This wikiHow teaches you how to download YouTube video captions. There are several free online applications that allow you to download subtitles as a text file (.txt) or a Subtitle Subtitle (.srt) file. You can also copy and paste video transcriptions directly from YouTube.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Copying Transcription from YouTube
Step 1. Visit YouTube videos that have captions
Access https://www.youtube.com through a web browser and use the search bar at the top of the screen (or another option) to find YouTube videos with captions. To see if a video has subtitles, play the video and click the square icon with "CC" in the lower right corner of the video playback window. If the video has subtitles, you can see it on the screen.
Most YouTube videos have auto-generated transcriptions. However, these transcriptions are usually not 100% accurate
Step 2. Click … below the video
It's the three-dot icon in the lower-right corner of the video playback window. A pop-up menu will appear after that.
Step 3. Click Open Transcript
This option is the second option in the pop-up menu that appears when you click the menu icon below the video. The video transcript will open in a new window, on the right side of the video.
Step 4. Click, followed Toggle Timestamps (optional).
If you don't want timestamps to appear next to each line of text in your transcription, you can click the three-dot icon in the upper right-hand side of the transcription window. After that, select Toggle Timestamps ” to remove the timestamp.
Step 5. Open a new text document
Use any text editing program to open a new blank text document. You can use Notepad, TextEdit, Word, Pages, or another text-editing program.
Step 6. Mark and copy the entire transcription text
The easiest way to mark text is to start at the bottom and select the text all the way up. Drag the slider bar on the right side of the transcription box down. Click and drag the cursor from bottom to top to mark all transcriptions.
Step 7. Copy and paste the transcription
Right-click the tagged text in the transcription window on YouTube. Choose " Copy " After that, right-click the blank text document and select “ Paste ”.
Step 8. Save the transcription
To save it, click the menu " File " and select " Save as " (or " Save ” on Mac computers). Type a file name in the field next to " Filename " and click " Save ”.
Method 2 of 2: Using Caption Downloader
Step 1. Visit YouTube videos that have captions
Access https://www.youtube.com through a web browser and use the search bar at the top of the screen (or another option) to find YouTube videos with captions. To see if a video has subtitles, play the video and click the square icon with "CC" in the lower right corner of the video playback window. If the video has subtitles, you can see it on the screen.
Step 2. Copy the video URL
To copy it, click the button “ Share ” under the video window and select “ Copy ” next to the video URL in the column. You can also mark the URL in the address bar at the top of the browser window, right-click on the URL, and select “ Copy ”.
Step 3. Visit https://savesubs.com/ via a web browser
The URL will take you to a web application where you can download the transcription of the YouTube video.
Step 4. Paste the URL of the video whose subtitles you want to extract
To paste the URL, right-click the column labeled “Enter any URL to extract subtitles” and select “ Paste ”.
Step 5. Click Extract & Download
It's a purple button next to a column. The caption file of the video will be extracted.
Step 6. Scroll down and click SRT or TXT.
If you want a subtitled Subrip file (.srt), click “ SRT" The file will be downloaded to the “Downloads” folder on your computer. If you only want captions in plain text format, click “ .txt" Both file formats can be reviewed and edited through a text-editing program such as Notepad, TextEdit, or Word.
