How to Get the Transcript of a YouTube Video

To get a transcript of a YouTube video on desktop, open the video, expand the description or click the three-dot menu, choose Show transcript, then copy the text from the transcript panel. On mobile, open the video in the YouTube app, expand the description, look for Show transcript, and tap it if the option is available. If you do not see the option, the video may not have accessible captions.

Here are the exact steps for both devices.

Desktop steps

1. Open the YouTube video.
2. Expand the description or click the three-dot menu below the player.
3. Click Show transcript.
4. Pick a language if YouTube shows more than one track.
5. Toggle timestamps off if you want cleaner copy.
6. Select and copy the transcript text.

Mobile steps

1. Open the video in the YouTube app.
2. Tap the title or description area to expand the video details.
3. Look for Show transcript under the description.
4. Tap it to open the transcript panel.
5. Choose a caption language if available.
6. Copying may be harder on mobile, so use desktop or Vidskim when you need clean export.

How to get a transcript of a YouTube video on desktop

Desktop is the most reliable place to find a transcript. YouTube moves its interface around from time to time, so the button lives in one of two spots.

First, scroll to the description box under the video and click it to expand. Many videos show a Show transcript button near the bottom of that expanded description.

If it is not there, click the three-dot menu below the player. On some layouts, the transcript option sits in that menu instead. Either way, clicking it opens a transcript panel on the right side of the page.

Once the panel is open, you have two small controls worth knowing.

The language selector appears when a video has more than one caption track. Use it to switch between, say, the original language and a translated track.

The timestamp toggle turns the time codes on or off. Turn timestamps off before you copy if you want clean, readable sentences instead of a time code on every line.

Then select the text in the panel and copy it. That is the full native flow, no tools required.

How to get a YouTube transcript on mobile

Mobile works, but it is less consistent than desktop, and copying clean text is harder.

Open the video in the YouTube app, then tap the title or the area under it to expand the video details. Scroll down past the description and look for Show transcript.

If it appears, tap it to open the transcript. You can pick a caption language here too when more than one is available.

The catch is copying. The mobile transcript view is built for reading along with the video, not for exporting. Selecting a long block of clean text is fiddly, and there is no easy download.

If you need the transcript as a file or as tidy text you can paste elsewhere, switch to a desktop browser or use a browser extension. It will save you a lot of pinching and scrolling.

Why the Show transcript button is missing

The Show transcript button only shows up when a video has captions that YouTube can display. When it is missing, one of these is usually the reason.

No captions exist. The creator never uploaded a caption file, and YouTube did not auto-generate one. With no caption track, there is nothing to show.

The creator disabled captions or transcript access. Some uploaders turn captions or the transcript feature off, so the option never appears.

The video is restricted. Private, removed, age-restricted, or region-blocked videos often hide the transcript along with other features. If you cannot watch it normally, you usually cannot pull a transcript.

Auto-captions are still processing. On a brand-new upload, YouTube needs time to generate automatic captions. The button can show up hours after the video goes live.

Interface or account differences. The button sits in different places across the desktop site, the mobile app, and various account states. If you do not see it in the description, check the three-dot menu, and vice versa.

If none of these apply and captions clearly exist, try reloading the page or opening the video in a desktop browser.

How to copy, save, or download the transcript

Native YouTube keeps this simple, and a little manual.

There is no clean one-click download button on YouTube itself. To save the text, open the transcript panel, select the lines you want, and copy them into a document or notes app.

Turn timestamps off first if the toggle is available. That removes the time code from every line and gives you plain sentences that are much easier to reuse.

Expect to do some cleanup. Auto-generated captions often lack punctuation, break sentences across lines, and misspell names or technical terms. A quick pass to fix line breaks and obvious errors makes the text usable.

If you download transcripts regularly and want a real file instead of copied text, see our guide on how to download a YouTube transcript for cleaner export options.

Faster option when you get transcripts often: Vidskim

If pulling transcripts is a one-off, the native steps above are all you need. If you do it often, the manual copy-and-clean routine gets old fast.

Vidskim is a Chrome extension that streamlines the YouTube transcript workflow. Here is the basic flow.

1. Install the Vidskim extension for Chrome.
2. Open any YouTube video that has captions.
3. Open the transcript directly on the YouTube page, no menu hunting.
4. Use export to copy the text, copy without timestamps, or download a .txt or .srt file.
5. Translate the transcript into another language when you need it.

Transcript, translate, and export are free forever. If you also want a one-click AI summary or to chat with the video, those features are optional and run on your own API key, so you connect a key you already have.

Vidskim works with the captions a video already provides. It extracts available transcripts, so it cannot create one for a video that has no accessible captions.

One note for clarity: Vidskim is an independent extension. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by YouTube.

Add Vidskim to Chrome, free

What to try if the transcript is still not available

If you have checked the description and the three-dot menu and still have nothing, work through this short list.

Check another language track. A video may have captions in a different language than you expected. Open the language selector and see what is available.

Try a desktop browser. The desktop site surfaces the transcript more reliably than the mobile app. If mobile fails, switch devices.

Check back later for new videos. Auto-captions can take time to process after upload. Come back in a few hours and look again.

Ask the creator to enable captions. If it is a channel you follow or work with, a request to turn on captions or auto-captions can fix it for everyone.

Use a true speech-to-text tool if you have rights to the audio. When no captions exist and you own or have permission to use the audio, a speech-to-text service can generate a fresh transcript. This is different from extracting existing captions, and our guide on how to transcribe a YouTube video explains when to use each approach.

Choose another source. If you just need the information rather than that specific video, another video or an article may already have a transcript you can read.

Related guides

• The complete YouTube transcript guide for a full walkthrough of your options.
• How to transcribe a YouTube video for extraction versus speech-to-text.
• Turning a YouTube video into a transcript for getting usable text out of a video.
• How to download a YouTube transcript for saving and exporting.
• The best YouTube transcript generators for comparing URL-based tools.
• How to summarize a YouTube video with AI if you want a summary rather than the full text.

We are also planning a /tools/youtube-transcript-generator page for pasting a URL and getting a transcript. It is not live yet, so use the native steps or the extension for now.

FAQ

How can I get a transcript of a YouTube video?

On desktop, open the video, expand the description or click the three-dot menu below the player, choose Show transcript, then copy the text from the transcript panel. If you do not see the option, the video may not have accessible captions.

Where is the transcript button on YouTube?

On desktop, look in the expanded description below the video, or in the three-dot menu below the player. On mobile, expand the video details under the title and look for Show transcript below the description.

Why can't I see Show transcript on a YouTube video?

The button only appears when captions exist and are accessible. It is missing when a video has no captions, the creator disabled them, auto-captions are still processing, or the video is private, removed, age-restricted, or region-blocked.

Can I get a transcript on mobile?

Sometimes. Open the video in the YouTube app, expand the details under the title, and tap Show transcript if it appears. Availability is less consistent than desktop, and copying clean text is harder, so use desktop or an extension when you need a clean export.

Can I download a YouTube transcript?

YouTube has no clean one-click download button, so you copy the text manually from the transcript panel. A browser extension like Vidskim can export the transcript as a .txt or .srt file, and export is free forever.

Can I get a transcript from a video with no captions?

Not by extracting it, because there is no caption track to pull. If you own or have rights to the audio, you can run it through a true speech-to-text tool to generate a new transcript.

Is Vidskim affiliated with YouTube?

No. Vidskim is an independent Chrome extension. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by YouTube.