YouTube Shorts Transcript API
Transcript for a YouTube Short — rejects long-form videos (≤3 min only).
GET request to /v1/youtube/shorts/transcript that responds with clean JSON and costs 1 credit. Pass cache=true for a free 24h cache hit; default is always fresh. Start with 100 free credits — no credit card.What is the YouTube Shorts Transcript API?
Same caption engine as YouTube Transcript (published captions only — not speech-to-text), scoped to Shorts. Pass a youtube.com/shorts/… URL (or a watch URL that is actually a Short). Videos longer than 3 minutes return HTTP 422 — use /v1/youtube/transcript for those. Caption-miss 404 uses the same diagnostic body and charges 0. Flat 1 credit on success.
What you get
- Full transcript text with start/end timestamps when available
- Auto-detected language and segment count
- AI audio transcription fallback when no captions exist
- Clean JSON ready for search, subtitles, or AI pipelines
Try it
Fill in the parameters below and copy a ready-to-run request, or open the live Playground to run it against your account (no API key paste).
Parameters
curl "https://api.captapi.com/v1/youtube/shorts/transcript?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fshorts%2FegvLKQe6I4I" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer capt_live_..."
# or: -H "x-api-key: capt_live_..."Edit the parameters and the code updates instantly. Switch languages and hit copy.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"data": {
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/egvLKQe6I4I",
"videoId": "egvLKQe6I4I",
"title": "Don't Pop the Balloon",
"transcript": "Don't pop the balloon. Whatever you do, don't pop it...",
"transcriptSegments": [
{
"text": "Don't pop the balloon.",
"start": 0,
"duration": 2,
"timestamp": "00:00"
},
{
"text": "Whatever you do, don't pop it.",
"start": 2,
"duration": 2.4,
"timestamp": "00:02"
}
],
"wordCount": 42,
"segments": 2,
"language": "English"
}
}Billing metadata is returned in response headers: X-Captapi-Credits (credits charged), X-Captapi-Cache (hit or miss), and X-Captapi-Source. Failed requests (4xx/5xx) are never charged. See the full list of error codes in the error reference.
Response structure
A successful call returns success and a data object with the following fields:
Top-level fields
urlCanonical URL of the item.videoIdPlatform video ID.titleTitle of the item.transcriptComplete text transcript (file-upload endpoints). Timed caption/ASR endpoints use text instead.wordCountTotal number of words in the transcript (file-upload endpoints).segmentsTimed caption/ASR: array of {text,startMs,endMs}. File-upload video-transcript: segment count. Sponsor endpoints: sponsor segment list.languageDetected or requested language code.
Transcript segments
Each item in transcriptSegments contains:
textText content.startStart time in seconds.durationDuration when present — prefer durationSeconds (number) and durationText on endpoints that expose both.timestampHuman-readable timestamp (MM:SS format).
Parameters
| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| url | string | Yes | Public YouTube Shorts URL, e.g. https://youtube.com/shorts/ID (≤3 min). Long-form videos return HTTP 422 — use the matching /v1/youtube/… endpoint instead. The URL platform must match this endpoint's platform. Do not pass cross-platform URLs, e.g. YouTube to TikTok, Instagram to Facebook, LinkedIn to X/Twitter, or Pinterest to Rumble. |
| language | string | No | Preferred caption language as an ISO code, e.g. "en". Defaults to auto-detect. |
| cache | boolean | No | Set true to serve from the 24h response cache (0 credits on hit). Default false — always fetch fresh. |
Authentication: send your key as Authorization: Bearer capt_live_.... A typical call costs 1 credit. Pass cache=true for a free 24h cache hit; default is always fresh.
youtube_shorts_transcript via @captapi/mcp. Set it up →How it works
- 1. Sign up — get 100 free credits, no card required.
- 2. Create a key from your dashboard.
- 3. Send one request to
/v1/youtube/shorts/transcriptand parse the JSON response.
Use cases
Accessibility
Provide captions and transcripts for hearing-impaired users.
Content Analysis
Analyze spoken content for keywords, topics, and sentiment.
Search & Discovery
Make video content searchable by text.
Content Creation
Extract quotes and key phrases from videos.
Language Learning
Provide text alongside audio for language learners.
Research
Analyze large volumes of video content efficiently.
SEO
Extract text content for search engine optimization.
Frequently asked questions
What does the YouTube Shorts Transcript API do?+
The YouTube Shorts Transcript API lets you extract the full, timestamped transcript from a public YouTube Short using one GET request to /v1/youtube/shorts/transcript. It returns clean JSON — no OAuth or infrastructure setup required.
How many credits does the YouTube Shorts Transcript API cost?+
Each successful call costs 1 credit. Pass cache=true to serve from the 24h cache (0 credits on hit); default is always fresh. Selected profile endpoints also accept cacheMaxAge=1d|3d|7d|14d|30d. Failed or empty results are never charged.
Do I need a YouTube API key or OAuth?+
No. A single Captapi key works across every platform Captapi supports — YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, Reddit, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Rumble, Spotify, Kwai, and more. We handle proxies, rate limits, retries, and authentication for you.
Why did I get 404 on a video with clear speech?+
This endpoint returns captions YouTube published — it does not run speech-to-text. Read detail.code: no_captions means tracks=0 (common on long live streams); language_not_available means tracks exist but not in your language (see availableLanguages). On no_captions, detail.suggestion points at /v1/youtube/audio-transcript with estimatedCredits. 404 never charges credits.
If I pass language=en and only Turkish captions exist, what happens?+
We try YouTube's timedtext translation into en. If that fails → 404 language_not_available with availableLanguages (not a silent Turkish transcript). On success, requestedLanguage and returnedLanguage are both set; isTranslated is true when YouTube translated.
Is the YouTube Shorts Transcript API suitable for production use?+
Yes. It is a stable REST endpoint with predictable JSON and automatic retries. Pass cache=true to serve from the 24h cache (0 credits on hit); default is always fresh. Selected profile endpoints also accept cacheMaxAge=1d|3d|7d|14d|30d. Use it for analytics, monitoring, and content automation.
More YouTube APIs
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