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

🚀 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

🤝 Contributing

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Make your changes
Add tests if applicable
Submit a pull request

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

🐛 Support

If you encounter issues:

Check the Installation Guide
Verify your YouTube URL format
Ensure the video has captions/transcripts available
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.