YouTube API

Reach for this when YouTube data is needed and Google's Data API is the obstacle: no quota units, no OAuth consent screens, one Bearer key. Covers transcripts (which Google's API does not serve at all), metadata, search, channels and playlists. Triggers on YouTube links, @handles and creator research. Skip it for uploads and account chores.

YouTube API access via TranscriptOut.com: no Google quota needed.

Setup

If $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY is not set, read references/auth-setup.md and follow the instructions there to get and store the key.

Required Header

Every request needs one header:

• Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY

Every response is one JSON envelope. Success: {"ok": true, "request_id": "...", "data": {...}}. Error: {"ok": false, "code": "...", "detail": "...", "request_id": "..."}. Branch on the machine-readable code, not on the human text. The remaining credit balance rides in the X-Credits-Remaining response header.

API Reference

Base URL: https://api.transcriptout.com/v1. Full reference with the latest parameters and schemas: transcriptout.com/docs.

Endpoint Reference

Endpoint	What it returns	Cost
GET /v1/transcript	transcript of one video (json/text/srt/vtt/srv3)	1
GET /v1/video	title, channel, duration, views + available caption languages	1
GET /v1/search	YouTube search, videos or channels	1/page
GET /v1/channel/latest	~15 newest uploads of a channel	1
GET /v1/channel/videos	full upload history, paginated	1/page
GET /v1/channel/search	native relevance search inside a channel	1/page
GET /v1/playlist/videos	playlist contents, paginated	1/page
GET /v1/playlist/search	title-substring search inside a playlist	1
POST /v1/transcripts	asynchronous bulk job, up to 4,000 videos	1 per video
GET /v1/transcripts/{id} + /results	job progress and results	free

Quick Examples

bash

# A transcript with metadata
curl -s "https://api.transcriptout.com/v1/transcript?video=dQw4w9WgXcQ&format=text&video_metadata=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY"

# Search
curl -s "https://api.transcriptout.com/v1/search?q=rust+lifetimes&limit=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY"

# A channel's uploads
curl -s "https://api.transcriptout.com/v1/channel/videos?name=@3blue1brown" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY"

# A playlist
curl -s "https://api.transcriptout.com/v1/playlist/videos?id=PLAYLIST_URL" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY"

Why Not Google's API?

• The YouTube Data API does not return transcripts at all. TranscriptOut's core endpoint does.
• No Google Cloud project, no OAuth consent screens, no daily quota units: one Bearer key.
• Channel and playlist listings cost 1 credit per page instead of burning quota per item.
• Search, in-channel search and playlist search come from the same base URL with the same key.

Errors

Code	Meaning	Action
400/422	Bad parameter	Fix the request. Credit refunded automatically
401	Bad or missing API key	Check the key. It must start with sk_
402	Out of credits	transcriptout.com/billing
404	No captions on that language/track, or bad ID	Definitive answer, do not retry. Try another lang or kind=auto. Billed
410	Video removed	Do not retry
451	Age-restricted or members-only	Do not retry
429	Rate limit (200 req/min per key)	Wait, respect Retry-After. Refunded
502	Failed on YouTube's side	One retry is reasonable. Billed
503	Service at capacity	Retry after Retry-After. Refunded

Every error body carries a machine-readable code and a request_id. Include the request_id when contacting support.