If you’ve ever wanted a YouTube video’s captions as an actual file instead of scrolling through the transcript panel, this walkthrough covers the whole process — plus what to do when it doesn’t work on the first try.
Step 1: Confirm the video is public
DownSub can only read captions that YouTube itself exposes for a public video. Private videos, unlisted videos that still require a login, and members-only livestream replays won’t return anything, because the caption data isn’t publicly reachable in the first place.
Step 2: Copy the video URL
Grab the link from your browser’s address bar or YouTube’s own Share button. Both the standard youtube.com/watch?v= format and the shortened youtu.be/ format work.
Step 3: Paste it into DownSub and let it check for captions
Paste the URL into the subtitle tool and submit it. DownSub looks for manual captions first (the ones a creator or channel added on purpose), and falls back to auto-generated captions if that’s all the video has.
Step 4: Pick a language, if there’s more than one
Some videos carry captions in several languages. When that’s the case, a track selector appears so you can switch between them — the tool re-checks the source for that specific language track.
Step 5: Choose your output format
SRT is the safe default if you’re loading the file into a video editor, a media player, or an LMS. VTT is the better pick for a web video player or an HTML5 <track> element. TXT drops the timestamps entirely, which is what you want for a readable transcript, study notes, or a quick keyword search.
Step 6: Download the file, or just copy the text
If you only need the words — not a timed subtitle file — use the copy action to grab the plain transcript straight to your clipboard instead of downloading anything.
If it doesn’t work
- Double-check the video is genuinely public, not just unlisted-with-restrictions.
- Look for a CC or transcript icon on the YouTube player itself — if YouTube’s own UI doesn’t offer captions, nothing will.
- Try a different language if your first choice isn’t available for that specific video.
- Remember that auto-generated captions can be turned off by the uploader, in which case there may be nothing to extract at all.
A note on responsible use
Downloaded captions are still subject to copyright. Use them for videos you own, have permission to use, or where the law and YouTube’s own terms allow it — and don’t redistribute someone else’s transcript as your own.