How to download a YouTube transcript as TXT, SRT or PDF
Save YouTube captions as editable notes or subtitle files. Follow the copy-and-save steps, or use subtitle.im to download TXT, SRT and PDF.
To download a YouTube transcript, open Show transcript in the video description, copy the text and save it in a text editor. If you do this often, subtitle.im can download available captions as a free TXT file. Pro also offers SRT, VTT, Markdown and PDF.
For editable notes, TXT is a good starting point. Here is how to save the text, then choose a different format if you need one.
Copy the transcript directly from YouTube
For an occasional quote or set of notes, use YouTube's own transcript on your computer:
- Open the video description and select Show transcript.
- Select the passage you need and copy it.
- Paste it into a text editor and save it as a
.txtfile.
Check the first and last lines before saving. It is easy to miss a line or copy a button label along with the text. Keep the video URL in your notes so you can return to it later. You can also click a transcript line to jump to that moment, as described in YouTube's transcript help.
If Show transcript is missing, see the troubleshooting section below.
Download a transcript with subtitle.im
1. Install the extension and open Transcript
Follow the installation guide in a supported desktop browser, then open a YouTube video with captions. Refresh the video page if it was open before you installed the extension.
Select Transcript below the video, or open it from the extension popup. You can search for a phrase or click a line to revisit the video. Check the selected language before downloading. If the panel says that only part of the transcript is available, the download will contain that part.
The screenshots use Stanford's video of Steve Jobs' commencement address, with a Chinese interface and English captions. They were captured in subtitle.im 1.7.0 on November 5, 2026. Your installed version may look different.
2. Choose the text and download it
Download the loaded transcript, or select a passage first if you only need one explanation from a lecture.
For text documents, the settings let you choose lines or paragraphs and turn timestamps on or off. Keeping the title and source link will help you find the video again.
Open the download menu and choose TXT to save it for free. The other formats serve different purposes.
Which format should you choose?
| Format and access | What to use it for |
|---|---|
| TXT (free) | Edit text, take notes or copy it into an AI tool |
| SRT (Pro) | Import subtitles into a compatible editor or player |
| VTT (Pro) | Use captions in a WebVTT-compatible web player |
| Markdown (Pro) | Organize notes in a Markdown editor |
| PDF (Pro) | Print the transcript or save a reading copy |
PDF uses browser printing. Choose PDF, select Save as PDF in the print window, then check the page breaks and layout before saving.
If you want to keep just a few pages or remove blank pages from the saved transcript, PDF Fan can split the file or delete pages for free in your browser.
SRT and VTT need accurate start and end times for each caption. If the transcript is incomplete or reliable timing is missing, those downloads may be unavailable. Pro cannot supply missing data; TXT is an option for saving the text you have.
Download with or without timestamps
Keep timestamps when you plan to revisit an explanation or quote a speaker. A note marked [05:10] tells you where to look in the video.
For uninterrupted reading, turn timestamps off in the text settings before downloading TXT. SRT and VTT are different: their timing tells a player when each caption should appear, so it stays in the file.
When you save only part of a lecture, label your notes as an excerpt so you do not mistake them for the whole lesson later.
What if the transcript is missing or incomplete?
Captions you can switch with YouTube's CC button are separate from words a creator has placed inside the video image. Those visible words may have no caption track to download. subtitle.im reads existing captions; it does not turn audio or text in the image into a new transcript. The download contains text, not video or audio.
A newly uploaded video may still be waiting for automatic captions. YouTube's automatic caption guidance explains processing delays and problems related to audio quality and language. Check again later if processing is the likely cause.
For a partial transcript, read the panel's notice and compare its beginning and end with the video. If a name or number looks wrong, replay that passage. Changing the file format will not fix errors in the captions.
To try it, install subtitle.im and download a free TXT file from a captioned video. The help page has details on formats and usage limits.
Manage existing YouTube captions with subtitle.im.
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