Guide

Get the transcript of a YouTube video

Sumvid doesn't offer transcript downloads inside its web app — YouTube already does that for free. Open the video, click the "..." menu under the player, and choose "Show transcript" to get the full text on YouTube itself, at no cost. What Sumvid adds is turning that transcript into an AI-written summary, or serving it programmatically through a pay-per-call HTTP API and MCP server built for developers and agents. If you just want to read along, use YouTube's transcript panel; if you want an AI summary or programmatic access, that's Sumvid.

Free

YouTube's own transcript panel

  1. 1. Open the video on youtube.com and let it start playing.
  2. 2. Click the "..." (more) menu below the video.
  3. 3. Select "Show transcript" — the full text appears alongside the video, free, with no sign-in required.

Programmatic

Sumvid's transcript API

Calling without payment returns a 402 price quote, so agents and scripts can discover pricing before holding any USDC. Full docs, pricing, and the MCP tool are on the tools page.

curl -i -X POST https://api.sumvid.app/v1/transcript \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"url": "https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ"}'
# → HTTP 402 with a PAYMENT-REQUIRED header: the price quote
#   (see /tools for the full pay-per-call flow)

Want the AI to read the transcript for you instead?

Get an AI summary instead

FAQ

Common questions

Does Sumvid let me download YouTube transcripts for free in the web app?
No — Sumvid's web app doesn't expose raw transcript downloads. YouTube's own built-in transcript panel is free and works right on youtube.com; Sumvid's transcript access is a paid, pay-per-call API and MCP tool built for developers and agents.
Where can I get a YouTube transcript programmatically?
Sumvid's transcript endpoint and MCP tool return a YouTube video's transcript as plain text, paid per call via x402 with no signup or API key. See the full endpoint documentation on the tools page.
Why doesn't Sumvid show transcripts in the app?
Sumvid's web app is built around AI-written summaries, not raw transcripts. If you want the unprocessed transcript text itself, YouTube's own panel or Sumvid's API/MCP tool are the two ways to get it.