# Subtitle Translator — SRT & VTT into Any Language (`dami_studio/subtitle-translator`) Actor

Localize a video into ten languages before lunch. Paste an SRT or VTT (or a video URL to transcribe first), pick your target languages, and get back clean translated SRT and VTT per language with every original cue timing preserved exactly. $0.05 per language. Drops straight into your editor.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/dami\_studio/subtitle-translator.md
- **Developed by:** [Dami's Studio](https://apify.com/dami_studio) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, For creators, AI
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $50.00 / 1,000 subtitle languages

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Subtitle Translator (SRT & VTT)

Translate a subtitle file into several languages in one run. Paste in an SRT or VTT, or hand it a video URL to transcribe first, choose your target languages, and get back clean translated SRT and VTT with the original timings untouched. Built for localization and accessibility work where you need the same captions in five languages without re-doing the timing by hand.

### How it works

It parses your input into cues, sends the text (not the timestamps) to an AI model for translation, and re-emits each cue with its original start/end times. If you pass a `videoUrl` instead of subtitle text, it transcribes the audio first and then translates the result.

### Input

| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| `targetLanguages` | yes | List of ISO 639-1 codes, e.g. `["es", "fr", "de"]`. One result per language. |
| `subtitles` | one of these | Raw SRT or VTT text to translate. |
| `videoUrl` | one of these | Video link to transcribe first, then translate. Use this when you don't already have a subtitle file. |
| `outputFormat` | no | `srt`, `vtt`, or `both`. Defaults to both. |
| `openaiApiKey` | no | Your own OpenAI key for the translation/transcription step. Without one, runs fall back to the default quota where available. |

Provide either `subtitles` or `videoUrl`, not both. `targetLanguages` is the only field you always have to set.

### Output

The dataset holds one item per target language, each with the translated subtitle file as text in the requested format(s). Key fields: `language` (the ISO code), `srt` and/or `vtt` (the translated content), and `format`. Original cue timings are preserved exactly, so the output drops straight back into your player or editor.

### Example

```json
{
  "subtitles": "1\n00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,000\nHello, welcome to the show.\n",
  "targetLanguages": ["es", "fr", "de"],
  "outputFormat": "both"
}
```

### Pricing

$0.05 per language, pay per result, no subscription. Bring your own OpenAI key for the AI translation and transcription steps.

### Notes

Translation quality tracks the underlying model, so long idioms and very domain-specific terms may need a human pass. Transcribing from a `videoUrl` adds time and depends on the audio being clear; if you already have accurate captions, pasting the subtitle text directly is faster and more reliable.

# Actor input Schema

## `subtitles` (type: `string`):

Paste your SRT or VTT subtitle text. Leave empty to auto-transcribe a video instead.

## `videoUrl` (type: `string`):

If no subtitles are provided, a public video/audio URL is transcribed first (needs OpenAI key).

## `targetLanguages` (type: `array`):

One or more languages to translate into (ISO codes: es, fr, de, hi, ar, pt, ja, zh…).

## `sourceLanguage` (type: `string`):

Language of the input, or 'auto'.

## `outputFormat` (type: `string`):

Which subtitle files to produce.

## `openaiApiKey` (type: `string`):

Your OpenAI key — for translation (and transcription if a video is given). Kept private.

## `translationModel` (type: `string`):

Chat model. Default gpt-4o-mini.

## `baseUrl` (type: `string`):

OpenAI-compatible base URL. Default https://api.openai.com/v1.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "subtitles": "1\n00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000\nThis is a sample subtitle line.\n\n2\n00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,000\nProvide your subtitles and API key for real translation.",
  "targetLanguages": [
    "es",
    "fr",
    "de"
  ],
  "sourceLanguage": "auto",
  "outputFormat": "both",
  "translationModel": "gpt-4o-mini"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Result rows / metadata are stored in the default dataset (one row per item).

## `files` (type: `string`):

Generated media/files (video, audio, images, captions) are stored in the default key-value store.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "subtitles": `1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000
This is a sample subtitle line.

2
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,000
Provide your subtitles and API key for real translation.`,
    "targetLanguages": [
        "es",
        "fr",
        "de"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("dami_studio/subtitle-translator").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "subtitles": """1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000
This is a sample subtitle line.

2
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,000
Provide your subtitles and API key for real translation.""",
    "targetLanguages": [
        "es",
        "fr",
        "de",
    ],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("dami_studio/subtitle-translator").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "subtitles": "1\\n00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000\\nThis is a sample subtitle line.\\n\\n2\\n00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,000\\nProvide your subtitles and API key for real translation.",
  "targetLanguages": [
    "es",
    "fr",
    "de"
  ]
}' |
apify call dami_studio/subtitle-translator --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=dami_studio/subtitle-translator",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/48gfm2ZVwd6vuQpea/builds/NjtsFbJyIXtCEf7Qi/openapi.json