YouTube to Markdown
Convert an available YouTube transcript to clean Markdown for research notes, learning notes, and documentation.
Supports watch, mobile, Shorts, live, embed, and youtu.be video links. A transcript must be available.
Conversion Result
Turn a YouTube transcript into Markdown
Paste a public YouTube video URL to extract a transcript track that YouTube makes available. The converter prefers English and otherwise uses the first exposed track. It does not watch the video, transcribe audio, or write an AI summary.
Useful for
- Research and study notes
- Webinar and meeting recaps you write from the source
- Searchable knowledge-base or RAG drafts
- Transcript review and citation workflows
Before you convert
Conversion depends on the video and transcript data available to the service. Private, age- or region-restricted, deleted, transcript-disabled, or temporarily blocked videos may not return content. Automatic captions can be selected when exposed; review names, numbers, and technical terms before using the result.
Supported links
youtube.com/watch, mobile, Shorts, live, embed, and
youtu.be links are accepted. Playlist-only URLs are rejected. A
watch URL with a playlist parameter processes only the video in v.
Observed conversion snapshot
In an earlier August 12, 2026 observation with youtube-transcript-api 1.2.4,
the source URL below exposed a manually created English track. This is a raw output
excerpt from that observation, not a promise that the external video can be replayed.
A later production smoke test on the same date returned TRANSCRIPT_UNAVAILABLE.
Source availability and the service's outbound access can change at any time.
# YouTube Transcript
- **Video:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw
- **Language:** English (`en`)
## Transcript
All right, so here we are, in front of the elephants ...What the current output contains
Use this as a support contract, not a claim about every video.
| Field | Current behavior |
|---|---|
| Transcript text | Included as joined text when a track is available. |
| Source and language | Included in Markdown; language code and generated flag are also API metadata. |
| Timestamps | Not included in the current Markdown output. |
| Title and description | Not fetched or added. |
| Summary or notes | Not generated; write and verify these from the transcript. |
| Language selector | Not available; English is preferred, then the first exposed track. |
Use the transcript in a reviewed workflow
YouTube to Markdown FAQ
Which YouTube URL formats are supported?
Watch, mobile, Shorts, live, embed, and youtu.be video links are accepted. Playlist-only URLs are not supported; a watch URL with playlist parameters processes only its v video.
Why did a YouTube video return no transcript?
The video must expose a transcript to the transcript service. Private, age- or region-restricted, deleted, transcript-disabled, or temporarily blocked videos can return TRANSCRIPT_UNAVAILABLE.
Can I select the transcript language?
Not in the current interface. The converter prefers an English track and otherwise uses the first transcript exposed for the video. A manually created English track is preferred over auto-generated English.
Are automatic captions supported?
Yes, when YouTube exposes an automatic-caption track. The API response identifies the selected language and whether that track is generated so you can review it accordingly.
Does the output include timestamps, title, description, or a summary?
No. Markdown contains the source URL, selected transcript language, and joined transcript text. The API metadata also returns the video ID, language code, generated-caption flag, and engine.
Can I download the YouTube result as Markdown?
Yes. After conversion, you can copy the result or download it as a plain .md file.