TranscriptFetch

Getting started

Getting started: your first transcript in two minutes

Where to find your API key, how to authenticate, and a copy-paste request that returns a transcript. Covers the free tier, what counts as a credit, and the most common first-request errors.

Every TranscriptFetch account starts with an API key already created for you and 50 free credits. No card is required to make your first request.

1. Get your API key

Sign in and open the dashboard at transcriptfetch.com/app. Your first key is generated automatically the first time you visit, and the full token is shown once — copy it then. Only a SHA-256 hash is stored, so a lost key cannot be recovered and has to be regenerated.

2. Make a request

Authenticate with a bearer token. The base URL is https://transcriptfetch.com.

bash
curl -X POST https://transcriptfetch.com/api/v2/transcripts/video \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPTFETCH_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"video": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"}'

The same endpoint accepts YouTube, TikTok and Instagram links, plus direct media file URLs. You do not pick a platform — the source is detected from the link.

3. What you get back

A JSON response containing the transcript text, per-segment timestamps, the detected language, and a request_id you can quote in a support conversation.

The rest of the API

  • POST /api/v2/transcripts/video - one video or media file
  • POST /api/v2/transcripts/batch - many videos in one call
  • POST /api/v2/transcripts/channel - a channel's or profile's videos on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram (on YouTube, also its Shorts, streams, playlists or podcasts)
  • POST /api/v2/transcripts/playlist - a playlist's videos on YouTube and TikTok
  • POST /api/v2/transcripts/search - find videos by keyword (on YouTube, also channels or playlists)
  • GET /api/v2/transcripts/jobs/{jobId} - poll a long-running AI Fallback Transcription job
  • POST /api/v2/monitors - watch a channel or profile and get each new video by webhook (monitors guide)
  • GET /api/v2/me - your remaining credit balance
  • GET /api/v2/health - service status

What a request costs

One credit per successful caption transcript, whatever the length: a four-hour lecture with a caption track costs the same single credit as a 30-second TikTok. When a video has no captions, AI Fallback Transcription transcribes the audio at one credit per started 5 minutes, so a short clip is still one credit and an hour is twelve. Failed requests are free. See "How credits and billing work" for plans and top-ups.

If your first request fails

  • 401 Unauthorized — the header must be Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY. A bare key with no Bearer prefix is the most common cause.
  • 404 / no transcript found — the video is private, region-locked, or removed. Check the link opens in a logged-out browser.
  • Live streams — a stream that is still broadcasting has no finished transcript. Wait until it ends.
  • No captions on the source — short-form video often has no caption track. AI Fallback Transcription covers these; it returns a job you poll rather than an immediate transcript.

Still stuck? Start a conversation from the chat launcher and include your request_id.

Still stuck?

Open the chat launcher, bottom right, and include your request_id if you have one. Or email [email protected].