How to See and Copy a YouTube Transcript (Desktop, iPhone & Android)
On a computer: click the description under the video to expand it, scroll to the bottom and click Show transcript. The transcript opens beside the video, and you can select the text and copy it. In the YouTube app you can open the transcript the same way, but you can't select or copy it — for that, paste the video link into youtube-transcript.ai and tap Copy.
The rest of this guide shows exactly where the button is on each device, how to copy the text cleanly (with or without timestamps), and what to do when the button isn't there.
Where the transcript is:
- Computer: expanded description → Show transcript. Copy works.
- YouTube app (iPhone, Android): tap the title → Transcript → Show transcript. Read only, no copy.
- Phone browser, embedded videos, TV apps: no transcript button at all.
- Shorts: no transcript button on any device — see the Shorts guide.
How to Show the Transcript on YouTube (Desktop)
The transcript button is not in the row of buttons under the video. Most people look there, don't find it, and conclude the video has no transcript.
Step 1Open the video on youtube.com
Any desktop browser works: Chrome, Safari, Edge or Firefox.
Step 2Expand the description
Click the description box under the video title (or the …more link in it).
Step 3Click "Show transcript"
Scroll to the bottom of the expanded description. Under Transcript, click Show transcript. A panel opens beside the video with every line and its timestamp. Click a line to jump the video to that moment.
Not there? On some layouts the option sits in the … (more) menu next to Share and Save instead. If it's in neither place, YouTube isn't showing a caption track for your session — here is what usually causes that and how to get around it.
How to Copy a YouTube Transcript on a Computer
Step 1Open the transcript panel
Follow the three steps above.
Step 2Turn timestamps off (optional)
Click the three-dot menu at the top of the transcript panel and choose Toggle timestamps. Skip this if you want the times in your copy.
Step 3Drag-select the lines
Click just before the first line, then drag down to the last one. The panel scrolls as you drag. Don't press Ctrl+A: it selects the whole YouTube page, comments and all.
Step 4Copy and paste
Press Ctrl+C (Cmd+C on a Mac) and paste wherever you need it.
What you'll get: every caption line on its own line, usually a few words each. Automatic captions often have no punctuation either — in our study of YouTube's auto-captions, a fifth had no sentence punctuation at all. Fine for skimming, awkward to read or quote.
The one-click way
Paste the video link into youtube-transcript.ai and press Copy. The whole transcript goes to your clipboard as paragraphs, without timestamps, and with no dragging. The copy menu also has a timestamped version and a version with a ready-made AI prompt for ChatGPT or Claude.
Copy any YouTube transcript in one click
Free, no sign-up, works the same on a phone.
Get the TranscriptHow to See the Transcript in the YouTube App (iPhone & Android)
- Open the video in the YouTube app, in portrait mode (the option disappears in landscape).
- Tap the video title to open the description.
- Scroll down to the Transcript row and tap Show transcript.
The transcript scrolls along with the video and you can tap a line to jump there. What you can't do is select the text: the app doesn't allow it.
How to Copy a YouTube Transcript on iPhone or Android
Because the app won't let you select the transcript, copying on a phone takes a detour through the browser.
Option A: Paste the link into a transcript tool (fastest)
- In the YouTube app, tap Share → Copy link.
- Open Safari (iPhone) or Chrome (Android) and go to
youtube-transcript.ai. - Paste the link and tap Copy. The whole transcript is now on your clipboard.
Then paste it into Notes, Google Docs, WhatsApp or a chatbot. On an iPad the steps are the same — here's the iPad version.
Option B: Request the desktop site
- Open the video on
youtube.comin Safari or Chrome, not in the app. - Tap aA (Safari) or the three-dot menu (Chrome) and choose Request Desktop Website.
- Follow the desktop steps above. Selecting text by dragging on a small screen is fiddly, so expect to try more than once.
How to Copy a Transcript Without Timestamps
- On YouTube: transcript panel → three-dot menu → Toggle timestamps, then select and copy. You still get one short line per caption.
- On youtube-transcript.ai: the Copy button leaves timestamps out by default and joins the lines into paragraphs. More in the transcript without timestamps guide.
How to Save a YouTube Transcript as a File
YouTube has no download button for transcripts. To keep one as a .txt or .srt file, paste the link into the transcript downloader and pick a format from the Download menu. If you just need the text in a document, copying and pasting is quicker.
How to Translate a YouTube Transcript
YouTube can auto-translate captions, but the transcript panel shows only the languages the video actually has. To read a transcript in another language, pick your language on youtube-transcript.ai and read it translated or with both languages side by side. Step-by-step examples are in our subtitle translation guide.
Troubleshooting: "Show Transcript" Is Missing
| Cause | What to do |
|---|---|
| You're looking in the button row under the video | It's at the bottom of the expanded description, or in the … menu |
| You're in a phone browser, an embedded player or a TV app | These have no transcript button. Use the YouTube app or a computer, or paste the link into a transcript tool |
| It's a Short | Shorts never show a transcript button. Get a Shorts transcript |
| The video has no captions at all (music, no speech, captions turned off) | There's nothing to show. If someone is speaking, AI can transcribe the audio |
| The video was uploaded minutes ago | Rarely the real reason: in our data on 245,703 videos, brand-new uploads were 0.36% of videos without captions. One retry later is enough |
More symptoms, like a panel that opens but stays blank, are covered in YouTube transcript not working.
Which Way Should You Use?
| You want to… | Use |
|---|---|
| Read along while you watch | YouTube's transcript panel (computer or app) |
| Copy a few lines to quote | YouTube's panel on a computer, drag-select |
| Copy the whole transcript | youtube-transcript.ai → Copy |
| Copy anything on a phone | youtube-transcript.ai in Safari or Chrome |
| Paste it into ChatGPT or Claude | youtube-transcript.ai → Copy with AI prompt |
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I show the transcript on YouTube?
On a computer, click the description under the video to expand it, scroll to the bottom and click Show transcript. In the YouTube app, tap the video title, scroll down to the Transcript row and tap Show transcript. The mobile website and embedded players have no transcript button.
How do I copy a transcript from YouTube?
On a computer, open the transcript panel, turn timestamps off in the panel's three-dot menu, drag-select from the first line to the last and press Ctrl+C. Each caption line pastes as its own line. For one block of text, paste the video link into youtube-transcript.ai and press Copy.
Why can't I copy the transcript of a YouTube video?
In the YouTube app the transcript can be read but not selected, so there is nothing to copy. The mobile website has no transcript panel at all. On a computer copying works, but Ctrl+A selects the whole page instead of the transcript, so drag-select the lines instead.
How do I copy a YouTube transcript on my phone?
In the YouTube app, tap Share, then Copy link. Open youtube-transcript.ai in Safari or Chrome, paste the link and tap Copy. The whole transcript goes to your clipboard, ready to paste into Notes, a doc or a chatbot.
How do I copy a YouTube transcript without timestamps?
In the transcript panel on a computer, open the three-dot menu and choose Toggle timestamps before you select the text. On youtube-transcript.ai the Copy button leaves timestamps out by default.
How can I check if a YouTube video has a transcript?
Look for Show transcript at the bottom of the expanded description, or for the CC button in the player. Neither is fully reliable, because YouTube hides the button on some devices and layouts. Pasting the link into a transcript tool checks every caption track directly.
Why does the YouTube transcript have wrong words?
Most transcripts come from YouTube's automatic captions. When we measured them on 264 videos the median word error rate was 9.9%, worse with accents, background noise and technical terms. Captions the creator uploaded are much more accurate. Details in our accuracy study.
Is copying a YouTube transcript legal?
Reading and copying the captions YouTube already shows every viewer is fine for personal notes, study, research and accessibility. Be careful about republishing large parts of someone else's video word for word.
What's Next?
Now that you have a transcript, here's how to get more value out of it:
- Summarize a YouTube video with AI — turn a 1-hour video into 3 bullet points
- Turn a YouTube video into notes — chapter outline, key points, or study questions
- Get the transcript of a YouTube Short — the Shorts player has no transcript button
- Get a transcript when the video has no captions — AI transcribes the audio
- Translate YouTube subtitles to any language — better than YouTube's auto-translate
- Compare the 9 transcription tools worth considering — free tiers, languages, and measured speed side by side