# Save YouTube Subtitle (`entertained_rattlesnake/save-youtube-subtitle`) Actor

Transcribe YouTube videos by extracting subtitles and metadata, and push the results directly to the Apify Dataset.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/entertained\_rattlesnake/save-youtube-subtitle.md
- **Developed by:** [Entertained Rattlesnake](https://apify.com/entertained_rattlesnake) (community)
- **Categories:** AI, Developer tools, Videos
- **Stats:** 5 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $20.00 / 1,000 results

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

## Save YouTube Subtitle

Save YouTube subtitles/transcripts together with basic video metadata (title, channel, views).

Results are pushed directly to the Apify Dataset — no files are saved.

### Input

```json
{
  "timestamps": false,
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SieELGaJV8k"
  ]
}
```

- `startUrls` — list of YouTube video URLs.
- `timestamps` — if `true`, the returned `text` will include `[HH:MM:SS.mmm]` prefixes per line.

### Output

Each video produces one Dataset item. The dataset schema is defined in `.actor/dataset_schema.json` and includes two preset views in the Apify Console: **Overview** (all key fields) and **Transcript** (just the video and its text).

| Field | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `videoUrl` | `string` (uri) | Canonical URL of the YouTube video. |
| `videoId` | `string` | 11-character YouTube video identifier. |
| `videoTitle` | `string \| null` | Video title as reported by YouTube. |
| `channelName` | `string \| null` | Display name of the channel that published the video. |
| `views` | `string \| null` | View count at the time of extraction (raw value from YouTube). |
| `text` | `string` | Full transcript. Includes `[HH:MM:SS.mmm]` prefixes when `timestamps` is `true`. |

Example item:

```json
[
  {
    "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wg1A4m0VsA",
    "videoId": "2wg1A4m0VsA",
    "videoTitle": "El BIS lleva años explicándonos dónde encaja XRPL...",
    "channelName": "Fran De Olza",
    "views": "1933",
    "text": "El 27 de mayo de 2026, una de las instituciones..."
  }
]
```

### Proxy

The Actor tries Apify Datacenter Proxy first and falls back to Residential Proxy (US) only when datacenter requests fail. This minimises residential traffic costs.

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

List of YouTube video URLs to extract subtitles from.

## `timestamps` (type: `boolean`):

If true, prepends each line of the returned text with a timestamp.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SieELGaJV8k"
  ],
  "timestamps": false
}
```

# 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 = {
    "startUrls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SieELGaJV8k"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("entertained_rattlesnake/save-youtube-subtitle").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 = { "startUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SieELGaJV8k"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("entertained_rattlesnake/save-youtube-subtitle").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 '{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SieELGaJV8k"
  ]
}' |
apify call entertained_rattlesnake/save-youtube-subtitle --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/rsuwXnpy0UwolPjve/builds/tEVHdTK9qlmO71ezR/openapi.json