Can I get a transcript of a YouTube video on my phone?

Yes. The YouTube app has a Show transcript option in the video description, but copying from it is awkward. An extractor tool works in any mobile browser and gives you a one-tap copy button and downloads.

Is downloading a YouTube transcript legal?

For personal use — study, research, accessibility, quoting short excerpts — it is generally fine under fair use. Republishing full transcripts of someone else's content without permission can infringe copyright.

Can I get subtitles in languages other than English?

Yes. If the video has caption tracks in multiple languages, the extractor uses English when available and otherwise falls back to the first available track.

Do I need to install anything?

No. All three methods work without installing software — the extractor runs in your browser, and the other two are built into YouTube itself.

How to Get a Transcript From a YouTube Video: 3 Free Methods

Need the text of a YouTube video — for notes, quotes, subtitles, or repurposing content? YouTube generates captions for most videos, and there are three free ways to turn those captions into a transcript you can actually use.

This guide covers all three, from the fastest (an extractor tool) to the built-in methods YouTube gives you, plus what to do when a video has no transcript at all.

Free, no sign-up — paste a YouTube link and get the script in seconds.

Open the extractor

Method 1: Use a transcript extractor (fastest)

A YouTube script extractor does the whole job in one step. Copy the video's URL from your browser or the Share button, paste it into the extractor on the homepage, and click Extract Script. The full transcript appears in seconds.

Unlike YouTube's own viewer, the tool also gives you downloads: copy the text to your clipboard, save it as a TXT file, grab a timestamped version for notes, or download an SRT subtitle file. On a phone, where copying from YouTube's transcript panel is painful, this is the only practical option.

For long videos, the AI summary tab condenses everything into a TL;DR, key points, and chapters — useful when you only need the gist.

Method 2: YouTube's built-in "Show transcript"

YouTube has a native transcript viewer hidden behind a few clicks. On desktop: open the video, click …more in the description to expand it, scroll to the bottom, and click Show transcript. A panel opens next to the video; click any line to jump to that moment, or select the text and copy it manually. Use the three-dot menu in the panel to toggle timestamps off before copying.

On mobile: tap the video title or …more to expand the description, then tap Show transcript. The catch: there is no download button, and selecting text in the app is fiddly.

Method 3: YouTube Studio (for your own videos)

If the video is yours, YouTube Studio lets you download the subtitle file directly. Go to studio.youtube.com, open Subtitles in the left menu, pick the video, click the language row, then use the three-dot menu next to Edit and choose Download. You can pick .srt, .vtt, or .sbv formats.

SRT files keep the timestamps. If you only need the words, run the same video through the extractor and use the plain-text view instead.

What if a video has no transcript?

Transcripts only exist when a video has captions — uploaded by the creator or auto-generated by YouTube. If neither exists, the "Show transcript" button won't appear and extractor tools will report there is nothing to pull.

Your only remaining option is a speech-to-text service (for example Whisper-based transcribers) that transcribes the audio track directly. Those work without captions but take longer and often need the video file.

Tips for working with YouTube transcripts

Search inside the text: paste the transcript into a doc and use Ctrl/Cmd+F to find exact quotes instead of scrubbing through the video timeline.

Keep timestamps for citations: the timestamped view gives you a [mm:ss] reference for every line — ideal for show notes, research, and fact-checks.

Double-check auto-captions: YouTube's speech recognition is good but mishears names, numbers, and technical terms first. Verify before you quote.