[YouTube] Fetch Captions
The [YouTube] Fetch Captions block retrieves the captions or transcript for a given YouTube video.
Retrieve captions and transcripts from YouTube videos
The [YouTube] Fetch Captions block retrieves the captions or transcript for a given YouTube video. You provide a video URL and a language code, and the block fetches the available transcript for that video in the specified language. You can also specify a destination variable to store the output and choose between two export formats: plain text or JSON.
The block returns a transcripts array, where each element contains a text string and a start timestamp (in seconds). When exported as text, the output is formatted as timestamped plain text. When exported as JSON, you get the structured array of transcript segments directly. The destination variable stores whichever format you select, making it straightforward to pass the data to downstream blocks.
This block fits into workflows that need to process or analyze spoken content from YouTube videos — for example, summarizing a video, extracting quotes, generating searchable content, or feeding transcript data into an AI model for further analysis. It works well as an early step in a pipeline that combines transcript retrieval with text processing or storage blocks.
What you can build
Real-world workflows powered by the [YouTube] Fetch Captions block.
Summarize Video Content
Fetch a video's transcript and pass it to an AI block to generate a concise summary of the spoken content.
Build Searchable Video Index
Retrieve transcripts from multiple YouTube videos and store the timestamped segments in a database for full-text search.
Translate Video Transcripts
Pull captions in one language and route the text through a translation block to produce a transcript in another language.
Extract Quotes and Highlights
Use the structured JSON output to identify and extract specific segments or quotes from a video based on keywords or timestamps.
Generate Study Notes
Fetch lecture or tutorial video captions and feed the transcript into an AI block to produce structured study notes or outlines.
Monitor Channel for Topics
Retrieve transcripts from new videos on a channel and scan the text for mentions of specific topics or keywords.
Ready to add [YouTube] Fetch Captions to your workflow?
Get Started FreeCommon questions about [YouTube] Fetch Captions
What parameters are required to use this block?
The required parameters are videoUrl (the YouTube video URL) and exportType (either 'text' or 'json'). The language parameter (a language code such as 'en') is also part of the block's configuration. The destinationVar field is optional and specifies which variable will store the formatted output.
What does the block return?
The block returns a transcripts array. Each element in the array contains a text field (the caption text for that segment) and a start field (a number representing the start time of that segment in seconds).
What is the difference between the 'text' and 'json' export types?
The 'text' export type produces timestamped plain text, while the 'json' export type produces the structured transcript data as an array of objects. The choice affects what gets stored in the destination variable.
Can this block retrieve captions in languages other than English?
Yes. The language parameter accepts a language code (for example, 'en' for English), allowing you to request captions in any language that is available for the given video.
What kinds of workflows commonly use this block?
This block is commonly used as an early step in workflows that process video content — such as summarization pipelines, translation workflows, content indexing systems, or any workflow that needs to analyze or store the spoken content of a YouTube video.
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Add [YouTube] Fetch Captions to your workflow
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