Introduction
# Captions
Extract closed captions from YouTube videos via [TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com).
## Setup
If `$TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY` is not set, help the user create an account (100 free credits, no card):
**Step 1 — Register:** Ask user for their email.
```bash node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js register --email USER_EMAIL ```
→ OTP sent to email. Ask user: _"Check your email for a 6-digit verification code."_
**Step 2 — Verify:** Once user provides the OTP:
```bash node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js verify --token TOKEN_FROM_STEP_1 --otp CODE ```
> API key saved to `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`. See **File Writes** below for details. Existing file is backed up before modification.
Manual option: [transcriptapi.com/signup](https://transcriptapi.com/signup) → Dashboard → API Keys.
## File Writes
The verify and save-key commands save the API key to `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json` (sets `skills.entries.transcriptapi.apiKey` and `enabled: true`). **Existing file is backed up to `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.bak` before modification.**
To use the API key in terminal/CLI outside the agent, add to your shell profile manually: `export TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY=<your-key>`
## GET /api/v2/youtube/transcript
```bash curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\ ?video_url=VIDEO_URL&format=json&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" ```
| Param | Required | Default | Values | | ------------------- | -------- | ------- | ----------------------------------- | | `video_url` | yes | — | YouTube URL or video ID | | `format` | no | `json` | `json` (structured), `text` (plain) | | `include_timestamp` | no | `true` | `true`, `false` | | `send_metadata` | no | `false` | `true`, `false` |
**Response** (`format=json` — best for accessibility/timing):
```json { "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "language": "en", "transcript": [ { "text": "We're no strangers to love", "start": 18.0, "duration": 3.5 }, { "text": "You know the rules and so do I", "start": 21.5, "duration": 2.8 } ], "metadata": { "title": "...", "author_name": "...", "thumbnail_url": "..." } } ```
- `start`: seconds from video start - `duration`: how long caption is displayed
**Response** (`format=text` — readable):
```json { "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "language": "en", "transcript": "[00:00:18] We're no strangers to love\n[00:00:21] You know the rules..." } ```
## Tips
- Use `format=json` for sync'd captions (accessibility tools, timing analysis). - Use `format=text` with `include_timestamp=false` for clean reading. - Auto-generated captions are available for most videos; manual CC is higher quality.
## Errors
| Code | Meaning | Action | | ---- | ----------- | ----------------------------- | | 402 | No credits | transcriptapi.com/billing | | 404 | No captions | Video doesn't have CC enabled | | 408 | Timeout | Retry once after 2s |
1 credit per request. Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min.