YouTube · Guide

How to get a YouTube shorts transcript

TL;DR

To get a YouTube shorts transcript, sign up for a free Captapi key, then send one GET request to /v1/youtube/shorts/transcript with your input. You get clean JSON back in seconds for 1 credit per call — no OAuth, scraping or platform SDKs. Transcript for a YouTube Short — rejects long-form videos (≤3 min only).

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How to get a YouTube shorts transcript (step by step)

1
Get a free API key
Create a free Captapi account (100 credits, no card) and generate an API key from the dashboard.
2
Call the YouTube Shorts Transcript API
Send an authenticated GET request to /v1/youtube/shorts/transcript with your input. No OAuth, no scraping setup.
3
Read the JSON response
Parse the clean JSON response. Pass cache=true for a free 24h cache hit; default is always fresh.

Code example

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_..."

What the response looks like

{
  "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 (credits charged, cache hit/miss) is returned in the X-Captapi-Credits and X-Captapi-Cache response headers.

Request 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.

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.

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