n8n-nodes-ytdlp-transcript

An n8n node for extracting video transcripts using yt-dlp with support for cookies and multiple output formats.

Features

• Video Transcript Extraction: Extract transcripts from YouTube and other video platforms
• Multiple Cookie Sources: Support for browser cookies, file-based cookies, and binary cookies
• Language Selection: Single language or comma-separated priority list (e.g., "en,es,fr")
• Output Formats: Clean text, timestamped text, structured JSON, or Markdown
• Browser Cookie Support: Direct integration with Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, and Brave
• Metadata Extraction: Automatically retrieves video metadata alongside transcripts

Installation

Option 1: n8n Community Package (Recommended)

Install directly from npm:

npm install @rsraven/n8n-nodes-ytdlp-transcript

Option 2: n8n Self-hosted Server

1. Open n8n
2. Go to Settings → Community Nodes
3. Install: @rsraven/n8n-nodes-ytdlp-transcript

Option 3: Docker

Add to your environment variables or docker-compose:

N8N_COMMUNITY_PACKAGES="@rsraven/n8n-nodes-ytdlp-transcript"

Option 4: Manual Installation

# For global n8n installation
npm install -g @rsraven/n8n-nodes-ytdlp-transcript

# For local development
cd ~/.n8n/nodes
npm install @rsraven/n8n-nodes-ytdlp-transcript

Prerequisites

• yt-dlp: Must be installed and available in your system PATH

  # Install yt-dlp
  pip install yt-dlp
  # or
  brew install yt-dlp

Usage

Basic Usage

1. Add the "YT-DLP Transcript" node to your n8n workflow
2. Enter a video URL (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
3. Select desired language (default: "en")
4. Choose output format
5. Execute the workflow

Cookie Authentication

For accessing private or age-restricted content:

Browser Cookies (Recommended)

1. Enable "Use Browser Cookies" in Additional Options
2. Select your browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, Brave)
3. The node will automatically extract cookies from your browser

File-based Cookies

1. Export cookies from your browser to Netscape format
2. Set "Cookies File" path in Additional Options

Binary Cookies

1. Pass cookies as binary data in your workflow
2. Enable "Use Cookies from Binary"
3. Specify the binary property name (default: "cookies")

Language Selection

• Single language: en (English)
• Priority list: en,es,fr (tries English first, then Spanish, then French)
• Available languages: Depends on the video source

Output Formats

Clean Text

Plain text transcript without timestamps:

Hello everyone, welcome to this tutorial about n8n workflows...

Text with Timestamps

Text with timestamp markers:

[00:00:00] Hello everyone, welcome to this tutorial about n8n workflows
[00:00:15] Today we'll be learning how to extract video transcripts

Structured JSON

Complete data structure with segments:

{
  "segments": [
    {
      "start": "00:00:00",
      "end": "00:00:15",
      "text": "Hello everyone, welcome to this tutorial"
    }
  ],
  "fullText": "Hello everyone, welcome to this tutorial...",
  "duration": "00:15:30",
  "segmentCount": 45
}

Markdown

Markdown format with timestamps as headers:

### 00:00:00
Hello everyone, welcome to this tutorial about n8n workflows

### 00:00:15
Today we'll be learning how to extract video transcripts

Configuration Options

Output Data

The node outputs JSON with the following structure:

{
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=example",
  "language": "en",
  "transcript": "Extracted transcript text...",
  "format": "cleanText",
  "metadata": {
    "title": "Video Title",
    "description": "Video description",
    "duration": 1800,
    "uploader": "Channel Name",
    "upload_date": "20231201",
    "view_count": 10000,
    "like_count": 500,
    "channel": "Channel Name",
    "categories": ["Education"],
    "tags": ["tutorial", "n8n"],
    "thumbnail": "https://example.com/thumbnail.jpg"
  }
}

Error Handling

The node includes comprehensive error handling:

• Invalid URLs
• Missing transcripts
• Authentication failures
• Network issues
• yt-dlp execution errors

Enable "Continue on Fail" to handle errors gracefully in your workflow.

Examples

Extract English Transcript

{
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "outputFormat": "cleanText"
}

Multi-language with Browser Cookies

{
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=example",
  "language": "en,es,fr",
  "outputFormat": "structuredJson",
  "additionalOptions": {
    "useBrowserCookies": true,
    "browserName": "chrome"
  }
}

Extract with Custom Settings

{
  "videoUrl": "https://vimeo.com/123456789",
  "language": "en",
  "outputFormat": "markdown",
  "additionalOptions": {
    "cookiesFile": "/path/to/cookies.txt",
    "removeDuplicates": true,
    "includeSpeakerLabels": true,
    "proxy": "http://proxy.example.com:8080"
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. No transcript found: Some videos may not have transcripts available
2. yt-dlp not found: Ensure yt-dlp is installed and in your PATH
3. Cookie authentication: For private content, use browser cookies or export cookies manually
4. Rate limiting: Some platforms may rate limit requests

Debug Tips

• Check yt-dlp version: yt-dlp --version
• Test URL manually: yt-dlp --list-subs "VIDEO_URL"
• Verify cookies: yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome --list-subs "VIDEO_URL"

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

• Report issues: GitHub Issues
• n8n Community: n8n Community Forum