YouTube transcript not working
YouTube transcript not working is almost always one of the messages below. Match what you see.
We read captions YouTube already stored. We don't listen to the audio.
Paste a URL or an 11-character id. Five fetches an hour, no account.
How to find the cause
- 1Paste the YouTube URL or the 11-character id.
- 2Press Get transcript.
- 3Match the message under the box to the table.
What the paste box shows
The box shows the message. Code is the error field when a request was sent. Rows with no code never left the browser.
| What you see | Code | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| That does not look like a YouTube link or video ID. | — | The box did not send a request. That paste is not a YouTube URL or an 11-character id. | Paste a watch, youtu.be, Shorts, or embed URL, or the 11-character id. |
| Could not reach the server. Try again. | — | The browser did not get a response. | Retry. If it keeps failing, the server is unreachable from here. |
| This video is unavailable. | video_unavailable | Deleted, private, or nonexistent. YouTube has no public video there. | Open the same link on YouTube. If YouTube has no video, there is nothing to fetch. |
| This video cannot be played. | video_unplayable | YouTube refuses playback. | If YouTube cannot play it, this tool cannot read a caption track from it either. |
| No captions are available for this video. | transcripts_disabled | No caption track exists. Not the same as turning CC off in the player. | Nothing. We don't invent a track from audio. |
| This is a live stream, so there is no recording to transcribe yet. | live_stream_unavailable | There is no caption file yet. We still do not transcribe audio. | Wait until the stream ends and a recording exists, then paste again. We still will not transcribe audio. |
| No transcript exists for the requested language. | transcript_not_found | A track exists, but not in that language. This paste box does not pick a language. | Use a video that already has a caption track. We don't translate. |
| This video is age-restricted. | age_restricted | Age-gated videos are not fetched. A limit, not a bug. | Use a public video that is not age-restricted. |
| This video cannot be fetched right now. Retry shortly. | po_token_required | YouTube required a PO token for this fetch. | Wait and retry shortly. |
| Upstream is rate limiting us. Retry shortly. | upstream_blocked | YouTube is rate limiting our fetch. Not the five-an-hour cap. | Wait and retry shortly. |
| Too many upstream fetches in flight. Retry shortly. | upstream_busy | Too many fetches in flight on our side. | Wait and retry shortly. |
| Upstream request failed. | upstream_error | The fetch failed for an unspecified upstream reason. | Retry. If the same video keeps failing, try a different public video that has captions. |
| Rate limit exceeded. Retry shortly. | rate_limited | Too many requests in a short window. Not the five-an-hour cap. | Wait and retry shortly. |
| Five successful transcripts this hour | — | The free cap is five fetches an hour. | Wait until the next hour. |
Limits, not bugs
- CC off. Hides the overlay. The track is still there, and we still fetch it.
- No captions. The creator never published a track. We don't invent one from audio.
- Age-restricted, private, live. We only read public videos that already have a caption file.
FAQ
Why is my YouTube transcript not working?
It matches one of the messages in the table. Read what the box shows, find that row, and follow What to do.
Do you transcribe the audio?
No. We read captions YouTube already has. If the video has none, we return nothing.
Does turning captions off in the player remove the transcript?
No. CC off only hides the overlay. Only a creator disabling captions removes the track.
How many transcripts can I get without an account?
Five fetches an hour, no account.
Does this work on age-restricted, private, or live videos?
No. Those are limits, not bugs. We only read public videos that already have a caption track.
Paste a link. Get the transcript.
Free, five an hour, no account.