouTube link to get the video’s transcript as text: everything said, ready to copy or download as TXT, SRT, VTT, or JSON.

Works with watch links, youtu.be links, Shorts, and live links.

Free for one video per visitor.

How it works

Paste a YouTube link

Use a watch link, a youtu.be link, a Shorts link, or a live link.

We read the captions

The tool requests the caption track YouTube provides for that video. It does not transcribe audio.

Copy or download

Read it as clean paragraphs or with timestamps, then copy it or save it as TXT, SRT, VTT, or JSON.

Why use this YouTube script extractor

Instant Extraction

Get the full transcript in seconds — no waiting, no queue.

Multiple Formats

Download as TXT, SRT, VTT, or JSON. Copy the script without timestamps with one click.

Auto-Detect Language

Starts with the language the video is spoken in, and lets you switch when it has more than one caption track.

No API Key Required

No YouTube API key, no registration. Paste a link and go.

Works on Shorts Too

Paste a Shorts link, a regular video link, or a youtu.be link — all are recognized.

Privacy First

We don’t store your videos or tie anything to an account. Extracted scripts are kept for up to a week so repeat requests load faster.

How to get the transcript of a YouTube video

There are two common ways to turn a YouTube video into text. Here is when each one makes sense.

YouTube’s own transcript panel

Open the video, expand the description, and choose Show transcript. It works for one video at a time, but you copy the text by hand and every line comes with a timestamp. The panel only appears for videos that have captions, and its language menu lists the same caption tracks this tool reads. It is a fine way to check a single moment. Copying a long transcript from it means selecting text by hand in a scrolling panel, which is slow and easy to get wrong.

This video to text tool

Paste the link and get the same words as clean paragraphs or with timestamps, ready to copy or download as TXT, SRT, VTT, or JSON. You can switch the caption language without leaving the page. The script view groups captions into readable paragraphs and breaks them at pauses, so you can paste it straight into a document. Switch to timestamps when you need to find a moment, and use the language menu when the video has several caption tracks. Long videos work the same way: a two-hour talk comes back as one continuous script.

When no transcript exists

If the creator turned captions off and YouTube has no auto-generated ones, neither method can produce text. That needs speech-to-text on the audio, which is a different kind of tool. Private and age-restricted videos cannot be read either. Auto-generated captions can take a while to appear after an upload, so a brand-new video that fails now may work later. If the video is yours, adding your own captions in YouTube Studio makes it extractable.

Script, transcript, subtitles: what this tool does

People use these words for the same thing. Here is exactly what you get.

What you get

The words spoken in the video, read from its caption track: the creator’s captions when they exist, otherwise YouTube’s auto-generated ones.

Not a script generator

This reads an existing video. If you want to write a new video script, you need a script generator, which is a different tool.

Not speech recognition

It does not listen to the audio. A video with no captions at all cannot be extracted.

What people use an extracted script for

A script in text form is easier to search, quote, and reuse than a video.

Study notes

Turn a lecture or tutorial into text you can highlight, search, and summarize.

Study how a video is written

See how a creator opens, paces, and closes a video by reading the script start to finish.

Repurpose your own videos

Start a blog post, newsletter, or captions file from what you already said on camera.

Find and cite quotes

Search the script for an exact phrase, then use the timestamps to link to that moment.

Download formats

Pick the file that fits what you are doing next.

TXT

Plain text in paragraphs, or one line per caption when timestamps are on. Best for notes, blog drafts, and pasting into a document or an AI chat.

SRT

Numbered subtitle cues with times. Works in most video editors and players. Use it to add subtitles in a video editor or to upload captions to another platform.

VTT

WebVTT subtitles for web video players and HTML5 tracks. Use it as the track file for an HTML5 video element.

JSON

Every caption with its start time and duration in milliseconds, for scripts and tools. Use it to search, analyze, or build your own tools on top of the timing data.

If the script will not extract

Most failures come from the video, not from the link.

The video has no captions

Creators can turn captions off, and some videos never get auto-generated ones. Without a caption track there is nothing to extract.

Private, age-restricted, or removed

Videos that need a sign-in or are unavailable in your region cannot be read.

YouTube is blocking requests

YouTube sometimes rejects automated requests from servers. Wait a few minutes and try again.

Auto-generated captions have mistakes

Names, jargon, and music lyrics are often wrong. Check anything you plan to quote.

Related Tools

YouTube Playlist Length Calculator

Working through many videos? Paste a playlist to see its total watch time first.

YouTube Timestamp Generator

Found a moment in the script? Turn its time into a link that opens the video there.

YouTube Playlist Link Extractor

Need the video links from a playlist before you extract scripts? Export them all.

View all tools

This YouTube script extractor helps you pull the spoken words from any public video with captions. It reads what YouTube already provides — creator-uploaded or auto-generated captions — and returns the text for you to copy, download, or study. It’s not a speech-to-text transcriber and won’t generate a script from a video that has no captions. For creators who want to turn their own videos into blog posts, for students taking notes from lectures, or for anyone who needs a written record of what was said, this free tool gets the job done in seconds.

YouTube Script Extractor FAQ

Common questions about extracting scripts from YouTube videos.

It takes a YouTube video link and returns the words spoken in the video as text, read from the video’s captions.

Ready to extract a YouTube script?

Free. No signup required. Paste a link and get the text in seconds.