You need the words from a YouTube video without replaying it every time you want to find a detail. Start with YouTube’s built-in transcript to read its existing captions. If there are no captions, use the audio to generate a transcript or type one yourself.
Open YouTube’s built-in transcript
This gives you readable text from a video’s existing captions.
Open the YouTube video you want to transcribe.
Expand the video’s description.
Select Show transcript. The viewer displays text from uploaded or automatically generated captions.
Select a transcript line to jump to that moment in the video. It’s a handy way to hear a passage again while reading along.
Use Glasp to get text you can copy
Use Glasp’s browser tool when you want to keep the transcript in a document or notes app, with no extension required. Glasp advertises both extraction of existing captions and AI transcription when captions are absent.
Open Glasp’s YouTube Transcript Extractor.
Paste the YouTube video’s URL into the tool.
Select Get YouTube Video Transcript & Summary.
Choose Copy Transcript. Stick with the transcript when you need the video’s wording; a summary is a different output.
Paste the copied text into your document or notes app.
Check generated text against the audio before relying on its wording.
Type a transcript with playback shortcuts
Open a text editor alongside the YouTube video on your computer.
Listen to a short passage of the video.
Press k with the YouTube player focused to pause playback. The same key resumes it.
Type the passage into your text editor.
Return focus to the YouTube player.
Press j to rewind 10 seconds when you need to hear something again.
Press l to advance 10 seconds when you need to move ahead.
Repeat the listening and typing process until you have the text you need.
Tip: Keep the player focused when using these playback shortcuts.
Record the video’s audio with Otter
Otter’s desktop app transcribes system audio even with headphones on; it requires macOS 12.3 or later or Windows 10 or later, and account transcription limits apply.
- 1.Install Otter’s desktop app from its official download page.
- 2.Sign in to your Otter account.
- 3.Grant the requested audio permissions.
- 4.Select Record in Otter.
- 5.Play the YouTube video.
- 6.Select Finish Recording when the portion you need has ended.
If your own upload has no transcript
Missing captions leave YouTube’s built-in transcript viewer with no text to display.
After uploading your video, allow time for YouTube’s automatic-caption processing. Available captions publish automatically, but processing is neither immediate nor guaranteed.
Open YouTube Studio to check for captions.
Select Subtitles.
Select your video to review its available caption tracks. Automatic captioning supports long-form videos and Shorts in supported languages.
If YouTube does not generate captions, create the text using the manual transcription or Otter method above.
Correct automatic captions before using them
For a video you’re authorized to edit, correct automatic captions in YouTube Studio to publish a new caption track.
- 1.Open YouTube Studio and select Subtitles.
- 2.Select the video.
- 3.Select Edit beside the caption language.
- 4.Select Duplicate and edit, then Continue when prompted.
- 5.Correct the caption text against the video’s audio.
- 6.Select Publish.
Save a caption file from your own video
Open YouTube Studio. Caption-file downloads are available to authorized editors of the video.
Select Subtitles.
Choose the video whose captions you want to save.
Select Edit beside the language you need.
Open Options.
Select Download subtitles.
Open the downloaded caption file in a text editor to access its text.
Tip: For someone else’s video that you cannot edit, use Glasp’s copying method instead; YouTube Studio’s download option requires editing permission.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can YouTube sync a transcript I’ve already written?
Yes. For a video you can edit, select Auto-sync in YouTube Studio’s subtitle-creation screen. Enter your transcript or upload its file, then select EDIT > SAVE AND CLOSE. The text must match the spoken language, and that language must support speech recognition. YouTube does not recommend Auto-sync for poor audio or videos longer than an hour.
Can iPhone Live Captions give me text I can copy?
Yes. On an iPhone 11 or later running iOS 26, with a supported language and region, enable Settings > Accessibility > Live Captions. Tap the captions window and select iPhone Audio. Play the video. Select More Options > Copy Captions, then paste into Notes or another app. Apple does not promise unlimited transcript retention.
Will turning on closed captions create a transcript file?
No. YouTube’s Closed captions (CC) button displays existing captions during playback; it does not create or export a transcript. Chrome Live Caption and Android Live Caption also do not store their captions.
Can I submit corrected captions to someone else’s YouTube video?
Ordinary viewers no longer have a public community-caption submission path. YouTube discontinued Community Contributions on September 28, 2020. For new captions, the creator can upload them. A channel owner or manager can also invite someone with Subtitle editor access, which isn’t available on channels using a Brand Account, and Subtitle editors can only add or edit subtitles on videos that have a video language set.
