🎬 n8n YouTube Transcript Node

Custom n8n node for extracting transcripts and captions from YouTube videos, optimized for both standard workflows and AI agents.

✨ Features

🔍 Core Operations

• Get Transcript: Extract transcripts/captions from YouTube videos
• Get Video Info: Retrieve basic video metadata using YouTube oEmbed API
• Multi-format Output: Support for raw text, structured JSON, SRT, and VTT formats

🤖 AI Agent Optimizations

• AI Mode: Optimized output format for AI agents
• Auto Summaries: Ready-to-use video content descriptions
• Structured Data: Simplified JSON for automated processing

🌍 Advanced Features

• Multi-language transcript support (en, fr, auto)
• Timestamp inclusion options
• Configurable transcript length limits
• Robust error handling with fallback mechanisms
• No API key required for basic functionality

Language Selection

The node supports automatic language detection and manual language selection:

• Auto: Automatically selects the best available language (English → French → first available)
• Manual: Select from 100+ supported languages including English, French, Spanish, German, etc.

🚀 Installation

Prerequisites

• No API Key Required: Works with publicly available YouTube videos
• n8n instance: Version 0.190.0 or higher

Node Installation

Option 1: From npm (when published)

npm install @cryptodevops/n8n-nodes-youtube-transcript

Option 2: From local package

npm install ./cryptodevops-n8n-nodes-youtube-transcript-1.0.0.tgz

Option 3: Development Installation

git clone <repository-url>
cd n8n-youtube-transcript
npm install
npm run build
npm link

n8n Configuration

After installation, restart your n8n instance. The "YouTube Transcript" node will appear in the node palette.

📋 Available Operations

🎬 Get Transcript

Extract transcript/captions from a YouTube video.

Parameters:

• Video URL (required): YouTube video URL (e.g., "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID")
• Language (optional): Transcript language (fr, en, auto) - Default: auto
• Format Output (optional): Output format (raw, structured, srt, vtt) - Default: structured
• Include Timestamps (optional): Include timing information - Default: true
• AI Mode (optional): Enable AI-optimized output with summary
• Max Length (optional): Maximum transcript length in characters - Default: 10000

📹 Get Video Info

Retrieve basic information about a YouTube video.

Parameters:

• Video URL (required): YouTube video URL

📤 Output Formats

Structured Format (Default)

{
  "video_id": "WAh6paM4GqI",
  "language": "fr",
  "total_segments": 25,
  "transcript_available": true,
  "segments": [
    {
      "start": 0,
      "duration": 3.5,
      "text": "Salut tout le monde !"
    }
  ],
  "full_text": "Salut tout le monde ! Aujourd'hui on va parler...",
  "ai_summary": "Cette vidéo présente le concept de Vibe Coding..."
}

Raw Text Format

{
  "video_id": "WAh6paM4GqI",
  "language": "fr",
  "total_segments": 25,
  "transcript": "Salut tout le monde ! Aujourd'hui on va parler du Vibe Coding..."
}

SRT Format

{
  "video_id": "WAh6paM4GqI",
  "language": "fr",
  "total_segments": 25,
  "srt_format": "1\\n00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,500\\nSalut tout le monde !\\n\\n2\\n..."
}

Video Info Format

{
  "video_id": "WAh6paM4GqI",
  "title": "Qu'est ce que le Vibe Coding ?",
  "author_name": "Mike Codeur",
  "thumbnail_url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WAh6paM4GqI/hqdefault.jpg",
  "width": 200,
  "height": 113,
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAh6paM4GqI"
}

🛠️ Error Handling

The node includes robust error handling:

• Invalid URLs: Validates YouTube URL format
• Private/Unavailable Videos: Graceful error messages
• No Transcript Available: Fallback with informative messages
• API Failures: Multiple fallback mechanisms

📚 Documentation

• Installation Guide - Detailed installation instructions
• Example Workflow - Ready-to-import n8n workflow
• Changelog - Version history and updates

🔗 Useful Links

• YouTube oEmbed API
• n8n Documentation
• SRT Format Specification
• WebVTT Format Specification

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

🐛 Support

If you encounter issues:

1. Check the Installation Guide
2. Verify your YouTube URL format
3. Ensure the video has captions/transcripts available
4. Open an issue with detailed error information

Note: This node works with publicly available YouTube videos that have captions/transcripts enabled. No API key required for basic functionality.