Get it in the Chrome Web Store
Free to install · 25 transcripts a month with no account · SRT/VTT export
Add to Chrome →The yttranscript.dev Chrome extension puts a small floating “Transcript” button on every YouTube watch page. Click it and a side panel opens with the full transcript — every line with its timestamp. It is the fastest way to turn a video you are already watching into clean text, without leaving YouTube or copying a URL into a website.
What it does
- One-click panel — a floating button on YouTube watch, embed, and
/vpages opens the transcript in a side panel next to the video. - Timestamps on every line — copy a quote or jump to the exact moment; the panel keeps the per-line timing.
- Copy the whole thing — one click copies the full transcript as plain text.
- Export SRT / VTT — dedicated buttons download subtitle files for editing, subtitling, and pipelines.
- Captions or AI — uses the video’s caption track when available, or AI transcription when a video has no captions.
Free, no sign-up to start
The extension uses the same credit system as the web tool, and the free tier is real:
- Guest mode — 25 transcripts a month from your IP. Nothing to create, nothing to save.
- Free account — 50 transcripts a month. No credit card.
- Your own credits — paste an API key from a yttranscript.dev account and the extension uses that account’s balance, shown live in the panel.
If you ever hit the limit, the panel links straight to sign-up or pricing. No surprise paywall in the middle of a transcript.
Privacy — the short version
The extension talks only to yttranscript.dev. No analytics, no tracking, no third-party SDKs. It reads only the video ID of the video you click the button on — it does not record which pages you visit, what you click, or any other page content. An API key, if you add one, is stored only in your browser and sent only to yttranscript.dev. The full breakdown, including exactly what the server sees, is on the privacy page.
Who it is for
- Researchers pulling sources and quoting exact lines with timestamps.
- Content creators repurposing video into text, descriptions, or bilingual subtitles.
- Language learners working through dialogues with the transcript next to the video.
- Developers who want SRT/VTT files without scraping.
Prefer the full tool — batch playlists, translation, AI summaries, local file uploads? The web app has all of it, and the API for pipelines.
Frequently asked questions
Does the extension cost anything?
No. The extension is free to install. Like the web tool, it runs on the yttranscript.dev credit system: 25 transcripts a month from your IP with no account, or 50 a month with a free account. No credit card, no paywall mid-transcript.
Where does the transcript come from?
From the video's existing caption track when one exists, or from on-device-quality AI transcription when the video has no captions. The extension only sends the video you are watching to yttranscript.dev — it does not read other pages, and it has no analytics or tracking.
Do I need an account or an API key?
No. Guest mode works with nothing but your IP. If you already have a yttranscript.dev account, you can optionally paste your API key into the extension's settings and it will use your account's credits, with the live balance shown in the panel. The key is stored only in your browser (chrome.storage) and is sent only to yttranscript.dev.
What does the extension actually do on a YouTube page?
It adds a small floating “Transcript” button to YouTube watch, embed, and /v pages. Click it and a side panel opens with the full transcript and per-line timestamps. One click copies the whole transcript as plain text, and dedicated buttons export it as .SRT or .VTT.
How is my data handled?
The extension talks only to yttranscript.dev. Your IP is visible to our server for every fetch (the same guest scoping as the site) and is not stored or shared. The extension reads only the video ID of the video you click — not which pages you visit, what you click, or any other page content. Full details are on the privacy page.
How do I update or remove the extension?
Updates come automatically through the Chrome Web Store. To remove it, go to chrome://extensions, find “yttranscript.dev — YouTube Transcript”, and press Remove. Nothing about your yttranscript.dev account or credits is affected either way.