
Baoyu Youtube Transcript
- 18k installs
- 24.2k repo stars
- Updated July 4, 2026
- jimliu/baoyu-skills
baoyu-youtube-transcript is an agent skill that Downloads YouTube video transcripts/subtitles and cover images by URL or video ID. Supports multiple languages, translation, chapters, and speaker identificatio.
About
Downloads YouTube video transcripts/subtitles and cover images by URL or video ID. Supports multiple languages, translation, chapters, and speaker identification. Caches raw data for fast re-formatting. Use when user asks to "get YouTube transcript", "download subtitles", "get captions", "YouTube字幕", "YouTube封面", "视频封面", "video thumbnail", "video cover image", or provides a YouTube URL and wants t --- name: baoyu-youtube-transcript description: Downloads YouTube video transcripts/subtitles and cover images by URL or video ID. Supports multiple languages, translation, chapters, and speaker identification. Caches raw data for fast re-formatting. Use when user asks to "get YouTube transcript", "download subtitles", "get captions", "YouTube字幕", "YouTube封面", "视频封面", "video thumbnail", "video cover image", or provides a YouTube URL and wants the transcript/subtitle text or cover image extracted. version: 1.1.0 metadata: openclaw: homepage: https://github.com/JimLiu/baoyu-skills#baoyu-youtube-transcript requires: anyBins: - bun - npx --- # YouTube Transcript Downloads transcripts (subtitles/captions) from YouTube videos.
- Default: markdown with timestamps (English)
- Specify languages (priority order)
- With chapter segmentation
- With speaker identification (requires AI post-processing)
- List available transcripts
Baoyu Youtube Transcript by the numbers
- 18,031 all-time installs (skills.sh)
- +531 installs in the week ending Jul 28, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
- Ranked #51 of 4,386 Backend & APIs skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
- Security screen: MEDIUM risk (skills.sh audit)
- Data as of Jul 28, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
baoyu-youtube-transcript capabilities & compatibility
- Capabilities
- default: markdown with timestamps (english) · specify languages (priority order) · with chapter segmentation · with speaker identification (requires ai post pr · list available transcripts
- Use cases
- documentation
What baoyu-youtube-transcript says it does
--- name: baoyu-youtube-transcript description: Downloads YouTube video transcripts/subtitles and cover images by URL or video ID.
Supports multiple languages, translation, chapters, and speaker identification.
Works with both manually created and auto-generated transcripts.
No API key or browser required — uses YouTube's InnerTube API directly and automatically falls back to `yt-dlp` when YouTube blocks the direct API path.
npx skills add https://github.com/jimliu/baoyu-skills --skill baoyu-youtube-transcriptAdd your badge
Show developers this skill is listed on Skillselion. Paste this into your README.
| Installs | 18k |
|---|---|
| repo stars | ★ 24.2k |
| Security audit | 1 / 3 scanners passed |
| Last updated | July 4, 2026 |
| Repository | jimliu/baoyu-skills ↗ |
What problem does baoyu-youtube-transcript solve for developers using this skill?
Downloads YouTube video transcripts/subtitles and cover images by URL or video ID. Supports multiple languages, translation, chapters, and speaker identification. Caches raw data for fast re-formattin
Who is it for?
Developers who need baoyu-youtube-transcript patterns described in the cached skill documentation.
Skip if: Skip when docs are empty or the task is outside the skill's documented scope.
When should I use this skill?
Downloads YouTube video transcripts/subtitles and cover images by URL or video ID. Supports multiple languages, translation, chapters, and speaker identification. Caches raw data for fast re-formattin
What you get
Actionable workflows and conventions from SKILL.md for baoyu-youtube-transcript.
- transcript text
- subtitle files
- cover image
By the numbers
- Skill version 1.1.0 in repository metadata
- Requires bun or npx runtime per skill manifest
Files
YouTube Transcript
Downloads transcripts (subtitles/captions) from YouTube videos. Works with both manually created and auto-generated transcripts. No API key or browser required — uses YouTube's InnerTube API directly and automatically falls back to yt-dlp when YouTube blocks the direct API path.
Fetches video metadata and cover image on first run, caches raw data for fast re-formatting.
Script Directory
Scripts in scripts/ subdirectory. {baseDir} = this SKILL.md's directory path. Resolve ${BUN_X} runtime: if bun installed → bun; if npx available → npx -y bun; else suggest installing bun. Replace {baseDir} and ${BUN_X} with actual values.
| Script | Purpose |
|---|---|
scripts/main.ts | Transcript download CLI |
Usage
# Default: markdown with timestamps (English)
${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <youtube-url-or-id>
# Specify languages (priority order)
${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <url> --languages zh,en,ja
# Without timestamps
${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <url> --no-timestamps
# With chapter segmentation
${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <url> --chapters
# With speaker identification (requires AI post-processing)
${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <url> --speakers
# SRT subtitle file
${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <url> --format srt
# Translate transcript
${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <url> --translate zh-Hans
# List available transcripts
${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <url> --list
# Force re-fetch (ignore cache)
${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <url> --refreshOptions
| Option | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
<url-or-id> | YouTube URL or video ID (multiple allowed) | Required |
--languages <codes> | Language codes, comma-separated, in priority order | en |
--format <fmt> | Output format: text, srt | text |
--translate <code> | Translate to specified language code | |
--list | List available transcripts instead of fetching | |
--timestamps | Include [HH:MM:SS → HH:MM:SS] timestamps per paragraph | on |
--no-timestamps | Disable timestamps | |
--chapters | Chapter segmentation from video description | |
--speakers | Raw transcript with metadata for speaker identification | |
--exclude-generated | Skip auto-generated transcripts | |
--exclude-manually-created | Skip manually created transcripts | |
--refresh | Force re-fetch, ignore cached data | |
-o, --output <path> | Save to specific file path | auto-generated |
--output-dir <dir> | Base output directory | youtube-transcript |
Optional Environment Variables
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
YOUTUBE_TRANSCRIPT_COOKIES_FROM_BROWSER | Passed to yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser during fallback, e.g. chrome, safari, firefox, or chrome:Profile 1 |
Input Formats
Accepts any of these as video input:
- Full URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ - Short URL:
https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ - Embed URL:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/dQw4w9WgXcQ - Shorts URL:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dQw4w9WgXcQ - Video ID:
dQw4w9WgXcQ
Output Formats
| Format | Extension | Description |
|---|---|---|
text | .md | Markdown with frontmatter (incl. description), title heading, summary, optional TOC/cover/timestamps/chapters/speakers |
srt | .srt | SubRip subtitle format for video players |
Output Directory
youtube-transcript/
├── .index.json # Video ID → directory path mapping (for cache lookup)
└── {channel-slug}/{title-full-slug}/
├── meta.json # Video metadata (title, channel, description, duration, chapters, etc.)
├── transcript-raw.json # Raw transcript snippets from YouTube API (cached)
├── transcript-sentences.json # Sentence-segmented transcript (split by punctuation, merged across snippets)
├── imgs/
│ └── cover.jpg # Video thumbnail
├── transcript.md # Markdown transcript (generated from sentences)
└── transcript.srt # SRT subtitle (generated from raw snippets, if --format srt){channel-slug}: Channel name in kebab-case{title-full-slug}: Full video title in kebab-case
The --list mode outputs to stdout only (no file saved).
Caching
On first fetch, the script saves:
meta.json— video metadata, chapters, cover image path, language infotranscript-raw.json— raw transcript snippets from YouTube API ({ text, start, duration }[])transcript-sentences.json— sentence-segmented transcript ({ text, start: "HH:mm:ss", end: "HH:mm:ss" }[]), split by sentence-ending punctuation (.?!…。?!etc.), timestamps proportionally allocated by character length, CJK-aware text mergingimgs/cover.jpg— video thumbnail
Subsequent runs for the same video use cached data (no network calls). Use --refresh to force re-fetch. If a different language is requested, the cache is automatically refreshed.
When YouTube returns anti-bot / blocked responses on the direct InnerTube path, the script retries with alternate client identities and then falls back to yt-dlp if available. If fallback is needed but yt-dlp is unavailable, the agent should decide how to make yt-dlp available and continue rather than pushing the installation decision to the user.
SRT output (--format srt) is generated from transcript-raw.json. Text/markdown output uses transcript-sentences.json for natural sentence boundaries.
Workflow
When user provides a YouTube URL and wants the transcript:
1. Run with --list first if the user hasn't specified a language, to show available options 2. Always single-quote the URL when running the script — zsh treats ? as a glob wildcard, so an unquoted YouTube URL causes "no matches found": use 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID' 3. Default: run with --chapters --speakers for the richest output (chapters + speaker identification) 3. The script auto-saves cached data + output file and prints the file path 4. For --speakers mode: after the script saves the raw file, follow the speaker identification workflow below to post-process with speaker labels
When user only wants a cover image or metadata, running the script with any option will also cache meta.json and imgs/cover.jpg.
When re-formatting the same video (e.g., first text then SRT), the cached data is reused — no re-fetch needed.
Chapter & Speaker Workflow
Chapters (--chapters)
The script parses chapter timestamps from the video description (e.g., 0:00 Introduction), segments the transcript by chapter boundaries, groups snippets into readable paragraphs, and saves as .md with a Table of Contents. No further processing needed.
If no chapter timestamps exist in the description, the transcript is output as grouped paragraphs without chapter headings.
Speaker Identification (--speakers)
Speaker identification requires AI processing. The script outputs a raw .md file containing:
- YAML frontmatter with video metadata (title, channel, date, cover, description, language)
- Video description (for speaker name extraction)
- Chapter list from description (if available)
- Raw transcript in SRT format (pre-computed start/end timestamps, token-efficient)
After the script saves the raw file, spawn a sub-agent (use a cheaper model like Sonnet for cost efficiency) to process speaker identification:
1. Read the saved .md file 2. Read the prompt template at {baseDir}/prompts/speaker-transcript.md 3. Process the raw transcript following the prompt:
- Identify speakers using video metadata (title → guest, channel → host, description → names)
- Detect speaker turns from conversation flow, question-answer patterns, and contextual cues
- Segment into chapters (use description chapters if available, else create from topic shifts)
- Format with
**Speaker Name:**labels, paragraph grouping (2-4 sentences), and[HH:MM:SS → HH:MM:SS]timestamps
4. Overwrite the .md file with the processed transcript (keep the YAML frontmatter)
When --speakers is used, --chapters is implied — the processed output always includes chapter segmentation.
Error Cases
| Error | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Transcripts disabled | Video has no captions at all |
| No transcript found | Requested language not available |
| Video unavailable | Video deleted, private, or region-locked |
| IP blocked | Too many requests, try again later |
| Age restricted | Video requires login for age verification |
| bot detected | The script retries alternate clients and then yt-dlp; if fallback tooling is missing, the agent should resolve that itself, otherwise if it still fails try YOUTUBE_TRANSCRIPT_COOKIES_FROM_BROWSER=safari (or your browser) |
Speaker & Chapter Transcript Processing
You are an expert transcript specialist. Process the raw transcript file (with YAML frontmatter metadata and SRT-formatted transcript) into a structured, verbatim transcript with speaker identification and chapter segmentation.
Output Structure
Produce a single cohesive markdown file containing: 1. YAML frontmatter (keep the original frontmatter from the raw file, which includes description) 2. # Title heading (from frontmatter title) 3. Description/summary paragraph (from frontmatter description) 4. Table of Contents 5. Cover image (if cover exists in frontmatter):  — right after the ToC 6. Full chapter-segmented transcript with speaker labels
Use the same language as the transcription for the title and ToC.
Rules
Transcription Fidelity
- Preserve every spoken word exactly, including filler words (
um,uh,like) and stutters - NEVER translate. If the audio mixes languages (e.g., "这个 feature 很酷"), replicate that mix exactly
Speaker Identification
- Priority 1: Use metadata. Analyze the video's title, channel name, and description to identify speakers
- Priority 2: Use transcript content. Look for introductions, how speakers address each other, contextual cues
- Fallback: Use consistent generic labels (
**Speaker 1:**,**Host:**, etc.) - Consistency: If a speaker's name is revealed later, update ALL previous labels for that speaker
Chapter Generation
- If the raw file contains a
# Chapterssection, use those as the primary basis for segmenting - Otherwise, create chapters based on significant topic shifts in the conversation
Input Format
- The
# Transcriptsection contains SRT-formatted subtitles with pre-computed start/end timestamps - Each SRT block has: sequence number,
HH:MM:SS,mmm --> HH:MM:SS,mmmtimestamp line, and text - Use the SRT timestamps directly — no need to calculate paragraph start/end times, just merge adjacent blocks
Formatting
Timestamps: Use [HH:MM:SS → HH:MM:SS] format (start → end) at the end of each paragraph. No milliseconds.
Table of Contents:
## Table of Contents
* [HH:MM:SS] Chapter TitleChapters:
## Chapter Title [HH:MM:SS]Two blank lines between chapters.
Dialogue Paragraphs:
- First paragraph of a speaker's turn starts with
**Speaker Name:** - Split long monologues into 2-4 sentence paragraphs separated by blank lines
- Subsequent paragraphs from the SAME speaker do NOT repeat the speaker label
- Every paragraph ends with exactly ONE timestamp range
[HH:MM:SS → HH:MM:SS]
Correct example:
**Jane Doe:** The study focuses on long-term effects of dietary changes. We tracked two groups over five years. [00:00:15 → 00:00:21]
The first group followed the new regimen, while the second group maintained a traditional diet. [00:00:21 → 00:00:28]
**Host:** Fascinating. And what did you find? [00:00:28 → 00:00:31]Wrong (multiple timestamps in one paragraph):
**Host:** Welcome back. [00:00:01] Today we have a guest. [00:00:02]Non-Speech Audio: On its own line: [Laughter] [HH:MM:SS]
Example Output
---
title: "Example Interview"
channel: "The Show"
date: 2024-04-15
url: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxx"
cover: imgs/cover.jpg
description: "Jane Doe discusses her groundbreaking five-year study on the long-term effects of dietary changes."
language: en
---
# Example Interview
Jane Doe discusses her groundbreaking five-year study on the long-term effects of dietary changes.
## Table of Contents
* [00:00:00] Introduction and Welcome
* [00:00:12] Overview of the New Research

## Introduction and Welcome [00:00:00]
**Host:** Welcome back to the show. Today, we have a, uh, very special guest, Jane Doe. [00:00:00 → 00:00:03]
**Jane Doe:** Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here and discuss the findings. [00:00:03 → 00:00:07]
## Overview of the New Research [00:00:12]
**Host:** So, Jane, before we get into the nitty-gritty, could you, you know, give us a brief overview for our audience? [00:00:12 → 00:00:16]
**Jane Doe:** Of course. The study focuses on the long-term effects of specific dietary changes. It's a bit complicated but essentially we tracked two large groups over a five-year period. [00:00:16 → 00:00:23]
The first group followed the new regimen, while the second group, our control, maintained a traditional diet. This allowed us to isolate variables effectively. [00:00:23 → 00:00:30]
[Laughter] [00:00:30]
**Host:** Fascinating. And what did you find? [00:00:31 → 00:00:33]import test from "node:test";
import assert from "node:assert/strict";
import { findTranscript, parseTranscriptJson3, parseWebVtt } from "./transcript.ts";
import { buildTranscriptListFromYtDlp, fetchTranscriptWithFallback, resolveVideoSource, selectYtDlpTrack } from "./youtube.ts";
test("selectYtDlpTrack prefers json3 over xml and vtt", () => {
const track = selectYtDlpTrack([
{ ext: "vtt", url: "https://example.com/subs.vtt" },
{ ext: "srv3", url: "https://example.com/subs.srv3" },
{ ext: "json3", url: "https://example.com/subs.json3" },
]);
assert.equal(track?.ext, "json3");
});
test("buildTranscriptListFromYtDlp keeps manual and generated tracks separate", () => {
const transcripts = buildTranscriptListFromYtDlp({
subtitles: {
en: [
{ ext: "json3", url: "https://example.com/en.json3", name: "English" },
],
},
automatic_captions: {
"zh-Hans": [
{ ext: "json3", url: "https://example.com/zh.json3", name: "Chinese (Simplified)" },
],
},
});
assert.equal(transcripts.length, 2);
assert.equal(transcripts[0].isGenerated, false);
assert.equal(transcripts[1].isGenerated, true);
assert.equal(transcripts[0].translationLanguages[0]?.languageCode, "zh-Hans");
const translated = findTranscript(transcripts, ["zh-Hans"], false, false);
assert.equal(translated.languageCode, "zh-Hans");
assert.equal(translated.isGenerated, true);
});
test("parseTranscriptJson3 reads youtube timedtext json3 payloads", () => {
const snippets = parseTranscriptJson3(JSON.stringify({
events: [
{
tStartMs: 80,
dDurationMs: 3120,
segs: [{ utf8: "hello\nworld" }],
},
{
tStartMs: 4000,
dDurationMs: 1800,
segs: [{ utf8: "again" }],
},
],
}));
assert.deepEqual(snippets, [
{ text: "hello world", start: 0.08, duration: 3.12 },
{ text: "again", start: 4, duration: 1.8 },
]);
});
test("parseWebVtt strips tags and cue settings", () => {
const snippets = parseWebVtt(`WEBVTT
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.200 align:start position:0%
<c.colorE5E5E5>Hello</c> world
00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:05.800
Again
`);
assert.equal(snippets.length, 2);
assert.equal(snippets[0].text, "Hello world");
assert.equal(snippets[0].start, 0.08);
assert.equal(snippets[0].duration, 3.12);
assert.equal(snippets[1].text, "Again");
assert.equal(snippets[1].start, 4);
assert.equal(Number(snippets[1].duration.toFixed(1)), 1.8);
});
test("resolveVideoSource prefers primary InnerTube result before fallback", async () => {
let fallbackCalled = false;
const source = await resolveVideoSource(
"video12345ab",
async () => ({ kind: "innertube", data: { videoDetails: { title: "Primary" } }, transcripts: [] }),
() => {
fallbackCalled = true;
return {
subtitles: {
en: [{ ext: "json3", url: "https://example.com/en.json3", name: "English" }],
},
};
},
() => {}
);
assert.equal(source.kind, "innertube");
assert.equal(fallbackCalled, false);
});
test("resolveVideoSource falls back to yt-dlp only after fallback-eligible errors", async () => {
let fallbackCalled = false;
const source = await resolveVideoSource(
"video12345ab",
async () => {
const error = new Error("Request blocked for video12345ab: bot detected");
(error as Error & { code?: string }).code = "BOT_DETECTED";
throw error;
},
() => {
fallbackCalled = true;
return {
automatic_captions: {
en: [{ ext: "json3", url: "https://example.com/en.json3", name: "English (auto-generated)" }],
},
};
},
() => {}
);
assert.equal(source.kind, "yt-dlp");
assert.equal(fallbackCalled, true);
assert.equal(source.transcripts[0].languageCode, "en");
});
test("fetchTranscriptWithFallback retries with yt-dlp when InnerTube transcript payload is empty", async () => {
const warnings: string[] = [];
let fallbackCalled = false;
const result = await fetchTranscriptWithFallback(
"video12345ab",
{
kind: "innertube",
data: { videoDetails: { title: "Primary" } },
transcripts: [{
language: "English",
languageCode: "en",
isGenerated: false,
isTranslatable: false,
baseUrl: "https://www.youtube.com/api/timedtext?v=video12345ab&lang=en&fmt=json3",
translationLanguages: [],
}],
},
{
languages: ["en"],
translate: "",
excludeGenerated: false,
excludeManual: false,
},
async (info) => {
if (info.baseUrl.includes("youtube.com/api/timedtext")) {
return { snippets: [], language: info.language, languageCode: info.languageCode };
}
return {
snippets: [{ text: "Recovered subtitle", start: 0, duration: 2 }],
language: info.language,
languageCode: info.languageCode,
};
},
async () => {
fallbackCalled = true;
return {
kind: "yt-dlp",
info: { title: "Fallback" },
transcripts: [{
language: "English",
languageCode: "en",
isGenerated: false,
isTranslatable: false,
baseUrl: "https://example.com/subtitles.en.json3",
translationLanguages: [],
}],
};
},
(message) => warnings.push(message)
);
assert.equal(fallbackCalled, true);
assert.equal(result.source.kind, "yt-dlp");
assert.equal(result.snippets.length, 1);
assert.equal(result.snippets[0].text, "Recovered subtitle");
assert.match(warnings[0] || "", /Retrying with yt-dlp fallback/);
});
#!/usr/bin/env bun
import { writeFileSync } from "fs";
import { join, resolve } from "path";
import { extractVideoId, slugify } from "./shared.ts";
import {
ensureDir,
hasCachedData,
loadMeta,
loadSentences,
loadSnippets,
lookupVideoDir,
registerVideoDir,
resolveBaseDir,
} from "./storage.ts";
import { formatListOutput, formatMarkdown, formatSrt, segmentIntoSentences } from "./transcript.ts";
import type { Options, Sentence, Snippet, VideoMeta, VideoResult } from "./types.ts";
import {
buildVideoMeta,
buildVideoMetaFromYtDlp,
downloadCoverImage,
fetchTranscriptWithFallback,
fetchVideoSource,
getThumbnailUrls,
getYtDlpThumbnailUrls,
parseChapters,
} from "./youtube.ts";
async function fetchAndCache(
videoId: string,
baseDir: string,
opts: Options
): Promise<{ meta: VideoMeta; snippets: Snippet[]; sentences: Sentence[]; videoDir: string }> {
const initialSource = await fetchVideoSource(videoId);
const { source, transcript, snippets, language, languageCode } = await fetchTranscriptWithFallback(
videoId,
initialSource,
opts
);
const description = source.kind === "yt-dlp"
? source.info.description || ""
: source.data?.videoDetails?.shortDescription || "";
const duration = source.kind === "yt-dlp"
? Number(source.info.duration || 0)
: parseInt(source.data?.videoDetails?.lengthSeconds || "0");
const chapters = parseChapters(description, duration);
const languageMeta = {
code: languageCode,
name: language,
isGenerated: transcript.isGenerated,
};
const meta = source.kind === "yt-dlp"
? buildVideoMetaFromYtDlp(source.info, videoId, languageMeta, chapters)
: buildVideoMeta(source.data, videoId, languageMeta, chapters);
const videoDir = registerVideoDir(videoId, slugify(meta.channel), slugify(meta.title), baseDir);
ensureDir(join(videoDir, "meta.json"));
writeFileSync(join(videoDir, "transcript-raw.json"), JSON.stringify(snippets, null, 2));
const sentences = segmentIntoSentences(snippets);
writeFileSync(join(videoDir, "transcript-sentences.json"), JSON.stringify(sentences, null, 2));
const imagePath = join(videoDir, "imgs", "cover.jpg");
ensureDir(imagePath);
const downloaded = await downloadCoverImage(
source.kind === "yt-dlp" ? getYtDlpThumbnailUrls(videoId, source.info) : getThumbnailUrls(videoId, source.data),
imagePath
);
meta.coverImage = downloaded ? "imgs/cover.jpg" : "";
writeFileSync(join(videoDir, "meta.json"), JSON.stringify(meta, null, 2));
return { meta, snippets, sentences, videoDir };
}
async function processVideo(videoId: string, opts: Options): Promise<VideoResult> {
const baseDir = resolveBaseDir(opts.outputDir);
if (opts.list) {
const source = await fetchVideoSource(videoId);
const title = source.kind === "yt-dlp" ? source.info.title || "" : source.data?.videoDetails?.title || "";
return { videoId, title, content: formatListOutput(videoId, title, source.transcripts) };
}
let videoDir = lookupVideoDir(videoId, baseDir);
let meta: VideoMeta;
let snippets: Snippet[];
let sentences: Sentence[];
let needsFetch = opts.refresh || !videoDir || !hasCachedData(videoDir);
if (!needsFetch && videoDir) {
meta = loadMeta(videoDir);
snippets = loadSnippets(videoDir);
sentences = loadSentences(videoDir);
const wantedLanguages = opts.translate ? [opts.translate] : opts.languages;
if (!wantedLanguages.includes(meta.language.code)) needsFetch = true;
if (!needsFetch && meta.chapters.length > 0 && meta.chapters.some((chapter: any) => chapter.end === undefined)) {
for (let i = 0; i < meta.chapters.length; i++) {
meta.chapters[i].end = i < meta.chapters.length - 1
? meta.chapters[i + 1].start
: Math.max(meta.duration, meta.chapters[i].start);
}
try {
writeFileSync(join(videoDir, "meta.json"), JSON.stringify(meta, null, 2));
} catch {}
}
}
if (needsFetch) {
const result = await fetchAndCache(videoId, baseDir, opts);
meta = result.meta;
snippets = result.snippets;
sentences = result.sentences;
videoDir = result.videoDir;
} else {
meta = meta!;
snippets = snippets!;
sentences = sentences!;
}
const content = opts.format === "srt"
? formatSrt(snippets)
: formatMarkdown(
sentences,
meta,
{
timestamps: opts.timestamps,
chapters: opts.chapters,
speakers: opts.speakers,
},
snippets
);
const ext = opts.format === "srt" ? "srt" : "md";
const filePath = opts.output ? resolve(opts.output) : join(videoDir!, `transcript.${ext}`);
ensureDir(filePath);
writeFileSync(filePath, content);
return { videoId, title: meta.title, filePath };
}
function printHelp() {
console.log(`Usage: bun main.ts <video-url-or-id> [options]
Options:
--languages <codes> Language codes, comma-separated (default: en)
--format <fmt> Output format: text, srt (default: text)
--translate <code> Translate to language code
--list List available transcripts
--timestamps Include timestamps (default: on)
--no-timestamps Disable timestamps
--chapters Chapter segmentation from description
--speakers Raw transcript with metadata for speaker identification
--exclude-generated Skip auto-generated transcripts
--exclude-manually-created Skip manually created transcripts
--refresh Force re-fetch (ignore cache)
-o, --output <path> Save to specific file path
--output-dir <dir> Base output directory (default: youtube-transcript)
-h, --help Show help`);
}
function parseArgs(argv: string[]): Options | null {
const opts: Options = {
videoIds: [],
languages: ["en"],
format: "text",
translate: "",
list: false,
excludeGenerated: false,
excludeManual: false,
output: "",
outputDir: "",
timestamps: true,
chapters: false,
speakers: false,
refresh: false,
};
for (let i = 0; i < argv.length; i++) {
const arg = argv[i];
if (arg === "-h" || arg === "--help") {
printHelp();
process.exit(0);
} else if (arg === "--languages") {
const value = argv[++i];
if (value) opts.languages = value.split(",").map((entry) => entry.trim());
} else if (arg === "--format") {
const value = argv[++i]?.toLowerCase();
if (value === "text" || value === "srt") opts.format = value;
else {
console.error(`Invalid format: ${value}. Use: text, srt`);
return null;
}
} else if (arg === "--translate") {
opts.translate = argv[++i] || "";
} else if (arg === "--list" || arg === "--list-transcripts") {
opts.list = true;
} else if (arg === "--timestamps" || arg === "-t") {
opts.timestamps = true;
} else if (arg === "--no-timestamps") {
opts.timestamps = false;
} else if (arg === "--chapters") {
opts.chapters = true;
} else if (arg === "--speakers") {
opts.speakers = true;
} else if (arg === "--exclude-generated") {
opts.excludeGenerated = true;
} else if (arg === "--exclude-manually-created") {
opts.excludeManual = true;
} else if (arg === "--refresh") {
opts.refresh = true;
} else if (arg === "-o" || arg === "--output") {
opts.output = argv[++i] || "";
} else if (arg === "--output-dir") {
opts.outputDir = argv[++i] || "";
} else if (!arg.startsWith("-")) {
opts.videoIds.push(extractVideoId(arg));
}
}
if (opts.videoIds.length === 0) {
console.error("Error: At least one video URL or ID required");
printHelp();
return null;
}
return opts;
}
async function main() {
const opts = parseArgs(process.argv.slice(2));
if (!opts) process.exit(1);
if (opts.excludeGenerated && opts.excludeManual) {
console.error("Error: Cannot exclude both generated and manually created transcripts");
process.exit(1);
}
for (const videoId of opts.videoIds) {
try {
const result = await processVideo(videoId, opts);
if (result.error) console.error(`Error (${result.videoId}): ${result.error}`);
else if (result.filePath) console.log(result.filePath);
else if (result.content) console.log(result.content);
} catch (error) {
console.error(`Error (${videoId}): ${(error as Error).message}`);
}
}
}
if (import.meta.main) {
main();
}
import type { TranscriptError } from "./types.ts";
export function extractVideoId(input: string): string {
input = input.replace(/\\/g, "").trim();
const patterns = [
/(?:youtube\.com\/watch\?.*v=|youtu\.be\/|youtube\.com\/embed\/|youtube\.com\/v\/|youtube\.com\/shorts\/)([a-zA-Z0-9_-]{11})/,
/^([a-zA-Z0-9_-]{11})$/,
];
for (const pattern of patterns) {
const match = input.match(pattern);
if (match) return match[1];
}
return input;
}
export function slugify(value: string): string {
return value
.toLowerCase()
.replace(/[^\w\s-]/g, "")
.replace(/\s+/g, "-")
.replace(/-+/g, "-")
.replace(/^-|-$/g, "") || "untitled";
}
export function htmlUnescape(value: string): string {
return value
.replace(/&/g, "&")
.replace(/</g, "<")
.replace(/>/g, ">")
.replace(/"/g, '"')
.replace(/'/g, "'")
.replace(/'/g, "'")
.replace(///g, "/")
.replace(/'/g, "'")
.replace(/&#(\d+);/g, (_, n) => String.fromCharCode(parseInt(n)))
.replace(/&#x([0-9a-fA-F]+);/g, (_, n) => String.fromCharCode(parseInt(n, 16)));
}
export function stripTags(value: string): string {
return value.replace(/<[^>]*>/g, "");
}
export function makeError(message: string, code?: string): Error {
const error = new Error(message) as TranscriptError;
if (code) error.code = code;
return error;
}
export function normalizeError(error: unknown): TranscriptError {
if (error instanceof Error) {
const known = error as TranscriptError;
if (known.code) return known;
const message = known.message || String(error);
const lower = message.toLowerCase();
if (lower.includes("bot detected")) known.code = "BOT_DETECTED";
else if (lower.includes("age restricted")) known.code = "AGE_RESTRICTED";
else if (lower.includes("video unavailable")) known.code = "VIDEO_UNAVAILABLE";
else if (lower.includes("transcripts disabled")) known.code = "TRANSCRIPTS_DISABLED";
else if (lower.includes("no transcript found")) known.code = "NO_TRANSCRIPT";
else if (lower.includes("invalid video id")) known.code = "INVALID_VIDEO_ID";
else if (lower.includes("ip blocked") || lower.includes("recaptcha") || lower.includes("http 429")) known.code = "IP_BLOCKED";
else if (lower.includes("cannot extract api key")) known.code = "PAGE_FETCH_FAILED";
else if (lower.includes("innertube api") || lower.includes("http 403")) known.code = "INNERTUBE_REJECTED";
else if (lower.includes("yt-dlp fallback failed")) known.code = "YT_DLP_FAILED";
return known;
}
return makeError(String(error), "UNKNOWN") as TranscriptError;
}
export function shouldTryAlternateClient(error: unknown): boolean {
const code = normalizeError(error).code;
return code === "BOT_DETECTED" || code === "IP_BLOCKED" || code === "INNERTUBE_REJECTED" || code === "AGE_RESTRICTED" || code === "VIDEO_UNAVAILABLE";
}
export function shouldTryYtDlpFallback(error: unknown): boolean {
const code = normalizeError(error).code;
return code === "BOT_DETECTED" || code === "IP_BLOCKED" || code === "INNERTUBE_REJECTED" || code === "PAGE_FETCH_FAILED" || code === "AGE_RESTRICTED" || code === "VIDEO_UNAVAILABLE";
}
export function normalizePublishDate(uploadDate?: string): string {
if (!uploadDate || !/^\d{8}$/.test(uploadDate)) return uploadDate || "";
return `${uploadDate.slice(0, 4)}-${uploadDate.slice(4, 6)}-${uploadDate.slice(6, 8)}`;
}
import { existsSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from "fs";
import { dirname, join, resolve } from "path";
import type { Sentence, Snippet, VideoMeta } from "./types.ts";
export function ensureDir(path: string) {
const dir = dirname(path);
if (!existsSync(dir)) mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
}
export function resolveBaseDir(outputDir: string): string {
return resolve(outputDir || "youtube-transcript");
}
function loadIndex(baseDir: string): Record<string, string> {
try {
return JSON.parse(readFileSync(join(baseDir, ".index.json"), "utf-8"));
} catch {
return {};
}
}
function saveIndex(baseDir: string, index: Record<string, string>) {
const path = join(baseDir, ".index.json");
ensureDir(path);
writeFileSync(path, JSON.stringify(index, null, 2));
}
export function lookupVideoDir(videoId: string, baseDir: string): string | null {
const rel = loadIndex(baseDir)[videoId];
if (rel) {
const dir = resolve(baseDir, rel);
if (existsSync(dir)) return dir;
}
return null;
}
export function registerVideoDir(videoId: string, channelSlug: string, titleSlug: string, baseDir: string): string {
const rel = join(channelSlug, titleSlug);
const index = loadIndex(baseDir);
index[videoId] = rel;
saveIndex(baseDir, index);
return resolve(baseDir, rel);
}
export function hasCachedData(videoDir: string): boolean {
return existsSync(join(videoDir, "meta.json")) && existsSync(join(videoDir, "transcript-raw.json"));
}
export function loadMeta(videoDir: string): VideoMeta {
return JSON.parse(readFileSync(join(videoDir, "meta.json"), "utf-8"));
}
export function loadSnippets(videoDir: string): Snippet[] {
return JSON.parse(readFileSync(join(videoDir, "transcript-raw.json"), "utf-8"));
}
export function loadSentences(videoDir: string): Sentence[] {
return JSON.parse(readFileSync(join(videoDir, "transcript-sentences.json"), "utf-8"));
}
import { htmlUnescape, makeError, stripTags } from "./shared.ts";
import type { Sentence, Snippet, TranscriptInfo, VideoMeta } from "./types.ts";
interface Paragraph {
text: string;
start: number;
end: number;
}
const SENTENCE_END_RE = /[.?!…。?!⁈⁇‼‽.]/;
export function parseTranscriptXml(xml: string): Snippet[] {
const snippets: Snippet[] = [];
const pattern = /<text\s+start="([^"]*)"(?:\s+dur="([^"]*)")?[^>]*>([\s\S]*?)<\/text>/g;
let match: RegExpExecArray | null;
while ((match = pattern.exec(xml)) !== null) {
const raw = match[3];
if (!raw) continue;
snippets.push({
text: htmlUnescape(stripTags(raw)),
start: parseFloat(match[1]),
duration: parseFloat(match[2] || "0"),
});
}
return snippets;
}
export function parseTranscriptJson3(text: string): Snippet[] {
const data = JSON.parse(text);
const events = Array.isArray(data?.events) ? data.events : [];
const snippets: Snippet[] = [];
for (const event of events) {
const segs = Array.isArray(event?.segs) ? event.segs : [];
const textParts = segs
.map((seg: any) => htmlUnescape(String(seg?.utf8 || "").replace(/\n+/g, " ").trim()))
.filter(Boolean);
const merged = mergeTexts(textParts).trim();
if (!merged) continue;
snippets.push({
text: merged,
start: Number(event?.tStartMs || 0) / 1000,
duration: Number(event?.dDurationMs || 0) / 1000,
});
}
return snippets;
}
function parseSrt(srt: string): Snippet[] {
const blocks = srt.trim().split(/\n\n+/);
const snippets: Snippet[] = [];
for (const block of blocks) {
const lines = block.split("\n");
if (lines.length < 3) continue;
const match = lines[1].match(/(\d{2}):(\d{2}):(\d{2}),(\d{3})\s*-->\s*(\d{2}):(\d{2}):(\d{2}),(\d{3})/);
if (!match) continue;
const start = parseInt(match[1]) * 3600 + parseInt(match[2]) * 60 + parseInt(match[3]) + parseInt(match[4]) / 1000;
const end = parseInt(match[5]) * 3600 + parseInt(match[6]) * 60 + parseInt(match[7]) + parseInt(match[8]) / 1000;
snippets.push({ text: lines.slice(2).join(" "), start, duration: end - start });
}
return snippets;
}
export function parseWebVtt(vtt: string): Snippet[] {
const blocks = vtt
.replace(/^WEBVTT\s*/m, "")
.trim()
.split(/\n\n+/);
const snippets: Snippet[] = [];
for (const block of blocks) {
const lines = block.split("\n").map((line) => line.trim()).filter(Boolean);
const tsLine = lines.find((line) => line.includes("-->"));
if (!tsLine) continue;
const match = tsLine.match(
/(?:(\d{2}):)?(\d{2}):(\d{2})\.(\d{3})\s*-->\s*(?:(\d{2}):)?(\d{2}):(\d{2})\.(\d{3})/
);
if (!match) continue;
const start =
(match[1] ? parseInt(match[1]) : 0) * 3600 +
parseInt(match[2]) * 60 +
parseInt(match[3]) +
parseInt(match[4]) / 1000;
const end =
(match[5] ? parseInt(match[5]) : 0) * 3600 +
parseInt(match[6]) * 60 +
parseInt(match[7]) +
parseInt(match[8]) / 1000;
const text = htmlUnescape(stripTags(lines.slice(lines.indexOf(tsLine) + 1).join(" ").replace(/\s+/g, " ").trim()));
if (!text) continue;
snippets.push({ text, start, duration: end - start });
}
return snippets;
}
export function parseTranscriptPayload(payload: string, url: string): Snippet[] {
const normalized = payload.trimStart();
if (url.includes("fmt=json3") || normalized.startsWith("{")) return parseTranscriptJson3(payload);
if (normalized.startsWith("WEBVTT")) return parseWebVtt(payload);
if (/^\d+\s*\n\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2},\d{3}\s*-->/.test(normalized)) return parseSrt(payload);
return parseTranscriptXml(payload);
}
function isCJK(ch: string): boolean {
const code = ch.charCodeAt(0);
return (code >= 0x4E00 && code <= 0x9FFF) ||
(code >= 0x3040 && code <= 0x309F) ||
(code >= 0x30A0 && code <= 0x30FF) ||
(code >= 0xAC00 && code <= 0xD7AF) ||
(code >= 0x3400 && code <= 0x4DBF) ||
(code >= 0xF900 && code <= 0xFAFF);
}
function splitSnippetAtPunctuation(snippet: Snippet): { text: string; start: number; end: number }[] {
const { text, start, duration } = snippet;
const end = start + duration;
if (!text.length) return [];
const splitPoints: number[] = [];
for (let i = 0; i < text.length; i++) {
if (SENTENCE_END_RE.test(text[i])) {
while (i + 1 < text.length && SENTENCE_END_RE.test(text[i + 1])) i++;
if (i < text.length - 1) splitPoints.push(i);
}
}
if (!splitPoints.length) return [{ text, start, end }];
const parts: { text: string; start: number; end: number }[] = [];
let prev = 0;
for (const pos of splitPoints) {
const partText = text.slice(prev, pos + 1).trim();
if (partText) {
parts.push({
text: partText,
start: start + (prev / text.length) * duration,
end: start + ((pos + 1) / text.length) * duration,
});
}
prev = pos + 1;
}
const remaining = text.slice(prev).trim();
if (remaining) parts.push({ text: remaining, start: start + (prev / text.length) * duration, end });
return parts;
}
function mergeTexts(texts: string[]): string {
if (!texts.length) return "";
let result = texts[0];
for (let i = 1; i < texts.length; i++) {
const next = texts[i];
if (!next) continue;
const lastChar = result[result.length - 1];
const firstChar = next[0];
if (isCJK(lastChar) || isCJK(firstChar)) {
result += next;
} else {
result = result.trimEnd() + " " + next.trimStart();
}
}
return result.replace(/ {2,}/g, " ");
}
export function ts(time: number): string {
const h = Math.floor(time / 3600);
const m = Math.floor((time % 3600) / 60);
const s = Math.floor(time % 60);
return `${String(h).padStart(2, "0")}:${String(m).padStart(2, "0")}:${String(s).padStart(2, "0")}`;
}
function tsMs(time: number, sep: string): string {
const h = Math.floor(time / 3600);
const m = Math.floor((time % 3600) / 60);
const s = Math.floor(time % 60);
const ms = Math.round((time - Math.floor(time)) * 1000);
return `${String(h).padStart(2, "0")}:${String(m).padStart(2, "0")}:${String(s).padStart(2, "0")}${sep}${String(ms).padStart(3, "0")}`;
}
function parseTs(time: string): number {
const [h, m, s] = time.split(":").map(Number);
return h * 3600 + m * 60 + s;
}
export function segmentIntoSentences(snippets: Snippet[]): Sentence[] {
const parts: { text: string; start: number; end: number }[] = [];
for (const snippet of snippets) parts.push(...splitSnippetAtPunctuation(snippet));
const sentences: Sentence[] = [];
let buffer: { text: string; start: number; end: number }[] = [];
for (const part of parts) {
buffer.push(part);
if (SENTENCE_END_RE.test(part.text[part.text.length - 1])) {
sentences.push({
text: mergeTexts(buffer.map((entry) => entry.text)),
start: ts(buffer[0].start),
end: ts(buffer[buffer.length - 1].end),
});
buffer = [];
}
}
if (buffer.length) {
sentences.push({
text: mergeTexts(buffer.map((entry) => entry.text)),
start: ts(buffer[0].start),
end: ts(buffer[buffer.length - 1].end),
});
}
return sentences;
}
function groupSentenceParas(sentences: Sentence[]): Paragraph[] {
if (!sentences.length) return [];
const paragraphs: Paragraph[] = [];
let buffer: Sentence[] = [];
for (let i = 0; i < sentences.length; i++) {
buffer.push(sentences[i]);
const last = i === sentences.length - 1;
const gap = !last && parseTs(sentences[i + 1].start) - parseTs(sentences[i].end) > 2;
if (last || gap || buffer.length >= 5) {
paragraphs.push({
text: mergeTexts(buffer.map((sentence) => sentence.text)),
start: parseTs(buffer[0].start),
end: parseTs(buffer[buffer.length - 1].end),
});
buffer = [];
}
}
return paragraphs;
}
export function formatSrt(snippets: Snippet[]): string {
return snippets
.map((snippet, index) => {
const end = index < snippets.length - 1 && snippets[index + 1].start < snippet.start + snippet.duration
? snippets[index + 1].start
: snippet.start + snippet.duration;
return `${index + 1}\n${tsMs(snippet.start, ",")} --> ${tsMs(end, ",")}\n${snippet.text}`;
})
.join("\n\n") + "\n";
}
function yamlEscape(value: string): string {
if (/[:"'{}\[\]#&*!|>%@`\n]/.test(value) || value.trim() !== value) {
return `"${value.replace(/\\/g, "\\\\").replace(/"/g, '\\"')}"`;
}
return value;
}
function extractSummary(description: string): string {
if (!description) return "";
const firstPara = description.split(/\n\s*\n/)[0].trim();
const lines = firstPara.split("\n").filter((line) => !/^\s*(https?:\/\/|#|@|\d+:\d+)/.test(line) && line.trim());
return lines.join(" ").slice(0, 300).trim();
}
export function formatMarkdown(
sentences: Sentence[],
meta: VideoMeta,
opts: { timestamps: boolean; chapters: boolean; speakers: boolean },
snippets?: Snippet[]
): string {
const summary = extractSummary(meta.description);
let md = "---\n";
md += `title: ${yamlEscape(meta.title)}\n`;
md += `channel: ${yamlEscape(meta.channel)}\n`;
if (meta.publishDate) md += `date: ${meta.publishDate}\n`;
md += `url: ${yamlEscape(meta.url)}\n`;
if (meta.coverImage) md += `cover: ${meta.coverImage}\n`;
if (summary) md += `description: ${yamlEscape(summary)}\n`;
if (meta.language) md += `language: ${meta.language.code}\n`;
md += "---\n\n";
if (opts.speakers) {
md += `# ${meta.title}\n\n`;
if (summary) md += `${summary}\n\n`;
if (meta.description) md += `# Description\n\n${meta.description.trim()}\n\n`;
if (meta.chapters.length) {
md += "# Chapters\n\n";
for (const chapter of meta.chapters) md += `* [${ts(chapter.start)}] ${chapter.title}\n`;
md += "\n";
}
md += "# Transcript\n\n";
md += snippets ? formatSrt(snippets) : "";
return md;
}
md += `# ${meta.title}\n\n`;
if (summary) md += `${summary}\n\n`;
const chapters = opts.chapters ? meta.chapters : [];
if (chapters.length) {
md += "## Table of Contents\n\n";
for (const chapter of chapters) md += opts.timestamps ? `* [${ts(chapter.start)}] ${chapter.title}\n` : `* ${chapter.title}\n`;
md += "\n";
if (meta.coverImage) md += `\n\n`;
md += "\n";
for (let i = 0; i < chapters.length; i++) {
const nextStart = i < chapters.length - 1 ? chapters[i + 1].start : Infinity;
const chapterSentences = sentences.filter((sentence) => parseTs(sentence.start) >= chapters[i].start && parseTs(sentence.start) < nextStart);
const paragraphs = groupSentenceParas(chapterSentences);
md += opts.timestamps ? `## [${ts(chapters[i].start)}] ${chapters[i].title}\n\n` : `## ${chapters[i].title}\n\n`;
for (const paragraph of paragraphs) {
md += opts.timestamps ? `${paragraph.text} [${ts(paragraph.start)} → ${ts(paragraph.end)}]\n\n` : `${paragraph.text}\n\n`;
}
md += "\n";
}
} else {
const paragraphs = groupSentenceParas(sentences);
for (const paragraph of paragraphs) {
md += opts.timestamps ? `${paragraph.text} [${ts(paragraph.start)} → ${ts(paragraph.end)}]\n\n` : `${paragraph.text}\n\n`;
}
}
return md.trimEnd() + "\n";
}
export function formatListOutput(videoId: string, title: string, transcripts: TranscriptInfo[]): string {
const manual = transcripts.filter((transcript) => !transcript.isGenerated);
const generated = transcripts.filter((transcript) => transcript.isGenerated);
const translationLanguages = transcripts.find((transcript) => transcript.translationLanguages.length > 0)?.translationLanguages || [];
const formatList = (list: TranscriptInfo[]) =>
list.length
? list.map((transcript) => ` - ${transcript.languageCode} ("${transcript.language}")${transcript.isTranslatable ? " [TRANSLATABLE]" : ""}`).join("\n")
: "None";
const formatTranslations = translationLanguages.length
? translationLanguages.map((language) => ` - ${language.languageCode} ("${language.language}")`).join("\n")
: "None";
return `Transcripts for ${videoId}${title ? ` (${title})` : ""}:\n\n(MANUALLY CREATED)\n${formatList(manual)}\n\n(GENERATED)\n${formatList(generated)}\n\n(TRANSLATION LANGUAGES)\n${formatTranslations}`;
}
export function findTranscript(
transcripts: TranscriptInfo[],
languages: string[],
excludeGenerated: boolean,
excludeManual: boolean
): TranscriptInfo {
let filtered = transcripts;
if (excludeGenerated) filtered = filtered.filter((transcript) => !transcript.isGenerated);
if (excludeManual) filtered = filtered.filter((transcript) => transcript.isGenerated);
for (const language of languages) {
const found = filtered.find((transcript) => transcript.languageCode === language);
if (found) return found;
}
const available = filtered.map((transcript) => `${transcript.languageCode} ("${transcript.language}")`).join(", ");
throw makeError(`No transcript found for languages [${languages.join(", ")}]. Available: ${available || "none"}`, "NO_TRANSCRIPT");
}
export type Format = "text" | "srt";
export interface Options {
videoIds: string[];
languages: string[];
format: Format;
translate: string;
list: boolean;
excludeGenerated: boolean;
excludeManual: boolean;
output: string;
outputDir: string;
timestamps: boolean;
chapters: boolean;
speakers: boolean;
refresh: boolean;
}
export interface Snippet {
text: string;
start: number;
duration: number;
}
export interface Sentence {
text: string;
start: string;
end: string;
}
export interface TranscriptLanguage {
language: string;
languageCode: string;
}
export interface TranscriptInfo {
language: string;
languageCode: string;
isGenerated: boolean;
isTranslatable: boolean;
baseUrl: string;
translationLanguages: TranscriptLanguage[];
}
export interface Chapter {
title: string;
start: number;
end: number;
}
export interface LanguageMeta {
code: string;
name: string;
isGenerated: boolean;
}
export interface VideoMeta {
videoId: string;
title: string;
channel: string;
channelId: string;
description: string;
duration: number;
publishDate: string;
url: string;
coverImage: string;
thumbnailUrl: string;
language: LanguageMeta;
chapters: Chapter[];
}
export interface VideoResult {
videoId: string;
title?: string;
filePath?: string;
content?: string;
error?: string;
}
export interface InnerTubeSession {
apiKey: string;
webClientVersion: string;
visitorData: string;
}
export interface InnerTubeClient {
id: string;
clientName: string;
clientVersion?: string;
clientHeaderName?: string;
userAgent: string;
extraContext?: Record<string, any>;
}
export interface TranscriptError extends Error {
code?: string;
}
export interface YtDlpTrack {
ext?: string;
url?: string;
name?: string;
}
export interface YtDlpInfo {
title?: string;
channel?: string;
channel_id?: string;
uploader?: string;
uploader_id?: string;
description?: string;
duration?: number;
upload_date?: string;
webpage_url?: string;
thumbnail?: string;
thumbnails?: { url?: string; width?: number; height?: number }[];
subtitles?: Record<string, YtDlpTrack[]>;
automatic_captions?: Record<string, YtDlpTrack[]>;
}
export type VideoSource =
| { kind: "innertube"; data: any; transcripts: TranscriptInfo[] }
| { kind: "yt-dlp"; info: YtDlpInfo; transcripts: TranscriptInfo[] };
import { spawnSync } from "child_process";
import { writeFileSync } from "fs";
import { makeError, normalizeError, normalizePublishDate, shouldTryAlternateClient, shouldTryYtDlpFallback } from "./shared.ts";
import { findTranscript, parseTranscriptPayload } from "./transcript.ts";
import type {
Chapter,
InnerTubeClient,
InnerTubeSession,
LanguageMeta,
Options,
Snippet,
TranscriptInfo,
VideoMeta,
VideoSource,
YtDlpInfo,
YtDlpTrack,
} from "./types.ts";
const WATCH_URL = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=";
const INNERTUBE_URL = "https://www.youtube.com/youtubei/v1/player";
const WATCH_PAGE_USER_AGENT =
"Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/134.0.0.0 Safari/537.36";
const DEFAULT_WEB_CLIENT_VERSION = "2.20260320.08.00";
const YT_DLP_MAX_BUFFER = 32 * 1024 * 1024;
let cachedYtDlpCommand: { command: string; args: string[]; label: string } | null | undefined;
const INNER_TUBE_CLIENTS: InnerTubeClient[] = [
{
id: "android",
clientName: "ANDROID",
clientHeaderName: "3",
clientVersion: "20.10.38",
userAgent:
"com.google.android.youtube/20.10.38 (Linux; U; Android 14; en_US; Pixel 8 Pro; Build/AP1A.240405.002)",
extraContext: {
clientFormFactor: "SMALL_FORM_FACTOR",
androidSdkVersion: 34,
osName: "Android",
osVersion: "14",
platform: "MOBILE",
},
},
{
id: "web",
clientName: "WEB",
clientHeaderName: "1",
userAgent: WATCH_PAGE_USER_AGENT,
},
{
id: "ios",
clientName: "IOS",
clientHeaderName: "5",
clientVersion: "20.10.4",
userAgent:
"com.google.ios.youtube/20.10.4 (iPhone16,2; U; CPU iOS 18_3 like Mac OS X; en_US)",
extraContext: {
deviceMake: "Apple",
deviceModel: "iPhone16,2",
osName: "iPhone",
osVersion: "18.3.0.22D5054f",
platform: "MOBILE",
},
},
];
async function fetchHtml(videoId: string): Promise<string> {
const watchUrl = `${WATCH_URL}${videoId}&hl=en&persist_hl=1&has_verified=1&bpctr=9999999999`;
const baseHeaders = {
Accept: "text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,image/avif,image/webp,*/*;q=0.8",
"Accept-Language": "en-US,en;q=0.9",
"Cache-Control": "no-cache",
Pragma: "no-cache",
"User-Agent": WATCH_PAGE_USER_AGENT,
};
const response = await fetch(watchUrl, { headers: baseHeaders });
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status} fetching video page`);
let html = await response.text();
if (html.includes('action="https://consent.youtube.com/s"')) {
const consentValue = html.match(/name="v" value="(.*?)"/);
if (!consentValue) throw new Error("Failed to create consent cookie");
const consentResponse = await fetch(watchUrl, {
headers: {
...baseHeaders,
Cookie: `CONSENT=YES+${consentValue[1]}`,
},
});
if (!consentResponse.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${consentResponse.status} fetching video page (consent)`);
html = await consentResponse.text();
}
return html;
}
function extractSession(html: string, videoId: string): InnerTubeSession {
const apiKey = html.match(/"INNERTUBE_API_KEY":\s*"([a-zA-Z0-9_-]+)"/)?.[1];
if (!apiKey) {
if (html.includes('class="g-recaptcha"')) throw new Error(`IP blocked for ${videoId} (reCAPTCHA)`);
throw new Error(`Cannot extract API key for ${videoId}`);
}
const webClientVersion =
html.match(/"INNERTUBE_CLIENT_VERSION":\s*"([^"]+)"/)?.[1] ||
html.match(/"clientVersion":"([^"]+)"/)?.[1] ||
DEFAULT_WEB_CLIENT_VERSION;
const visitorData =
html.match(/"VISITOR_DATA":"([^"]+)"/)?.[1] ||
html.match(/"visitorData":"([^"]+)"/)?.[1] ||
"";
return { apiKey, webClientVersion, visitorData };
}
function buildInnerTubeContext(client: InnerTubeClient, session: InnerTubeSession, videoId: string) {
return {
context: {
client: {
hl: "en",
gl: "US",
utcOffsetMinutes: 0,
visitorData: session.visitorData,
clientName: client.clientName,
clientVersion: client.clientVersion || session.webClientVersion,
...client.extraContext,
},
request: { useSsl: true },
},
videoId,
};
}
async function fetchInnertubeData(videoId: string, session: InnerTubeSession, client: InnerTubeClient): Promise<any> {
const clientVersion = client.clientVersion || session.webClientVersion;
const headers: Record<string, string> = {
Accept: "application/json",
"Accept-Language": "en-US,en;q=0.9",
"Content-Type": "application/json",
Origin: "https://www.youtube.com",
Referer: `${WATCH_URL}${videoId}`,
"User-Agent": client.userAgent,
"X-YouTube-Client-Name": client.clientHeaderName || "1",
"X-YouTube-Client-Version": clientVersion,
};
if (session.visitorData) headers["X-Goog-Visitor-Id"] = session.visitorData;
const response = await fetch(`${INNERTUBE_URL}?key=${session.apiKey}&prettyPrint=false`, {
method: "POST",
headers,
body: JSON.stringify(buildInnerTubeContext(client, session, videoId)),
});
if (response.status === 429) throw new Error(`IP blocked for ${videoId} (429)`);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status} from InnerTube API`);
return response.json();
}
function assertPlayability(data: any, videoId: string) {
const playabilityStatus = data?.playabilityStatus;
if (!playabilityStatus) return;
const status = playabilityStatus.status;
if (status === "OK" || !status) return;
const reason = playabilityStatus.reason || "";
const reasonLower = reason.toLowerCase();
if (status === "LOGIN_REQUIRED") {
if (reasonLower.includes("bot")) throw makeError(`Request blocked for ${videoId}: bot detected`, "BOT_DETECTED");
if (reasonLower.includes("inappropriate")) throw makeError(`Age restricted: ${videoId}`, "AGE_RESTRICTED");
}
if (status === "ERROR" && reasonLower.includes("unavailable")) {
if (videoId.startsWith("http")) throw makeError("Invalid video ID: pass the ID, not the URL", "INVALID_VIDEO_ID");
throw makeError(`Video unavailable: ${videoId}`, "VIDEO_UNAVAILABLE");
}
const subreasons = playabilityStatus.errorScreen?.playerErrorMessageRenderer?.subreason?.runs?.map((run: any) => run.text).join("") || "";
throw new Error(`Video unplayable (${videoId}): ${reason} ${subreasons}`.trim());
}
function extractCaptionsJson(data: any, videoId: string): any {
assertPlayability(data, videoId);
const captionsJson = data?.captions?.playerCaptionsTracklistRenderer;
if (!captionsJson || !captionsJson.captionTracks) throw makeError(`Transcripts disabled for ${videoId}`, "TRANSCRIPTS_DISABLED");
return captionsJson;
}
function buildTranscriptList(captionsJson: any): TranscriptInfo[] {
const translationLanguages = (captionsJson.translationLanguages || []).map((language: any) => ({
language: language.languageName?.runs?.[0]?.text || language.languageName?.simpleText || "",
languageCode: language.languageCode,
}));
return (captionsJson.captionTracks || []).map((track: any) => ({
language: track.name?.runs?.[0]?.text || track.name?.simpleText || "",
languageCode: track.languageCode,
isGenerated: track.kind === "asr",
isTranslatable: !!track.isTranslatable,
baseUrl: track.baseUrl || "",
translationLanguages: track.isTranslatable ? translationLanguages : [],
}));
}
export async function fetchTranscriptSnippets(
info: TranscriptInfo,
translateTo?: string
): Promise<{ snippets: Snippet[]; language: string; languageCode: string }> {
let url = info.baseUrl;
let language = info.language;
let languageCode = info.languageCode;
if (translateTo) {
if (!info.isTranslatable) throw new Error(`Transcript ${info.languageCode} is not translatable`);
const translatedLanguage = info.translationLanguages.find((entry) => entry.languageCode === translateTo);
if (!translatedLanguage) throw new Error(`Translation language ${translateTo} not available`);
url += `&tlang=${translateTo}`;
language = translatedLanguage.language;
languageCode = translateTo;
}
const response = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
"Accept-Language": "en-US,en;q=0.9",
"User-Agent": WATCH_PAGE_USER_AGENT,
},
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status} fetching transcript`);
return {
snippets: parseTranscriptPayload(await response.text(), url),
language,
languageCode,
};
}
function buildYtDlpVideoSource(videoId: string, info: YtDlpInfo): VideoSource {
const transcripts = buildTranscriptListFromYtDlp(info);
if (!transcripts.length) throw makeError(`Transcripts disabled for ${videoId}`, "TRANSCRIPTS_DISABLED");
return { kind: "yt-dlp", info, transcripts };
}
function getRequestedLanguages(
source: VideoSource,
opts: Pick<Options, "languages" | "translate">
): string[] {
return source.kind === "yt-dlp" && opts.translate ? [opts.translate] : opts.languages;
}
export async function fetchTranscriptWithFallback(
videoId: string,
source: VideoSource,
opts: Pick<Options, "languages" | "translate" | "excludeGenerated" | "excludeManual">,
fetchSnippets: (
info: TranscriptInfo,
translateTo?: string
) => Promise<{ snippets: Snippet[]; language: string; languageCode: string }> = fetchTranscriptSnippets,
fetchFallbackSource: (videoId: string) => Promise<VideoSource> | VideoSource = (requestedVideoId) =>
buildYtDlpVideoSource(requestedVideoId, fetchYtDlpInfo(requestedVideoId)),
logWarning: (message: string) => void = (message) => console.error(message)
): Promise<{
source: VideoSource;
transcript: TranscriptInfo;
snippets: Snippet[];
language: string;
languageCode: string;
}> {
const transcript = findTranscript(
source.transcripts,
getRequestedLanguages(source, opts),
opts.excludeGenerated,
opts.excludeManual
);
const result = await fetchSnippets(transcript, source.kind === "yt-dlp" ? undefined : opts.translate || undefined);
if (result.snippets.length > 0) return { source, transcript, ...result };
if (source.kind === "yt-dlp") {
throw makeError(`Transcript fetch returned empty snippets for ${videoId}`, "EMPTY_TRANSCRIPT");
}
logWarning(`Warning (${videoId}): Transcript fetch returned empty snippets. Retrying with yt-dlp fallback.`);
const fallbackSource = await fetchFallbackSource(videoId);
const fallbackTranscript = findTranscript(
fallbackSource.transcripts,
getRequestedLanguages(fallbackSource, opts),
opts.excludeGenerated,
opts.excludeManual
);
const fallbackResult = await fetchSnippets(
fallbackTranscript,
fallbackSource.kind === "yt-dlp" ? undefined : opts.translate || undefined
);
if (!fallbackResult.snippets.length) {
throw makeError(`Transcript fetch returned empty snippets for ${videoId} after yt-dlp fallback`, "EMPTY_TRANSCRIPT");
}
return { source: fallbackSource, transcript: fallbackTranscript, ...fallbackResult };
}
export function detectYtDlpCommand(): { command: string; args: string[]; label: string } | null {
if (cachedYtDlpCommand !== undefined) return cachedYtDlpCommand;
const candidates = [
{ command: "yt-dlp", args: [], label: "yt-dlp" },
{ command: "uvx", args: ["--from", "yt-dlp", "yt-dlp"], label: "uvx --from yt-dlp yt-dlp" },
{ command: "python3", args: ["-m", "yt_dlp"], label: "python3 -m yt_dlp" },
];
for (const candidate of candidates) {
const probe = spawnSync(candidate.command, [...candidate.args, "--version"], {
encoding: "utf8",
maxBuffer: 1024 * 1024,
});
if (probe.status !== 0) continue;
const helpProbe = spawnSync(candidate.command, [...candidate.args, "--help"], {
encoding: "utf8",
maxBuffer: 2 * 1024 * 1024,
});
const helpText = `${helpProbe.stdout || ""}\n${helpProbe.stderr || ""}`;
const supportsRequiredFlags =
helpProbe.status === 0 &&
helpText.includes("--js-runtimes") &&
helpText.includes("--remote-components");
if (supportsRequiredFlags) {
cachedYtDlpCommand = candidate;
return candidate;
}
}
cachedYtDlpCommand = null;
return cachedYtDlpCommand;
}
export function selectYtDlpTrack(entries: YtDlpTrack[]): YtDlpTrack | null {
const preferredExts = ["json3", "srv3", "srv2", "srv1", "ttml", "vtt"];
for (const ext of preferredExts) {
const match = entries.find((entry) => entry.url && entry.ext === ext);
if (match) return match;
}
return entries.find((entry) => !!entry.url) || null;
}
export function buildTranscriptListFromYtDlp(info: YtDlpInfo): TranscriptInfo[] {
const translationLanguages = Object.entries(info.automatic_captions || {}).map(([languageCode, entries]) => ({
language: entries.find((entry) => entry.name)?.name || languageCode,
languageCode,
}));
const manual = Object.entries(info.subtitles || {}).flatMap(([languageCode, entries]) => {
const selected = selectYtDlpTrack(entries);
if (!selected?.url) return [];
return [{
language: selected.name || languageCode,
languageCode,
isGenerated: false,
isTranslatable: translationLanguages.length > 0,
baseUrl: selected.url,
translationLanguages,
}];
});
const generated = Object.entries(info.automatic_captions || {}).flatMap(([languageCode, entries]) => {
const selected = selectYtDlpTrack(entries);
if (!selected?.url) return [];
return [{
language: selected.name || languageCode,
languageCode,
isGenerated: true,
isTranslatable: translationLanguages.length > 0,
baseUrl: selected.url,
translationLanguages,
}];
});
return [...manual, ...generated];
}
function fetchYtDlpInfo(videoId: string): YtDlpInfo {
const command = detectYtDlpCommand();
if (!command) {
throw makeError(
`Request blocked for ${videoId}: bot detected. yt-dlp fallback unavailable (install yt-dlp or uv).`,
"YT_DLP_UNAVAILABLE"
);
}
const args = [
...command.args,
"-J",
"--skip-download",
"--js-runtimes",
"bun",
"--remote-components",
"ejs:github",
];
const cookiesFromBrowser = process.env.YOUTUBE_TRANSCRIPT_COOKIES_FROM_BROWSER?.trim();
if (cookiesFromBrowser) args.push("--cookies-from-browser", cookiesFromBrowser);
args.push(`${WATCH_URL}${videoId}`);
const result = spawnSync(command.command, args, {
encoding: "utf8",
maxBuffer: YT_DLP_MAX_BUFFER,
});
if (result.status !== 0) {
const stderr = (result.stderr || "").trim();
const stdout = (result.stdout || "").trim();
const detail = stderr || stdout || `exit ${result.status ?? "unknown"}`;
throw makeError(`yt-dlp fallback failed for ${videoId} (${command.label}): ${detail}`, "YT_DLP_FAILED");
}
return JSON.parse(result.stdout);
}
async function fetchInnertubeSource(videoId: string): Promise<VideoSource> {
const html = await fetchHtml(videoId);
const session = extractSession(html, videoId);
const attempts: string[] = [];
let lastError: Error | null = null;
for (const client of INNER_TUBE_CLIENTS) {
try {
const data = await fetchInnertubeData(videoId, session, client);
const captionsJson = extractCaptionsJson(data, videoId);
return { kind: "innertube", data, transcripts: buildTranscriptList(captionsJson) };
} catch (error) {
const normalized = normalizeError(error);
attempts.push(`${client.id}: ${normalized.message}`);
lastError = normalized;
if (!shouldTryAlternateClient(normalized)) break;
}
}
if (!lastError) throw makeError(`Unable to fetch transcript metadata for ${videoId}`, "UNKNOWN");
if (attempts.length > 1) {
throw makeError(`${lastError.message}. Tried clients: ${attempts.join("; ")}`, normalizeError(lastError).code);
}
throw lastError;
}
export async function resolveVideoSource(
videoId: string,
fetchPrimary: (videoId: string) => Promise<VideoSource>,
fetchFallback: (videoId: string) => YtDlpInfo,
logWarning: (message: string) => void = (message) => console.error(message)
): Promise<VideoSource> {
try {
return await fetchPrimary(videoId);
} catch (error) {
const normalized = normalizeError(error);
if (!shouldTryYtDlpFallback(normalized)) throw normalized;
logWarning(`Warning (${videoId}): ${normalized.message}. Retrying with yt-dlp fallback.`);
return buildYtDlpVideoSource(videoId, fetchFallback(videoId));
}
}
export async function fetchVideoSource(videoId: string): Promise<VideoSource> {
return resolveVideoSource(videoId, fetchInnertubeSource, fetchYtDlpInfo);
}
export function parseChapters(description: string, duration: number = 0): Chapter[] {
const raw: { title: string; start: number }[] = [];
for (const line of description.split("\n")) {
const match = line.trim().match(/^(?:(\d{1,2}):)?(\d{1,2}):(\d{2})\s+(.+)$/);
if (match) {
const hours = match[1] ? parseInt(match[1]) : 0;
raw.push({ title: match[4].trim(), start: hours * 3600 + parseInt(match[2]) * 60 + parseInt(match[3]) });
}
}
if (raw.length < 2) return [];
return raw.map((chapter, index) => ({
title: chapter.title,
start: chapter.start,
end: index < raw.length - 1 ? raw[index + 1].start : Math.max(duration, chapter.start),
}));
}
export function getThumbnailUrls(videoId: string, data: any): string[] {
const urls = [
`https://i.ytimg.com/vi/${videoId}/maxresdefault.jpg`,
`https://i.ytimg.com/vi/${videoId}/hqdefault.jpg`,
];
const thumbnails = data?.videoDetails?.thumbnail?.thumbnails ||
data?.microformat?.playerMicroformatRenderer?.thumbnail?.thumbnails ||
[];
if (thumbnails.length) {
const sorted = [...thumbnails].sort((a: any, b: any) => (b.width || 0) - (a.width || 0));
for (const thumbnail of sorted) {
if (thumbnail.url && !urls.includes(thumbnail.url)) urls.push(thumbnail.url);
}
}
return urls;
}
export function getYtDlpThumbnailUrls(videoId: string, info: YtDlpInfo): string[] {
const urls = getThumbnailUrls(videoId, null);
const thumbnails = Array.isArray(info.thumbnails) ? info.thumbnails : [];
const sorted = [...thumbnails].sort((a, b) => (b?.width || 0) - (a?.width || 0));
for (const thumbnail of sorted) {
if (thumbnail?.url && !urls.includes(thumbnail.url)) urls.push(thumbnail.url);
}
if (info.thumbnail && !urls.includes(info.thumbnail)) urls.push(info.thumbnail);
return urls;
}
export function buildVideoMeta(data: any, videoId: string, language: LanguageMeta, chapters: Chapter[]): VideoMeta {
const videoDetails = data?.videoDetails || {};
const microformat = data?.microformat?.playerMicroformatRenderer || {};
return {
videoId,
title: videoDetails.title || microformat.title?.simpleText || "",
channel: videoDetails.author || microformat.ownerChannelName || "",
channelId: videoDetails.channelId || microformat.externalChannelId || "",
description: videoDetails.shortDescription || microformat.description?.simpleText || "",
duration: parseInt(videoDetails.lengthSeconds || "0"),
publishDate: microformat.publishDate || microformat.uploadDate || "",
url: `${WATCH_URL}${videoId}`,
coverImage: "",
thumbnailUrl: getThumbnailUrls(videoId, data)[0],
language,
chapters,
};
}
export function buildVideoMetaFromYtDlp(
info: YtDlpInfo,
videoId: string,
language: LanguageMeta,
chapters: Chapter[]
): VideoMeta {
return {
videoId,
title: info.title || "",
channel: info.channel || info.uploader || "",
channelId: info.channel_id || info.uploader_id || "",
description: info.description || "",
duration: Number(info.duration || 0),
publishDate: normalizePublishDate(info.upload_date),
url: info.webpage_url || `${WATCH_URL}${videoId}`,
coverImage: "",
thumbnailUrl: getYtDlpThumbnailUrls(videoId, info)[0] || "",
language,
chapters,
};
}
export async function downloadCoverImage(urls: string[], outputPath: string): Promise<boolean> {
for (const url of urls) {
try {
const response = await fetch(url);
if (response.ok) {
writeFileSync(outputPath, Buffer.from(await response.arrayBuffer()));
return true;
}
} catch {}
}
return false;
}
Related skills
Forks & variants (1)
Baoyu Youtube Transcript has 1 known copy in the catalog totaling 25 installs. They canonicalize to this original listing.
- guanyang - 25 installs
How it compares
Choose baoyu-youtube-transcript over manual copy-paste or heavy YouTube Data API setup when you only need public caption text and thumbnails from a URL.
FAQ
What does baoyu-youtube-transcript do?
Downloads YouTube video transcripts/subtitles and cover images by URL or video ID. Supports multiple languages, translation, chapters, and speaker identification. Caches raw data for fast re-formatting. Use when user ask
When should I use baoyu-youtube-transcript?
Downloads YouTube video transcripts/subtitles and cover images by URL or video ID. Supports multiple languages, translation, chapters, and speaker identification. Caches raw data for fast re-formatting. Use when user ask
Is baoyu-youtube-transcript safe to install?
Review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing in production.