YouTube Transcript API

POST

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Pull the captions of a YouTube video as full text and timestamped segments, with the track language, available languages and channel details. language requests a track, but not every video has captions and automatic translation is not guaranteed.

Price $0.56 per 1,000 requests ($0.000556 per call). Failed calls and empty results are not charged. Synchronous. For slow jobs add "mode": "async" to the body, take the job_id and poll.

AI prompt

Paste this into your AI assistant. It already holds this endpoint's parameters, response fields and an example request, so the assistant can ask what you need and then write the scraper.

Please help me write a data collection script with the EveryInfra YouTube Transcript endpoint (youtube/transcript).

Endpoint contract:
- Request: POST https://api.everyinfra.com/api/v1/social with the header Authorization: Bearer <API key>. Read the key from the EVERYINFRA_API_KEY environment variable and never hard-code it.
- In the request body, set platform to youtube and action to transcript, and put the parameters inside params.
- Required parameters:
  - url: The target URL required by YouTube actions. Use full channel URLs for profile and user_posts, or specific watch?v= and share links for video, comments, and transcript.
- Optional parameters:
  - language: The requested language code for transcript content. Subtitles are returned based on available tracks; automatic translation is not guaranteed.
- Returns one object. Main fields: id, url, title, text, segments, language, available_languages, channel_id, channel_name, channel_username, view_count, like_count; 14 fields in total, full list at https://api.everyinfra.com/api/v1/social/catalog?platform=youtube.
- Example request body:
{
  "platform": "youtube",
  "action": "transcript",
  "params": {
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
  }
}
- Price: $0.56 per 1,000 requests; failed and empty results are not charged.
- For dozens or hundreds of targets, add "mode": "async" to the body: you get a job_id at once and poll GET https://api.everyinfra.com/api/v1/jobs/{job_id} for the result.
- On 422, fix the request using the suggested parameter names and allowed values in the error; on 429 or 503, wait for Retry-After and try again.

Before writing code, ask me which targets I need, how many, which fields, and what output format I want; then confirm the plan and the rough cost with me.

Request parameters

NameInTypeRequiredDefaultDescription
AuthorizationheaderstringYes-Bearer followed by your API key. Create it in the console; never put it in a URL or a code repository.
platformbodystringYesyoutubePlatform identifier, fixed value.
actionbodystringYestranscriptCapability identifier, fixed value.
urlbody.paramsNot declaredYes-The target URL required by YouTube actions. Use full channel URLs for profile and user_posts, or specific watch?v= and share links for video, comments, and transcript. Channel metadata is derived from published content, and comments does not return channel community board posts.
languagebody.paramsNot declaredNo-The requested language code for transcript content. Subtitles are returned based on available tracks; automatic translation is not guaranteed.

Code samples

bash
curl -X POST 'https://api.everyinfra.com/api/v1/social' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $EVERYINFRA_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
  "platform": "youtube",
  "action": "transcript",
  "params": {
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
  }
}'

[OpenAPI definition (JSON)]Samples read the key from the EVERYINFRA_API_KEY environment variable; copied code never contains your key.

Response example

Real response

Captured September 26, 2026 at 08:56 (UTC) by calling this API with the parameters in the code sample above. results and count are that call's real response with personal information (names, handles, avatars, profile links, contact details) removed. id, billing and quota differ on every call, so only their shape is shown.

json
{
  "id": "req_…",
  "platform": "youtube",
  "action": "transcript",
  "results": {
    "id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video) (4K Remaster)",
    "text": "[♪♪♪] ♪ We're no strangers to love ♪ ♪ You know the rules\nand so do I ♪ ♪ A full commitment's\nwhat I'm thinking of ♪ ♪ You wouldn't get this\nfrom any other guy ♪ ♪ I just wanna tell you\nhow I'm feeling ♪ ♪ Gotta make you understand ♪ ♪ Never gonna give you up ♪ ♪ Never gonna let …",
    "language": "en",
    "available_languages": [
      "English",
      "German (Germany)",
      "Japanese"
    ],
    "channel_id": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
    "channel_name": "Rick Astley",
    "channel_username": "(已隐去)",
    "view_count": 1820151607,
    "like_count": 19421468,
    "comment_count": 2457642,
    "posted_at": "2009-10-25T06:57:33+00:00",
    "platform": "youtube"
  },
  "billing": {
    "charged": …,
    "charged_usd": …,
    "balance_after_usd": …,
    …
  },
  "quota": { … }
}

Response fields

Business data is in results. The table lists the fields a record can contain; values the platform does not show are never made up.

FieldMeaning
idThe record's unique ID on the platform. Unique only within one platform; IDs can repeat across platforms.
urlLink to the record on the platform.
titleTitle. null when the platform has no titles (for example text-only posts).
textBody text with HTML removed, returned in full and never cut short (on a few platforms the list results themselves carry only an excerpt; the platform's field notes say so).
segmentsKeeps the platform's own meaning
languageContent language code (for example zh, en) as judged by the platform; it can be wrong.
available_languagesKeeps the platform's own meaning
channel_idKeeps the platform's own meaning
channel_nameKeeps the platform's own meaning
channel_usernameKeeps the platform's own meaning
view_countViews or plays. null means not disclosed, not 0.
like_countLikes. null means the platform or this capability does not disclose it; it is not 0.
comment_countComments. null means not disclosed, not 0.
posted_atPublish time in ISO 8601, UTC (for example 2026-08-07T12:34:56+00:00). Non-standard strings from the platform are passed through as is, so parse defensively. null means the platform does not disclose it.
platformSource platform identifier, the same as platform in the request (for example xiaohongshu, tiktok).

Errors and billing

401
Missing or invalid key. Authentication runs before parameter checks, so unauthenticated requests never see the parameter schema.
422
Wrong parameter name or value. The error lists the parameters and allowed values this capability accepts and the closest match; it happens before any charge.
402
Insufficient balance. Top up first.
429
The account's per-minute request limit was reached (all of its API keys count together; a key's own lower limit applies first). Wait for Retry-After and try again; a rate package in the console raises the limit.
503
Could not complete right now. Any charge for the call goes back to your balance automatically, and the billing receipt in the response states the actual outcome, including when it is not yet known. Do not resend blindly.
200 empty
The request completed without data and is not charged (billing.reason = empty_result_refunded).