A simple and efficient package to scrape and parse captions (subtitles) from YouTube videos, supporting both user-submitted and auto-generated captions with language options.
npm install youtube-caption-extractorA lightweight package to scrape and parse captions (subtitles) from YouTube videos, supporting both user-submitted and auto-generated captions with language options. In addition, it can also retrieve the title and description of the YouTube video.
- 🎯 TypeScript Export Fix: The Subtitle interface is now properly exported, allowing TypeScript users to import and use it for type annotations
- 🔇 Universal Debug Logging: Replaced console.log pollution with a lightweight, universal debug logger that works in all environments (Node.js, Cloudflare Workers, Edge Runtime)
- 📦 Silent by Default: Library now produces zero log output in production, making it ideal for MCP servers
- Enhanced Serverless Support: Robust serverless deployment compatibility with automatic environment detection
- Improved Data Extraction: Multi-location search for video titles and descriptions with comprehensive fallback strategies
- Modern Transcript API: Integration with YouTube's engagement panel transcript system for better subtitle extraction
- Bot Detection Bypass: Advanced session management and header fingerprinting to avoid YouTube's anti-bot measures
- Dual Extraction Methods: Automatic fallback between XML captions and JSON transcript APIs
- Better Error Handling: Graceful degradation and detailed debugging for production troubleshooting
- TypeScript batteries included 🔋: The package is now shipped with TypeScript type definitions, making it easier to use in TypeScript projects.
- Node.js and Edge runtime support: The package now supports both Node.js and Edge runtime environments, expanding its usability across different platforms.
- Enhanced data extraction: The new getVideoDetails API can fetch not just the subtitles, but also the video's title and description.
``sh`
npm install youtube-caption-extractor
In a server-side environment or Node.js
`js
import {
getSubtitles,
getVideoDetails,
Subtitle,
} from 'youtube-caption-extractor';
// Fetching Subtitles
const fetchSubtitles = async (videoID, lang = 'en') => {
try {
const subtitles = await getSubtitles({ videoID, lang });
console.log(subtitles);
} catch (error) {
console.error('Error fetching subtitles:', error);
}
};
// Fetching Video Details
const fetchVideoDetails = async (videoID, lang = 'en') => {
try {
const videoDetails = await getVideoDetails({ videoID, lang });
console.log(videoDetails);
} catch (error) {
console.error('Error fetching video details:', error);
}
};
const videoID = 'video_id_here';
const lang = 'en'; // Optional, default is 'en' (English)
fetchSubtitles(videoID, lang);
fetchVideoDetails(videoID, lang);
`
`typescript
import {
getSubtitles,
getVideoDetails,
Subtitle,
VideoDetails,
} from 'youtube-caption-extractor';
const fetchSubtitles = async (
videoID: string,
lang = 'en'
): Promise
try {
const subtitles: Subtitle[] = await getSubtitles({ videoID, lang });
console.log(subtitles);
return subtitles;
} catch (error) {
console.error('Error fetching subtitles:', error);
return [];
}
};
const fetchVideoDetails = async (
videoID: string,
lang = 'en'
): Promise
try {
const details: VideoDetails = await getVideoDetails({ videoID, lang });
console.log(details);
return details;
} catch (error) {
console.error('Error fetching video details:', error);
throw error;
}
};
`
The library includes a lightweight, universal debug logger that works in all environments (Node.js, Cloudflare Workers, Edge Runtime, etc.). By default, it's silent in production.
`bashEnable debug logging
DEBUG=youtube-caption-extractor node your-script.js
Edge Runtime Compatibility: Unlike many logging libraries, our universal logger has zero Node.js dependencies and works seamlessly in Cloudflare Workers, Vercel Edge Functions, and other edge computing environments.
API
$3
-
(string) - The YouTube video ID
- lang (string) - Optional, the language code for the subtitles (e.g., 'en', 'fr', 'de'). Default is 'en' (English)Returns a promise that resolves to an array of subtitle objects with the following properties:
-
start (string) - The start time of the caption in seconds
- dur (string) - The duration of the caption in seconds
- text (string) - The text content of the caption$3
-
videoID (string) - The YouTube video ID
- lang (string) - Optional, the language code for the subtitles (e.g., 'en', 'fr', 'de'). Default is 'en' (English)Returns a promise that resolves to a VideoDetails object with the following properties:
-
title (string) - The title of the video
- description (string) - The description of the video
- subtitles (Subtitle[]) - An array of subtitle objects$3
The following TypeScript interfaces are exported for your use:
`typescript
interface Subtitle {
start: string; // Start time in seconds
dur: string; // Duration in seconds
text: string; // Caption text content
}interface VideoDetails {
title: string; // Video title
description: string; // Video description
subtitles: Subtitle[]; // Array of subtitle objects
}
`Note: The package automatically detects the deployment environment and uses the most appropriate method for data extraction. In serverless environments, it uses YouTube's engagement panel API for enhanced compatibility.
Deployment Environments
This package is optimized for both traditional server and serverless environments:
- ✅ Local Development: Full access to YouTube APIs with traditional caption extraction
- ✅ Traditional Servers: Works seamlessly with standard Node.js deployments
- ✅ Serverless Platforms: Auto-detects and adapts for Vercel, AWS Lambda, Netlify
- ✅ Edge Runtime: Full compatibility with Cloudflare Workers, Vercel Edge Functions, and other edge computing environments
- ✅ Zero Node.js Dependencies: Universal logging system works across all JavaScript runtimes
Handling CORS issues in client-side applications
When using this package in a client-side application, you might encounter CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) issues. To handle these issues, it's recommended to create a server-side API route that fetches subtitles on behalf of the client. This way, you can ensure that your application respects CORS policies while still being able to fetch subtitles and video details.
For example, in a Next.js project you can create an API route like this:
1. Create a new file under the pages/api folder, e.g.,
.
2. Inside the fetch-subtitles.js file, add the following code:`js
import { getSubtitles, getVideoDetails } from 'youtube-caption-extractor';export default async function handler(req, res) {
const { videoID, lang } = req.query;
try {
const subtitles = await getSubtitles({ videoID, lang }); // call this if you only need the subtitles
const videoDetails = await getVideoDetails({ videoID, lang }); // call this if you need the video title and description, along with the subtitles
res.status(200).json({ subtitles, videoDetails });
} catch (error) {
res.status(500).json({ error: error.message });
}
}
`3. Now, in your client-side component, you can fetch subtitles using the API route:
js
import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';const MyComponent = () => {
const [subtitles, setSubtitles] = useState([]);
const [videoDetails, setVideoDetails] = useState({});
const videoID = 'video_id_here';
const lang = 'en'; // Optional, default is 'en' (English)
useEffect(() => {
const fetchSubtitles = async (videoID, lang = 'en') => {
try {
const response = await fetch(
/api/fetch-subtitles?videoID=${videoID}&lang=${lang}
);
const data = await response.json();
setSubtitles(data.subtitles);
setVideoDetails(data.videoDetails);
} catch (error) {
console.error('Error fetching subtitles:', error);
}
}; fetchSubtitles(videoID, lang);
}, [videoID, lang]);
// Render your component with the fetched subtitles
};
ISC