Get your first transcript

Retrieve existing captions or transcribe accessible audio, then use the timestamped text in your application.

Create an account with no card required. Your account includes 50 free credits each month. Open Manage API keys, create a key, and store it in a server-side environment variable. Never expose it in browser code or commit it to source control.

Authenticated endpoints expect your API key as a bearer token. The official SDKs read it from the environment variable above; when using cURL, send it in the Authorization header.

Base URL: https://transcriptfetch.com/api/v2

With your key stored server-side, send a supported URL or video ID to /transcripts/video. A completed response includes timestamped segments and a usage record.

Using an SDK? Install the package first: Node.js setup · Python setup

curl https://transcriptfetch.com/api/v2/transcripts/video \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPTFETCH_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"video":"dQw4w9WgXcQ"}'

Read the timestamped transcript from data.segments. The usage object reports the charge and your remaining balance. Keep request_id when troubleshooting or contacting support.

{
  "ok": true,
  "request_id": "req_…",
  "data": {
    "kind": "transcript",
    "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "platform": "youtube",
    "title": "Example video",
    "channel": "Example Channel",
    "duration": 212,
    "language": "en",
    "thumbnail_url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/mqdefault.jpg",
    "source": "captions",
    "segments": [
      { "start": 0, "duration": 3.5, "text": "We're no strangers to love" }
    ]
  },
  "usage": { "credits_spent": 1, "balance": 49, "bytes": 14233 }
}