How to Get the Transcript of a YouTube Video

Having grown into the internet's largest video platform, YouTube has grown to accommodate its global audience by adding a few useful features on the desktop site. If you've ever needed a written transcript for a video uploaded to YouTube, here's how you could find it.

Before we begin, it should be mentioned that transcripts are only available if closed captions have been enabled or uploaded by the video's owner. If you don't see a closed caption icon on the video itself, you may not find a transcript available for it. That being said, you can check for one by opening the YouTube video you need the transcript for on the browser of your choice. As of the time of recording, there is no way to do this on YouTube's mobile site or the app. Click on the triple dotted icon underneath the video next to the save icon, then click on open transcript and a transcript window will open to the right of the video if you're in default view or under the video if you're in theater mode. As the video plays, lines of text next to the given timestamp will be highlighted as they're spoken.

If you don't want to see timestamps for each line, you can toggle them off by clicking on the triple dotted icon at the top right of the window. If you're looking for a specific word or topic mentioned in the video, you can try searching for it through this page's search function. Each line can be clicked on to navigate to that specific point in the video. If there are multiple languages available, an arrow will show next to the current transcript language at the bottom of the window. Clicking on it will allow you to choose which language is displayed.

To save a copy, scroll to the top of the given transcript, then click and drag your cursor from the beginning of the transcript to the end to highlight it. From here, you can copy and paste the entire transcript into another document. Transcripts for some videos have been automatically generated and may not be entirely accurate.

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Keyword

YouTube, transcript, closed captions, browser, timestamp, search function, languages, save, copy, paste

FAQ

1. Are transcripts available for every video on YouTube? Transcripts are only available if closed captions have been enabled or uploaded by the video's owner. If you don't see a closed caption icon on the video, you may not find a transcript available for it.

2. Can transcripts be accessed on YouTube's mobile site or app? As of the time of recording, there is no way to access transcripts on YouTube's mobile site or app. Transcripts can be accessed on the desktop site by following the steps outlined in the article.

3. Are all transcripts on YouTube accurate? Transcripts for some videos have been automatically generated and may not be entirely accurate. It's important to note that there may be discrepancies in the accuracy of transcripts for certain videos.