YouTube Multiple Transcript API - Apify Actor Documentation

Overview

This Apify Actor retrieves all available transcripts/captions for a given YouTube video. It supports multiple languages and can handle both auto-generated and manually created captions.

Features

• ✅ Retrieves all available transcript languages for any YouTube video
• ✅ Supports both auto-generated and manual captions
• ✅ Smart caching system with 4-day expiration
• ✅ Random delay (up to 1 second) between requests to prevent rate limiting
• ✅ Detailed transcript data with timestamps and duration

Input

Required Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Example
videoUrl	string	YouTube video URL	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WEAJ-DFkHE

Input Example

{
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WEAJ-DFkHE"
}

Output Structure

The Actor returns an array of transcript objects, where each object represents a different language:

[
  {
    "languageName": "Arabic",
    "languageCode": "ar", 
    "isAutoGenerated": false,
    "transcript": [
      {
        "start": "0.120",
        "dur": "1.650", 
        "text": "سنحلق على متن هذه الطائرة النفاثة"
      },
      {
        "start": "1.770",
        "dur": "2.430",
        "text": "إلى الفضاء الخارجي"
      }
    ]
  },
  {
    "languageName": "English", 
    "languageCode": "en",
    "isAutoGenerated": true,
    "transcript": [
      {
        "start": "0.120",
        "dur": "1.650",
        "text": "We will fly on this jet plane"
      },
      {
        "start": "1.770", 
        "dur": "2.430",
        "text": "to outer space"
      }
    ]
  }
]

Output Fields Explanation

Root Level (Language Object)

Field	Type	Description
languageName	string	Full name of the language (e.g., "English", "Arabic")
languageCode	string	ISO language code (e.g., "en", "ar", "es")
isAutoGenerated	boolean	Whether the captions are auto-generated by YouTube or manually created
transcript	array	Array of transcript segments with timing information

Transcript Segment Object

Field	Type	Description
start	string	Start time of the segment in seconds (e.g., "0.120")
dur	string	Duration of the segment in seconds (e.g., "1.650")
text	string	The actual transcript text for this time segment

Usage Examples

Basic Usage

// Input
{
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
}

// This will return all available transcripts for the specified video

Supported YouTube URL Formats

The Actor accepts various YouTube URL formats:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
• https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID
• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
• https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID

Technical Features

Caching System

• Duration: 4 days per video
• Benefits: Faster response times for repeated requests
• Automatic Cleanup: Expired cache entries are automatically removed

Rate Limiting Protection

• Random delay of 0-1000ms before each API request
• Prevents overwhelming the transcript service
• Ensures reliable operation at scale

Error Handling

• Comprehensive error logging
• Graceful handling of videos without captions
• Clear error messages for debugging

Common Use Cases

1. Content Analysis: Analyze video content for research or business intelligence
2. Accessibility: Create accessible versions of video content
3. Translation Services: Extract text for translation workflows
4. SEO Optimization: Extract video content for search engine optimization
5. Content Moderation: Review video content at scale
6. Educational Tools: Create study materials from educational videos

Limitations

• Only works with public YouTube videos
• Requires videos to have available captions (auto-generated or manual)
• Cannot extract captions from private or restricted videos

Error Scenarios

Scenario	Behavior
Invalid YouTube URL	Actor will throw an error with details
Video not found	Actor will return an error message
No captions available	Actor will return an empty array or error

Performance

• Average Response Time: 2-5 seconds for new requests
• Cached Response Time: <100ms for cached videos
• Memory Usage: Optimized for large transcript datasets
• Concurrent Requests: Supports multiple parallel video processing

Support

For issues, questions, or feature requests, please contact the development team or check the Apify Actor documentation.

Version History

• v1.0: Initial release with basic transcript extraction
• v1.1: Added caching system and rate limiting
• v1.2: Enhanced error handling and multi-language support

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FAQs

Q1: Does this actor work for all YouTube videos?
A: No, it only works for public videos with transcripts enabled.

Q2: Can I scrape private videos?
A: No, private or restricted videos are not supported due to YouTube's privacy policies.

Q3: Is the actor compatible with playlists?
A: This actor processes a single video URL at a time. For playlist scraping, consider additional workflows.

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