Most YouTube videos come with a free transcript: the words spoken in the video, written out. It’s made from the video’s captions, either ones the creator added or ones YouTube makes automatically. If a video has no captions, it has no transcript.
How do I get a YouTube transcript on a computer?
Open the video on youtube.com, expand the description with …more and click Show transcript at its end. The transcript opens beside the video with a time on each line, and clicking a line jumps the video to that point.
- Open the video on youtube.com.
- Under the video, click …more to open the full description.
- Scroll to the bottom of the description and click Show transcript.
- The transcript opens next to the video. Click any line to jump to that point in the video.
YouTube’s own help page: Show transcript.
How do I copy it without the times?
There’s no copy button. Select the text in the transcript with your mouse, then copy it (Ctrl+C, or Cmd+C on a Mac).
Each line starts with its time, such as 0:42. To hide the times before you copy, click the three dots at the top of the transcript and choose Toggle timestamps, if you see that option. If you don’t, paste the text into a document and delete the times, or try one of the options further down.
How do I get a YouTube transcript on iPhone or Android?
The YouTube app works in much the same way. The app changes often, though, so you may not see the button:
- Tap the video’s title, or …more, to open the description.
- Scroll down and tap Show transcript.
Copying the text on a phone doesn’t always work. If you need the text, a computer is usually easier.
How do I download the transcript of my own video?
YouTube Studio lets you download your own videos’ captions as a file, which is the transcript with its timings. You can’t download other people’s captions this way.
You can download your own video’s captions as a file:
- Open YouTube Studio and click Subtitles.
- Pick the video, then the language you want.
- Open Options and choose Download.
YouTube’s own help page: Edit or remove captions.
Why is there no “Show transcript” button?
- The video has no captions, so there’s nothing to show. Some tools can make a transcript by listening to the video, but YouTube’s button can’t.
- The creator has turned captions off, or the video is so new that YouTube hasn’t made its automatic captions yet. Try again later.
How do I get transcripts in one click, or for a whole channel?
Parsly is a Chrome extension that collects transcripts for you, without the copying and tidying.
One video:
- Open the video on youtube.com, and open Parsly from Chrome’s toolbar. The first time, allow it on YouTube.
- Click Collect video. Parsly reads the video’s details (views, the date it went up, its length) and its transcript.
- The transcript appears in readable paragraphs, each with the time it starts. Click Copy transcript for the whole text, without the times.
A whole channel:
- Open the channel’s Videos tab and click Collect videos in Parsly.
- Open Options and turn on Transcripts. Parsly fetches each video’s transcript, about 2 seconds a video: a channel of 190 videos takes about 8 minutes.
- Download every transcript in one text file, or a spreadsheet of every video with its views and transcript.
Parsly only reads YouTube once you allow it, and only while it’s collecting.
Which way should I use?
| Way | Free | Any video | Many at once | Without the times | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube’s Show transcript | Yes | With captions | No | Sometimes (Toggle timestamps) | Select and copy by hand |
| YouTube Studio | Yes | Your own only | No, one at a time | No, a caption file | A few clicks |
| yt-dlp (a free program) | Yes | With captions | Yes | No, a caption file | Typing commands in a terminal |
| Parsly | Yes | With captions | Yes, a whole channel | Yes | One click |
How do I summarise a YouTube video?
Once you have the transcript, paste it into Claude or ChatGPT and ask for a summary, the main points, or everything it says about a topic. Gemini can answer questions about YouTube videos without you pasting anything.
Questions people ask
Is a YouTube transcript free?
Yes. YouTube shows the transcript of any video with captions for free, on a computer or in the app. Parsly's way of collecting them, for one video or a whole channel, is free too.
Why is there no Show transcript button?
The video has no captions, the creator turned them off, or the video is so new that YouTube hasn't made its automatic captions yet. Without captions there's no transcript to show.
How do I copy a YouTube transcript without the timestamps?
Open the transcript's three-dot menu and choose Toggle timestamps if it's there, then select and copy the text. If it isn't, paste into a document and delete the times, or use Parsly's Copy transcript, which leaves them out.
Can I get the transcripts of every video on a channel?
Not from YouTube itself, which shows one video at a time. Parsly collects a channel's Videos tab and fetches each video's transcript, about 2 seconds a video, then downloads them all as one text file or a spreadsheet.
Are YouTube's automatic transcripts accurate?
Mostly, for clear speech in a common language. They stumble on names, jargon, accents and background noise, and they have no punctuation in places. Captions the creator wrote are usually better.
Sources
Checked against the real sites on 19 October 2026. Platforms change their buttons often; if something has moved, tell us at [email protected].