YouTube Transcript API That Just Works

Stop fighting YouTube blocks. Get transcripts, search videos, browse channels, and extract playlists via REST API or YouTube MCP — at scale.

Get Started Free View Pricing

Works everywhere

Powering 10M+ requests every month

Trusted in production

400K+ Transcripts Processed Daily

49ms median response time. 12M+ transcripts served last month.

youtubetotranscript.com

Verified Production User

~7.6M

transcripts per month

Active

recapio.com

Verified Production User

~1.9M

transcripts per month

Active

Everything you need from YouTube

One API. Full YouTube Access.

Transcripts, search, channels, playlists — all in one place. Every feature works via API, MCP, and agent skills.

Get Transcripts

1 credit

Extract transcripts from any YouTube video — with or without timestamps. Drop the output straight into summarizers, search indexes, or AI pipelines.

Summarize videosStudy notesSearch indexesContent repurposing

Request

curl "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript?video_url=dQw4w9WgXcQ&format=json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer API_KEY"

Response

{
  "title": "Do schools kill creativity?",
  "duration": "19:24",
  "segments": [
    {
      "start": 0.0,
      "text": "Good morning. How are you?"
    },
    {
      "start": 3.2,
      "text": "It's been great, hasn't it?"
    }
  ]
}

AI Agent

Pull the transcript from this TED talk and give me a bullet-point summary with key quotes

get_transcript(video_url="dQw4w9WgXcQ")

Here's the summary of "Do schools kill creativity?" by Sir Ken Robinson: • Schools prioritize conformity over creative thinking • Children are educated out of creativity as they age • Key quote: "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original" Want me to extract all the timestamps where he references specific examples?

API Reference ·MCP Tool

Search YouTube

1 credit

Search YouTube for videos, channels, or playlists. Filter by type and limit results — perfect for discovery, research, and building content pipelines.

Content researchCompetitor analysisTopic discoveryTrend monitoring

Request

curl "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search?q=climate+change&type=video&limit=5" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer API_KEY"

Response

{
  "results": [
    {
      "video_id": "G9t__9Tmli0",
      "title": "Climate Change 101",
      "channel": "National Geographic",
      "views": "12M"
    },
    {
      "video_id": "SDr2gaSrOCk",
      "title": "Before the Flood",
      "channel": "National Geographic",
      "views": "8.5M"
    }
  ]
}

AI Agent

Find the most-watched climate change explainers on YouTube and compare their key arguments

search_youtube(q="climate change", limit=5)

Found 5 top climate change videos: 1. "Climate Change 101" (12M views) — broad overview by National Geographic 2. "Before the Flood" (8.5M views) — Leonardo DiCaprio documentary 3. "Causes and Effects of Climate Change" (5.1M views) — National Geographic explainer 4. "Climate Change" (3.8M views) — Kurzgesagt animated breakdown 5. "Is It Too Late To Stop Climate Change?" (2.9M views) — science-focused deep dive Should I pull the transcripts and compare how each one frames the core science?

API Reference ·MCP Tool

Search Inside a Channel

1 credit

Search within a specific channel to find videos on any topic. Great for researching a creator's content or finding niche topics in large channels.

Research a creatorFind specific topicsCompetitive intelligence

Request

curl "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/search?channel=@TED&q=AI&limit=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer API_KEY"

Response

{
  "results": [
    {
      "video_id": "UyyjU8fzEYU",
      "title": "The wonderful implications of computers that can learn",
      "views": "2.3M"
    },
    {
      "video_id": "hJP5GqnTrNo",
      "title": "Can AI fix education?",
      "published": "2024-08-22"
    }
  ]
}

AI Agent

What has TED published about AI in education? I need the top talks to prep for a presentation

search_channel(channel="@TED", q="AI education")

Found 6 TED talks on AI in education: 1. "Can AI fix education?" — most recent (Aug 2024) 2. "The wonderful implications of computers that can learn" — 2.3M views, great for framing 3. "How AI could save education" — practical classroom applications 4. "What AI means for the future of learning" — policy perspective 5. "Teaching in the age of AI" — teacher's firsthand experience 6. "The AI revolution in education" — broad overview with demos I can fetch the transcripts and pull out the strongest talking points. Want me to do that?

API Reference ·MCP Tool

Browse Channel Videos

1 credit

List all videos from any YouTube channel. Ideal for building databases, bulk transcript extraction, or auditing a channel's full content library.

Content auditingVideo databasesBulk transcriptsChannel analysis

Request

curl "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/videos?channel=@TED" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer API_KEY"

Response

{
  "channel": "@TED",
  "video_count": 5200,
  "videos": [
    {
      "video_id": "iG9CE55wbtY",
      "title": "Do schools kill creativity?",
      "views": "82M"
    },
    {
      "video_id": "arj7oStGLkU",
      "title": "Inside the mind of a master procrastinator",
      "views": "65M"
    }
  ]
}

AI Agent

Audit TED's full video catalog — how many videos do they have and what are the all-time top performers?

get_channel_videos(channel="@TED")

TED has 5,200 videos total. Here are the top 3 by views: 1. "Do schools kill creativity?" — 82M views 2. "Inside the mind of a master procrastinator" — 65M views 3. "Your body language may shape who you are" — 61M views Want me to break this down by topic or year, or fetch transcripts for the top 10?

API Reference ·MCP Tool

Track New Uploads

Free

Check for the latest uploads from any channel — no credits required. Perfect for monitoring, daily recaps, or triggering downstream pipelines.

Daily channel recapNew content alertsPipeline triggersCompetitor tracking

Request

curl "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/latest?channel=@TED" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer API_KEY"

Response

{
  "channel": "@TED",
  "latest": [
    {
      "video_id": "xL2EKQ3Rkos",
      "title": "A bold plan for sustainable energy",
      "published": "2h ago"
    },
    {
      "video_id": "k9Rm_SZjKs4",
      "title": "How AI is transforming medicine",
      "published": "1d ago"
    }
  ]
}

AI Agent

Check if TED posted anything new this week — if it's about AI, summarize it for me

get_latest_videos(channel="@TED")

TED posted 2 new videos this week. One matches your interest: • "How AI is transforming medicine" (yesterday) — directly relevant • "A bold plan for sustainable energy" (2h ago) — energy/climate topic Fetching the transcript for the AI one now. I'll have a summary for you in a moment.

API Reference ·MCP Tool

Extract Playlist Videos

1 credit

Get every video from a YouTube playlist. Process entire courses, lecture series, or curated collections in a single call.

Online coursesLecture seriesCurated collectionsBatch processing

Request

curl "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/playlist/videos?playlist=PLrAXtmErZgOe..." \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer API_KEY"

Response

{
  "playlist": "PLrAXtmErZgOe...",
  "video_count": 24,
  "videos": [
    {
      "video_id": "UF8uR6Z6KLc",
      "title": "Lecture 1: Introduction",
      "duration": "52:10"
    },
    {
      "video_id": "2pWv7GOvuf0",
      "title": "Lecture 2: Neural Networks",
      "duration": "48:35"
    }
  ]
}

AI Agent

I'm taking this Stanford ML course — get all the lectures and create study notes for each one

get_playlist_videos(playlist="PLrAXtmErZgOe...")

Found 24 lectures in this playlist (total ~19 hours). I'll process them in order. Starting with Lecture 1: Introduction (52 min) — covers supervised learning, linear regression, and gradient descent. I'll create structured study notes for each lecture. Ready to begin?

API Reference ·MCP Tool

Three ways to connect

API. MCP. Agent Skills.

Pick the integration that fits your workflow.

REST API

For developers building apps, workflows, automations

Add YouTube data to any application. Use with n8n, Make, Zapier, or your own code.

Get a free API key at transcriptapi.com/signup

Make your first API call:

curl "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript?video_url=VIDEO_URL" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_your_key"

Get transcripts, search results, channel data — done.

Get API Key Read Docs

YouTube MCP

For ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, VS Code, and 20+ clients

Give your AI assistant YouTube access. Transcribe videos, search, browse channels, and read transcripts — right inside your conversation.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http transcript-api https://transcriptapi.com/mcp

Install in Cursor Install in VS Code

Universal JSON config

{
  "url": "https://transcriptapi.com/mcp"
}

Try asking

Summarize the key points from this video: [paste URL]

Find videos about machine learning and summarize the top 3

Setup Guide for Claude ·Setup Guide for ChatGPT

🦞

Agent Skills

For OpenClaw, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and more

Give your AI agent full YouTube access — never blocked, no manual setup. Install the skill and start using it.

OpenClaw

npx clawhub@latest install youtube-full

Claude Code / Cursor / Windsurf

npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills --skill youtube-full

Try asking

Summarize this video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=...

What new videos did TED upload this week?

Get transcripts for every video in this playlist: [URL]

How it works: Your agent creates a TranscriptAPI account and gets an API key on first use — no manual setup needed. You get 100 free credits to start.

Works with

View on GitHub ·Install on ClawHub

Pricing

One Plan. Every Feature Included.

Transcripts, search, channels, playlists — all endpoints, one credit each. Pick your billing cycle and start building.

100 free credits to try the API — no card required. Get started free

Monthly

$5.00/month

Includes:

1,000 credits per month
Top-ups at $2.50 per 1K
1 Credit = 1 Successful Request
MCP Access
API Access
200 Requests Per Minute Rate Limit
Human support on paid plan

Start Monthly

Secure checkout by Stripe

BEST VALUE

Annual

$4.50/month

Billed $54.00/yearSave 10%

Includes:

1,000 credits per month
Top-ups at $1.50 per 1K(40% cheaper)
1 Credit = 1 Successful Request
MCP Access
API Access
200 Requests Per Minute Rate Limit
Human support on paid plan

Get Annual

Secure checkout by Stripe

Get transcript	1 credit
Search YouTube	1 credit
Search inside a channel	1 credit
List channel videos	1 credit
Playlist videos	1 credit
Paginated calls	1 credit / page
Track new uploads (RSS)	Free
Resolve channel handle	Free

Top-up credits last until the end of your current billing period:

Monthly plan: top-ups expire at the end of your current month.
Annual plan: top-ups expire at the end of your subscription year.

Have custom requirements? Contact us for a custom plan.

Estimate your bill

Pricing Calculator

Pick a plan and move the slider to see your total and effective cost per 1K.

Pricing Calculator

Select Plan

Monthly Transcript Volume

10,000

025k50k75k100k

Monthly Cost Breakdown

Plan cost$4.50/mo

Top-ups (9K @ $1.5/1K)$13.50

Total Monthly Cost

$18.00

Effective cost per 1K transcripts

$1.80

Buy Annual Plan