youtube-transcribe-yt-dlp

YouTube Transcript with yt-dlp Only

Overview

Extract subtitle tracks from YouTube and produce transcript text files with yt-dlp only. Core principle: subtitle extraction only, never video/audio download, never browser automation.

When to Use

• User asks for YouTube transcript, captions, subtitles, or subtitle-to-text export.
• User provides one or more YouTube URLs (youtube.com/watch, youtu.be, youtube.com/shorts).
• User wants a fast CLI workflow with yt-dlp.

When NOT to Use

• User asks for full speech-to-text transcription from audio.
• User asks to download video or audio files.
• User requires browser automation tools.

Hard Rules

• Use yt-dlp only.
• Always include --skip-download.
• Never use browser automation fallback.
• Never download video/audio for transcription.
• If subtitles are unavailable, report clearly and stop.

Quick Reference

Goal	Command
List available subtitle languages	yt-dlp --list-subs "<URL>"
Download manual + auto subs only	yt-dlp --skip-download --write-subs --write-auto-subs --sub-langs "en.*,en" --sub-format "vtt" -o "%(title).180B [%(id)s].%(ext)s" "<URL>"
Restrict filename characters	Add --restrict-filenames

Workflow

digraph youtube_transcript_flow {
  rankdir=TB;
  "Valid YouTube URL?" [shape=diamond];
  "Check yt-dlp available" [shape=box];
  "List subtitle tracks" [shape=box];
  "Any subtitle track available?" [shape=diamond];
  "Download subs with --skip-download" [shape=box];
  "Convert VTT/SRT to TXT" [shape=box];
  "Report output files" [shape=box];
  "Stop: explain limitation" [shape=box];

  "Valid YouTube URL?" -> "Check yt-dlp available" [label="yes"];
  "Valid YouTube URL?" -> "Stop: explain limitation" [label="no"];
  "Check yt-dlp available" -> "List subtitle tracks";
  "List subtitle tracks" -> "Any subtitle track available?";
  "Any subtitle track available?" -> "Download subs with --skip-download" [label="yes"];
  "Any subtitle track available?" -> "Stop: explain limitation" [label="no"];
  "Download subs with --skip-download" -> "Convert VTT/SRT to TXT";
  "Convert VTT/SRT to TXT" -> "Report output files";
}