youtube transcriber reads caption data that is already available to the YouTube watch page in your browser. It turns that data into a readable transcript in the desktop right column. It does not create speech recognition, upload the video, or guarantee a transcript when YouTube supplies no caption track.
The transcript pipeline
- You open a desktop YouTube watch page.
- The extension checks the page for an available caption track.
- It requests the caption lines for the current video and keeps a temporary per-video cache in Chrome extension storage.
- The panel renders the lines in the right column, above or near the related videos.
- Copy commands format those lines as plain text or text with timestamps.
With Automatic enabled, this process starts after navigation to a watch-page address. With automatic loading off, the extension waits for you to request the transcript. It does not scan unrelated videos in the background.
What happens when you select a line
Each transcript line retains its caption start time. Selecting a line sends that time to the player so the video seeks to the matching moment. Caption timing comes from the available track, so a line can begin slightly before or after the spoken phrase you expect.
How copying works
Copy produces readable plain text. Copy + time preserves timestamps for notes, citations, or review. Clipboard access is controlled by Chrome and the page context. It can be rejected on embedded players or restricted pages even when the transcript itself loaded correctly.
Cache and Refresh
The temporary cache avoids requesting the same transcript repeatedly while you work with one video. If a creator has changed the captions, select Refresh. Refresh clears the cached transcript for that video and requests the currently available track again.
Honest limits
- No caption track means there is no transcript for the extension to display.
- Music videos, active live streams, and some rights-restricted uploads may return no usable captions.
- The panel is designed for desktop watch pages. Mobile YouTube layouts are not currently optimized.
- The extension reads the track YouTube makes available; it does not correct caption wording or timing.
Privacy boundary
Transcript extraction happens for the page you opened in your browser. For details about local storage, analytics, and error reporting, read the Privacy Policy.