Getting started
Getting started
Fetch a YouTube transcript with a single authenticated request. Create a key, call the API, and read structured JSON back.
Quickstart
Three steps from zero to your first transcript.
1
Create a key
Generate a
tf_live_… key from the dashboard. Keys are shown once — store them somewhere safe.2
Make a call
POST a video URL or ID to
/transcripts/video with your key in the Authorization header.3
Read the JSON
Get back a structured envelope with
text, timestamped segments, and usage.# Your first call — fetch a transcript curl https://transcriptfetch.com/api/v1/transcripts/video \ -H "Authorization: Bearer tf_live_YOUR_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "video": "youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ" }'
Base URL & auth
Every endpoint lives under one base URL and expects a bearer token.
https://transcriptfetch.com/api/v1Authorization: Bearer tf_live_YOUR_KEY1 credit per successful fetch. Failed requests never cost a credit.
401 Unauthorized is returned for any request without a valid key.
Compression. Responses are gzip-encoded — send
Accept-Encoding: gzip and most HTTP clients (curl, fetch, httpx) will decompress transcripts transparently.API keys
Your tf_live_… keys are shown once at creation — copy them immediately, since they can't be retrieved later. Every key on your account draws from the same shared credit pool.
Keep them server-side. Never expose a key in browser or client-side code.
Rotate anytime. Create a new key and revoke the old one with no downtime.

