YouTube Caption Downloader
Help
Getting started
- Open a regular YouTube video that has subtitles or CC.
- Press Show transcript in the YouTube Caption Downloader box above the suggested videos, or under the player in a narrow window.
- Switch language or track with the globe button, then press Copy or pick a format in Download.
The box does not appear
- Reload the YouTube tab. Tabs opened before you installed the extension do not have it yet.
- Check that the extension is turned on at
chrome://extensions. - Shorts and live streams are not supported yet; open a regular watch page.
No transcript or an error
- No subtitles at all: the video has no captions, and the extension does not generate them. It never runs speech recognition.
- A track fails to load: press Try again, or pick another track.
- Text only, no SRT or VTT: the caption file was unavailable, so the panel shows YouTube's own transcript instead. Subtitle files need the original timing.
- Some restricted videos may not provide a transcript.
Copying and files
- Timestamps are on by default. Switch them off before Copy; saved text files follow the same switch.
- TXT is plain paragraphs, Markdown links each timestamp to its moment, SRT and VTT keep the original cues for editors and players.
- Automatic captions are made by machine: check names and numbers before you quote them.
YouTube's subtitles changed
To fetch a track, the extension may briefly switch the player's subtitles and then restore your choice. If an interrupted operation leaves a different setting, change it back with YouTube's CC button.
Contact
Email nikoscwsapps@gmail.com. The video link, the language you picked and the error message are usually enough. Please do not send passwords or private transcripts.
Don't have the extension yet? Get it from the Chrome Web Store.