Registry / devops / youtube-transcript-plus

youtube-transcript-plus

library2.0.0jsnpmunverified

A Node.js library for fetching transcripts from YouTube videos using YouTube's unofficial API. Version 2.0.0 requires Node.js >=20.0.0 and is ESM-only with TypeScript types included. Unlike alternatives, it supports custom fetch functions, caching (in-memory and file system), language selection, and HTTP fallback. Actively maintained, but may break if YouTube changes its internal API.

devops

npm install youtube-transcript-plus

github ↗package ↗homepage ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · YOUTUBE-TRANSCRIPT

youtube-transcript-plus

devopsjavascriptv2.0.0

harness data pending

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

No compatibility data collected yet for this library.

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

fetchTranscript

✓ import { fetchTranscript } from 'youtube-transcript-plus'

✗ const fetchTranscript = require('youtube-transcript-plus').fetchTranscript

ESM-only since v2.0.0; TypeScript types are included.

InMemoryCache

✓ import { InMemoryCache } from 'youtube-transcript-plus'

✗ import { InMemoryCache } from 'youtube-transcript-plus/cache'

InMemoryCache is exported directly from main entry. Also available: FileSystemCache.

CacheStrategy

✓ import type { CacheStrategy } from 'youtube-transcript-plus'

For TypeScript users implementing custom cache; use type import.

Fetches transcript for a YouTube video ID with language and caching options.

import { fetchTranscript, InMemoryCache } from 'youtube-transcript-plus'; const videoId = 'dQw4w9WgXcQ'; fetchTranscript(videoId, { lang: 'en', cache: new InMemoryCache(3600), // cache for 1 hour }) .then(transcript => { console.log('Transcript lines:', transcript.length); transcript.forEach(({ text, duration, offset }) => { console.log(`${offset}: ${text} (${duration}s)`); }); }) .catch(err => console.error('Error:', err.message));

Debug

Known issues

breakingv2.0.0 drops CommonJS support; import syntax must be ESM.

fix

Use import { fetchTranscript } from 'youtube-transcript-plus' instead of require().

affects: >=2.0.0

breakingNode.js >=20.0.0 required; older versions will throw an engine error.

fix

Upgrade Node.js to v20 or later.

affects: >=2.0.0

deprecatedThe old export from v1.x (default export 'transcript') is removed.

fix

Use named import { fetchTranscript } instead of default import.

affects: >=2.0.0

gotchaYouTube's unofficial API may break without notice; the library may stop working unexpectedly.

fix

Monitor the GitHub repo for updates or consider official alternatives.

affects: *

gotchaTranscript not available for all videos (e.g., music videos, age-restricted or private videos).

fix

Check video availability; handle errors gracefully.

affects: *

Errors

Common errors & fixes

TypeError: fetchTranscript is not a function

Using CommonJS require() with v2.0.0 which is ESM-only.

fix

Change to import { fetchTranscript } from 'youtube-transcript-plus' and ensure package.json contains "type": "module" or use .mjs extension.

Error: No transcript found for this video

The video does not have captions/subtitles enabled or the requested language is unavailable.

fix

Verify the video has captions; try a different language ('en', 'es', etc.) or omit 'lang' to get the default.

Error: getaddrinfo ENOTFOUND youtube.com

Network connectivity issue or HTTPS blocked in environment (e.g., corporate proxy).

fix

Set { disableHttps: true } in options if HTTP is allowed, or configure proxy via custom fetch functions.

Error: ETIMEDOUT

YouTube request timed out, often due to rate limiting or network congestion.

fix

Implement retries with backoff or use a proxy; consider caching to reduce requests.

Upgrade

Version history

2.0.0latest on npm

Audit

Dependencies

No dependency data recorded yet.

Agent activity

21 hits · last 30 days

node

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/ericmmartin/youtube-transcript-plus ↗

packageyoutube-transcript-plus ↗

homepagehttps://github.com/ericmmartin/youtube-transcript-plus ↗