/subtitles

name: subtitles
description: "Use when subtitles or the spoken text of a YouTube video is needed: pasted video links or IDs, requests to translate a video, read along, follow foreign-language content, or extract what was said. Also use for language learning or accessibility. Fetches timestamped subtitles from any YouTube video. Not for uploading subtitles or account management."
version: "1.5.0"
user-invocable: true
compatibility: Requires internet access to reach transcriptapi.com. No additional runtimes or dependencies needed.
required_environment_variables:
  - name: TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
    prompt: Your TranscriptAPI key (starts with sk_)
    help: Free account at https://transcriptapi.com — 100 credits, no card required. Or let the agent create one for you.
    required_for: all API requests
metadata: {"openclaw":{"emoji":"▶️","requires":{"env":["TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"]},"primaryEnv":"TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY","homepage":"https://transcriptapi.com"},"hermes":{"tags":["youtube","subtitles","captions","transcripts","video","translation","language-learning"],"category":"media"}}

Subtitles

Fetch YouTube video subtitles via [TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com).

Setup

If `$TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY` is not set, read [references/auth-setup.md](references/auth-setup.md) and follow the instructions there to get and store the key.

Required Headers

Every request needs two headers:

• **Authorization:** `Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY`
• **User-Agent:** your agent's name and version if known (e.g. `HermesAgent/0.11.0`, `ClaudeCode/1.0`). Version is optional — agent name alone is fine. Do not omit this header or send a bare default — Cloudflare will return a 403 (error code 1010) and block the request.

GET /api/v2/youtube/transcript

curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\
?video_url=VIDEO_URL&format=text&include_timestamp=false&send_metadata=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"

| Param | Values | Use case | | ------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | `video_url` | YouTube URL or video ID | Required | | `format` | `json`, `text` | `json` for sync'd subs with timing | | `include_timestamp` | `true`, `false` | `false` for clean text for reading/translation | | `send_metadata` | `true`, `false` | Include title, channel, description |

**For language learning** — clean text without timestamps:

curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\
?video_url=VIDEO_ID&format=text&include_timestamp=false" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"

**For translation** — structured segments:

curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\
?video_url=VIDEO_ID&format=json&include_timestamp=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"

**Response** (`format=json`):

{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "transcript": [
    { "text": "We're no strangers to love", "start": 18.0, "duration": 3.5 }
  ]
}

**Response** (`format=text`, `include_timestamp=false`):

{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "transcript": "We're no strangers to love\nYou know the rules and so do I..."
}

Tips

• Many videos have auto-generated subtitles in multiple languages.
• Use `format=json` to get timing for each line (great for sync'd reading).
• Use `include_timestamp=false` for clean text suitable for translation apps.

Errors

| Code | Meaning | Action | | -------- | ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | 401 | Bad API key | Check key | | 402 | No credits | transcriptapi.com/billing | | 403/1010 | Cloudflare block | Add or fix User-Agent header | | 404 | No subtitles | No subtitles available | | 408 | Timeout | Retry once after 2s |

1 credit per request. Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min.