YouTube Transcriber - Standalone CLI Application

A simple, standalone Python application to extract transcripts from YouTube videos. No web server required - just run it directly from your terminal!

Features

• Extract transcripts from any YouTube video with closed captions
• Support for multiple YouTube URL formats (standard, shorts, live, embedded, youtu.be)
• Batch processing - extract transcripts from multiple videos at once
• Automatic language detection with English preference
• Clean, formatted output with natural paragraph breaks
• Optional video metadata (title, duration, uploader)
• Flexible output options (console, file, or auto-generated filenames)

Installation

1. Clone or download this repository
2. Install the minimal dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

That's it! Only 2 dependencies:

• youtube-transcript-api - for extracting transcripts
• yt-dlp - for fetching video metadata

Usage

Basic Usage

Extract transcript and display in console:

python youtube_transcriber.py https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID

Save to File

Save transcript to a specific file:

python youtube_transcriber.py https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID -o transcript.txt

Auto-generate filename based on video title:

python youtube_transcriber.py VIDEO_ID -o auto

Batch Processing

Create a file with URLs (one per line):

# urls.txt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO1
https://youtu.be/VIDEO2
https://youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO3

Process all URLs and save to a directory:

python youtube_transcriber.py -b urls.txt -d output_folder

Additional Options

Exclude metadata from output:

python youtube_transcriber.py URL --no-metadata

Suppress progress messages:

python youtube_transcriber.py URL -q --quiet

Supported URL Formats

The tool supports all common YouTube URL formats:

• Standard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
• Short: https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID
• Shorts: https://youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID
• Live: https://www.youtube.com/live/VIDEO_ID
• Embed: https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID
• Mobile: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
• Direct video ID: VIDEO_ID

Command Line Options

positional arguments:
  url                   YouTube URL or video ID

options:
  -h, --help            Show help message
  -o, --output          Output file (use "auto" for automatic naming)
  -d, --output-dir      Output directory for batch processing
  -b, --batch           Process URLs from file (one per line)
  --no-metadata         Exclude video metadata from output
  -q, --quiet           Suppress progress messages

Examples

Example 1: Quick Transcript

python youtube_transcriber.py dQw4w9WgXcQ

Example 2: Save with Metadata

python youtube_transcriber.py https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ -o "rick_roll_transcript.txt"

Example 3: Batch Processing

# Process multiple videos and save each to a separate file
python youtube_transcriber.py -b video_list.txt -d transcripts/

Example 4: Clean Output

# Just the transcript, no metadata, saved to file
python youtube_transcriber.py VIDEO_ID --no-metadata -o clean.txt

Output Format

With metadata (default):

================================================================================
Title: Video Title Here
Uploader: Channel Name
Duration: 10:35
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
================================================================================

This is the transcript text formatted into natural paragraphs. Each paragraph
contains multiple sentences grouped logically together.

Another paragraph continues here with the next part of the transcript...

Without metadata (--no-metadata):

This is the transcript text formatted into natural paragraphs. Each paragraph
contains multiple sentences grouped logically together.

Another paragraph continues here with the next part of the transcript...

Error Handling

The tool provides clear error messages:

• Invalid URL format
• Video without available transcripts
• Network issues or YouTube blocking
• File access problems

Tips

1. Auto-naming: Use -o auto to automatically generate filenames based on video titles
2. Batch files: Lines starting with # in batch files are treated as comments
3. Language fallback: If English transcript isn't available, the tool will use the first available language
4. Rate limiting: If processing many videos, add delays between requests to avoid YouTube blocking

Troubleshooting

"No transcript available"

• The video doesn't have closed captions enabled
• The video is private or age-restricted
• Live stream is still ongoing (transcripts only available after stream ends)

"YouTube is blocking requests"

• You've made too many requests - wait a while before trying again
• Consider using a VPN or proxy
• Add delays between batch requests

"Could not extract video ID"

• Check the URL format is correct
• Ensure the video still exists and is public

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• youtube-transcript-api
• yt-dlp

License

This is a standalone tool for personal use. Please respect YouTube's Terms of Service and content creators' rights when using extracted transcripts.