YouTube to text · Local · Free
Transcribe YouTube video to text
To transcribe a YouTube video to text, copy the video URL, paste it into MacParakeet, and export TXT, SRT, VTT, or JSON. MacParakeet downloads the audio from YouTube, then transcribes it locally on your Mac at about 155x realtime. This is full speech transcription, not caption extraction, so it works even when no YouTube captions exist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=... macOS 14.2+ · Apple Silicon · Free & open source · GPL-3.0 · no account
Why use MacParakeet for YouTube transcription?
A YouTube transcript is useful when a video is worth reading, searching, citing, captioning, or turning into notes. The problem is that YouTube captions are inconsistent. Some videos have polished captions, some only have automatic captions, and many have no transcript track at all.
MacParakeet treats the YouTube video as audio, not as a caption file. It downloads the audio from the source, runs local speech recognition on Apple Silicon, and gives you files you can keep. That makes it a better fit for research interviews, talks, product demos, lectures, podcast-style videos, and long tutorials.
- Researchers can search a full transcript instead of scrubbing through the player.
- Creators can generate SRT or VTT captions for clips and republished edits.
- Teams can turn webinars and walkthroughs into notes without uploading media to a cloud STT service.
Caption extraction vs full transcription
Use the right tool for the source you have. Existing captions are quick to extract, but full local transcription covers videos with no captions.
/tools/youtube-transcript/
Best when the YouTube video already has captions. It runs in the browser and extracts the caption track that YouTube exposes.
Extract existing captions →MacParakeet app
Best when captions are missing, unreliable, or not enough. The app transcribes the actual audio locally and exports TXT, SRT, VTT, or JSON.
Download the Mac app →How to transcribe YouTube videos on your Mac
Paste the URL, let the app fetch the audio, then export the transcript or captions. No account, no credit card, and no transcription upload.
- 1
Copy the YouTube video URL
Open the video on YouTube and copy the watch URL. Public and unlisted videos are the best fit. Private, member-only, age-gated, or DRM-protected videos may not be reachable from a URL alone.
- 2
Paste the URL into MacParakeet
Open MacParakeet, go to the Transcribe tab, and paste the YouTube link. The app downloads the audio from YouTube, then runs speech recognition locally on your Mac.
- 3
Let local transcription run
MacParakeet uses NVIDIA Parakeet v3 by default on Apple Silicon and transcribes at about 155x realtime. Optional WhisperKit support adds multilingual transcription across 98 languages.
- 4
Export TXT, SRT, VTT, or JSON
Copy the transcript for notes, or export timestamped SRT or VTT captions. Use JSON when you need structured output for search, automation, or an AI workflow.
Prefer the terminal? One command does the download and local transcription:
$ macparakeet-cli transcribe "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<id>" --format json
Install with brew install moona3k/tap/macparakeet-cli. Add --output-dir to batch a list of links. See the agent & CLI guide →
What "local" means here, honestly
A YouTube URL still needs the network: MacParakeet downloads the audio from YouTube before it can transcribe it. After that, speech recognition runs on your Mac with NVIDIA Parakeet v3 by default, using the Apple Neural Engine at about 155x realtime.
Nothing is uploaded to a transcription service. Optional WhisperKit support adds 98-language multilingual transcription, and all exported files stay on your machine unless you choose to share them.
Transcribe videos you own, made, or have permission to use. Private, paid, login-only, or DRM-protected YouTube content may not be reachable from a pasted URL.
Frequently asked
How is this different from the YouTube transcript tool?
The browser YouTube transcript tool extracts captions that already exist on YouTube. This page is about full speech transcription in the Mac app: MacParakeet downloads the audio and transcribes it locally, so it can work even when the video has no captions.
Does it work when a YouTube video has no captions?
Yes. Captions are not required because MacParakeet listens to the video's audio and creates a new transcript. If YouTube blocks access to the audio, the URL may fail, but missing captions are not a problem.
What formats can I export?
You can export TXT for plain text, SRT or VTT for captions, and JSON for structured transcript data. SRT and VTT are useful for editors, video players, course platforms, and accessibility workflows.
Is my YouTube audio uploaded to a transcription service?
No. MacParakeet downloads audio from YouTube over the network, then transcribes it on your Mac using the Apple Neural Engine. The audio and transcript are not sent to a cloud speech-to-text service.
Is there a YouTube video length limit?
MacParakeet does not impose a per-minute transcription cap. Long videos take longer to download and process, and YouTube access can still fail for restricted videos, but the app is not metered by length.
Can I make SRT captions from a YouTube video?
Yes. Export SRT when you want standard subtitle captions with timestamps, or VTT when you need WebVTT for web players. This is useful when YouTube has no caption track or when you need a local copy.
Which Macs can transcribe YouTube URLs?
MacParakeet requires macOS 14.2 or later on Apple Silicon. Intel Macs are not supported. The app is free, open source under GPL-3.0, and does not require an account or credit card.
Turn the YouTube audio into text.
Free and open source. Download MacParakeet, paste a YouTube URL, and keep the transcript on your Mac.
macOS 14.2+ · Apple Silicon · GPL-3.0