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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. Extract timestamped transcripts from any public YouTube Short in a single request.
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How to get a YouTube shorts transcript (step by step)

  1. 1

    Get a free API key

    Create a free Captapi account (100 credits, no card) and generate an API key from the dashboard.

  2. 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. 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%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDXVHmGoCTco" \
  -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/watch?v=DXVHmGoCTco",
    "videoId": "DXVHmGoCTco",
    "title": "50 Streamers Fight for $1,000,000",
    "transcript": "I just TRAPPED 50 OF THE BIGGEST STREAMERS IN THIS CUBE AND WHOEVER LEAVES LAST WINS A MILLION DOLLARS. THESE ARE THE BIGGEST STREAMERS in the universe and the last one of them to leave wins it all. >> in together. We're locked in together. All right. Do we have like a Spanish alliance going? >> Yeah, it's the power of friendship. >> it's all about strategy in here. Me, I'm willing to do anything. You want me to get on the floor and start twerking, I'll do it. I don't. Just s ...",
    "transcriptSegments": [
      {
        "text": "I just TRAPPED 50 OF THE BIGGEST",
        "start": 0,
        "duration": 3.6,
        "timestamp": "00:00"
      },
      {
        "text": "STREAMERS IN THIS CUBE AND WHOEVER",
        "start": 1.84,
        "duration": 3.76,
        "timestamp": "00:01"
      }
    ],
    "wordCount": 7312,
    "segments": 1273,
    "language": "English"
  }
}

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

Request parameters

NameTypeRequiredDescription
urlstring YesPublic YouTube Shorts URL, e.g. https://youtube.com/shorts/ID. Not a TikTok/Instagram/Facebook URL. 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.
languagestringNoPreferred caption language as an ISO code, e.g. "en". Defaults to auto-detect.
cachebooleanNoSet true to serve from the 24h response cache. Default false — always fetch fresh data.

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 shared cache (0 credits on hit); default is always fresh. 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.

What if the YouTube Short has no captions?

When no captions are available, Captapi transcribes the audio with AI (Whisper) automatically, so you still get a usable transcript.

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 shared cache (0 credits on hit); default is always fresh. Use it for analytics, monitoring, and content automation.

Ready to get a YouTube shorts transcript?

Start free with 100 credits — no credit card required.

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