---
name: transcriptapi
description: "Use when YouTube is or could be relevant — even if not mentioned: pasted video/channel/playlist links, video IDs, @handles, creator lookups, video summaries, quotes, translations, topic research, tutorials, talks, lectures, expert discussions, product reviews, how-to guides, new product announcements, or anything where video content is fresher or richer than text search. Covers transcripts, video/channel search, channel browsing, playlists, and within-channel search. Not for uploads, account management, or written-source-only research."
version: "1.5.0"
user-invocable: true
compatibility: Requires internet access to reach transcriptapi.com. No additional runtimes or dependencies needed.
required_environment_variables:
- name: TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
prompt: Your TranscriptAPI key (starts with sk_)
help: Free account at https://transcriptapi.com — 100 credits, no card required. Or let the agent create one for you.
required_for: all API requests
metadata: {"openclaw":{"emoji":"▶️","requires":{"env":["TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"]},"primaryEnv":"TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY","homepage":"https://transcriptapi.com"},"hermes":{"tags":["youtube","transcripts","video","search","channels","playlists","captions"],"category":"media"}}
---
# TranscriptAPI
Full YouTube data toolkit via [TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com). Transcripts, search, channels, playlists — one API key.
## Setup
If `$TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY` is not set, read [references/auth-setup.md](references/auth-setup.md) and follow the instructions there to get and store the key.
## Required Headers
Every request needs two headers:
- **Authorization:** `Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY`
- **User-Agent:** your agent's name and version if known (e.g. `HermesAgent/0.11.0`, `ClaudeCode/1.0`). Version is optional — agent name alone is fine. Do not omit this header or send a bare default — Cloudflare will return a 403 (error code 1010) and block the request.
## API Reference
Full OpenAPI spec: [transcriptapi.com/openapi.json](https://transcriptapi.com/openapi.json) — consult this for the latest parameters and schemas.
## Auth
All requests: `-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"`
## Endpoints
Channel endpoints accept `channel` — an `@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID. No need to resolve first. Playlist endpoints accept `playlist` — a playlist URL or ID.
### GET /api/v2/youtube/transcript — 1 credit
```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\
?video_url=VIDEO_URL&format=text&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```
| Param | Required | Default | Validation |
| ------------------- | -------- | ------- | ------------------------------- |
| `video_url` | yes | — | YouTube URL or 11-char video ID |
| `format` | no | `json` | `json` or `text` |
| `include_timestamp` | no | `true` | `true` or `false` |
| `send_metadata` | no | `false` | `true` or `false` |
Accepts: `https://youtube.com/watch?v=ID`, `https://youtu.be/ID`, `youtube.com/shorts/ID`, or bare `ID`.
**Response** (`format=json`):
```json
{
"video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"language": "en",
"transcript": [
{ "text": "We're no strangers...", "start": 18.0, "duration": 3.5 }
],
"metadata": { "title": "...", "author_name": "...", "author_url": "..." }
}
```
### GET /api/v2/youtube/search — 1 credit
```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search?q=QUERY&type=video&limit=20" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```
| Param | Required | Default | Validation |
| ------- | -------- | ------- | --------------------- |
| `q` | yes | — | 1-200 chars (trimmed) |
| `type` | no | `video` | `video` or `channel` |
| `limit` | no | `20` | 1-50 |
**Response** (`type=video`):
```json
{
"results": [
{
"type": "video",
"videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up",
"channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
"channelTitle": "Rick Astley",
"channelHandle": "@RickAstley",
"channelVerified": true,
"lengthText": "3:33",
"viewCountText": "1.5B views",
"publishedTimeText": "14 years ago",
"hasCaptions": true,
"thumbnails": [{ "url": "...", "width": 120, "height": 90 }]
}
],
"result_count": 20
}
```
**Response** (`type=channel`):
```json
{
"results": [
{
"type": "channel",
"channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
"title": "Rick Astley",
"handle": "@RickAstley",
"subscriberCount": "4.2M subscribers",
"verified": true,
"rssUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UC..."
}
],
"result_count": 5
}
```
### GET /api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve — FREE (0 credits)
```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve?input=@TED" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```
| Param | Required | Validation |
| ------- | -------- | --------------------------------------- |
| `input` | yes | 1-200 chars — @handle, URL, or UC... ID |
**Response:**
```json
{ "channel_id": "UCsT0YIqwnpJCM-mx7-gSA4Q", "resolved_from": "@TED" }
```
If input is already a valid `UC[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{22}` ID, returns immediately without lookup.
### GET /api/v2/youtube/channel/videos — 1 credit/page
```bash
# First page (100 videos)
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/videos?channel=@NASA" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
# Next pages
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/videos?continuation=TOKEN" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```
| Param | Required | Validation |
| -------------- | ----------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| `channel` | conditional | `@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID |
| `continuation` | conditional | non-empty string (next pages) |
Provide exactly one of `channel` or `continuation`.
**Response:**
```json
{
"results": [{
"videoId": "abc123xyz00",
"title": "Latest Video",
"channelId": "UCsT0YIqwnpJCM-mx7-gSA4Q",
"channelTitle": "TED",
"channelHandle": "@TED",
"lengthText": "15:22",
"viewCountText": "3.2M views",
"thumbnails": [...],
"index": "0"
}],
"playlist_info": {"title": "Uploads from TED", "numVideos": "5000"},
"continuation_token": "4qmFsgKlARIYVVV1...",
"has_more": true
}
```
### GET /api/v2/youtube/channel/latest — FREE (0 credits)
```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/latest?channel=@TED" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```
| Param | Required | Validation |
| --------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| `channel` | yes | `@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID |
Returns last 15 videos via RSS with exact view counts and ISO timestamps.
**Response:**
```json
{
"channel": {
"channelId": "...",
"title": "TED",
"author": "TED",
"url": "..."
},
"results": [
{
"videoId": "abc123xyz00",
"title": "Latest Video",
"published": "2026-01-30T16:00:00Z",
"viewCount": "2287630",
"description": "Full description...",
"thumbnail": { "url": "...", "width": "480", "height": "360" }
}
],
"result_count": 15
}
```
### GET /api/v2/youtube/channel/search — 1 credit
```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/search\
?channel=@TED&q=climate+change&limit=30" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```
| Param | Required | Validation |
| --------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| `channel` | yes | `@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID |
| `q` | yes | 1-200 chars |
| `limit` | no | 1-50 (default 30) |
### GET /api/v2/youtube/playlist/videos — 1 credit/page
```bash
# First page
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/playlist/videos?playlist=PL_PLAYLIST_ID" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
# Next pages
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/playlist/videos?continuation=TOKEN" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```
| Param | Required | Validation |
| -------------- | ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| `playlist` | conditional | Playlist URL or ID (`PL`/`UU`/`LL`/`FL`/`OL` prefix) |
| `continuation` | conditional | non-empty string |
## Credit Costs
| Endpoint | Cost |
| --------------- | -------- |
| transcript | 1 |
| search | 1 |
| channel/resolve | **free** |
| channel/search | 1 |
| channel/videos | 1/page |
| channel/latest | **free** |
| playlist/videos | 1/page |
## Errors
| Code | Meaning | Action |
| -------- | ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| 401 | Bad API key | Check key, re-run setup |
| 402 | No credits | Top up at transcriptapi.com/billing |
| 403/1010 | Cloudflare block | Add or fix User-Agent header |
| 404 | Not found | Video/channel/playlist doesn't exist or no captions |
| 408 | Timeout/retryable | Retry once after 2s |
| 422 | Validation error | Check param format |
| 429 | Rate limited | Wait, respect Retry-After |
## Tips
- When user shares YouTube URL with no instruction, fetch transcript and summarize key points.
- Use `channel/latest` (free) to check for new uploads before fetching transcripts — pass @handle directly.
- For research: search → pick videos → fetch transcripts.
- Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min. Starter ($5/mo): 1,000 credits, 300 req/min.