YouTube Transcript Downloader

A Python script that downloads transcripts from YouTube videos with timestamps and saves them to a text file.

Features

• Downloads both manually created transcripts and auto-generated captions
• Formats transcripts with timestamps in [MM:SS] format
• Saves output to transcript.txt
• Handles various YouTube URL formats
• Provides clear feedback when transcripts are unavailable

Requirements

• Python 3.6 or higher
• youtube-transcript-api package

Installation

1. Clone this repository or download the script:

   git clone https://github.com/MahraibFatima/youtube-transcript.git
   cd youtube-transcript

2. Create and activate a virtual environment (recommended):

Create Python Virtual Environment

1. Open your terminal or command prompt and navigate to the project directory.

2. Run the following command to create a new virtual environment:

   python3 -m venv myenv

   This will create a new virtual environment named myenv in the current directory.

3. Activate the virtual environment:

   • On macOS and Linux:

     source myenv/bin/activate

   • On Windows:

     myenv\Scripts\activate

4. Install the required packages:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

5. To deactivate the virtual environment when you're done:

   deactivate

Usage

1. Run the script:

   python main.py

2. When prompted:

   Enter YouTube video URL:
   

3. Enter the YouTube video URL (for testing):

   https://youtu.be/kPa7bsKwL-c
   

or your desired link.

5. The script will:
   • Attempt to download the transcript
   • Format it with timestamps
   • Save it to transcript.txt
   • Display status messages in the console

Output Example

The transcript.txt file will contain formatted text like:

[00:00] Welcome to this tutorial on Python programming.

[00:04] Today we'll be learning about web scraping.

[00:08] First, let's install the required packages.

Troubleshooting

• If you get "Transcript unavailable", the video may not have captions.
• Some videos have disabled transcripts.
• Try different language codes if English isn't available.
• Make sure the URL is correct and the video is publicly available.