- name
- subtitles
- description
- Use when subtitles or the spoken text of a YouTube video is needed: pasted video links or IDs, requests to translate a video, read along, follow foreign-language content, or extract what was said. Also use for language learning or accessibility. Fetches timestamped subtitles from any YouTube video. Not for uploading subtitles or account management.
- version
- 1.5.0
- user-invocable
- true
- compatibility
- Requires internet access to reach transcriptapi.com. No additional runtimes or dependencies needed.
- required_environment_variables
- prompt
- Your TranscriptAPI key (starts with sk_)
- help
- Free account at https://transcriptapi.com — 100 credits, no card required. Or let the agent create one for you.
- required_for
- all API requests
- metadata
- {"openclaw":{"emoji":"🗨️","requires":{"env":["TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"]},"primaryEnv":"TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY","homepage":"https://transcriptapi.com"},"hermes":{"tags":["youtube","subtitles","captions","transcripts","video","translation","language-learning"],"category":"media"}}
Subtitles
Fetch YouTube video subtitles via TranscriptAPI.com.
Setup
If $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY is not set, read references/auth-setup.md and follow the instructions there to get and store the key.
Required Headers
Every request needs two headers:
- Authorization:
Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY - User-Agent: your agent's name and version if known (e.g.
HermesAgent/0.11.0,ClaudeCode/1.0). Version is optional — agent name alone is fine. Do not omit this header or send a bare default — Cloudflare will return a 403 (error code 1010) and block the request.
GET /api/v2/youtube/transcript
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\
?video_url=VIDEO_URL&format=text&include_timestamp=false&send_metadata=true" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"| Param | Values | Use case |
|---|---|---|
video_url | YouTube URL or video ID | Required |
format | json, text | json for sync'd subs with timing |
include_timestamp | true, false | false for clean text for reading/translation |
send_metadata | true, false | Include title, channel, description |
For language learning — clean text without timestamps:
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\
?video_url=VIDEO_ID&format=text&include_timestamp=false" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"For translation — structured segments:
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\
?video_url=VIDEO_ID&format=json&include_timestamp=true" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"Response (format=json):
{
"video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"language": "en",
"transcript": [
{ "text": "We're no strangers to love", "start": 18.0, "duration": 3.5 }
]
}Response (format=text, include_timestamp=false):
{
"video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"language": "en",
"transcript": "We're no strangers to love\
You know the rules and so do I..."
}Tips
- Many videos have auto-generated subtitles in multiple languages.
- Use
format=jsonto get timing for each line (great for sync'd reading). - Use
include_timestamp=falsefor clean text suitable for translation apps.
Errors
| Code | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 401 | Bad API key | Check key |
| 402 | No credits | transcriptapi.com/billing |
| 403/1010 | Cloudflare block | Add or fix User-Agent header |
| 404 | No subtitles | No subtitles available |
| 408 | Timeout | Retry once after 2s |
1 credit per request. Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min.