SubGrab

How to Download YouTube Subtitles as an SRT File

Three ways to save a YouTube video's subtitles as an .srt file with timestamps: paste the link into SubGrab, download your own captions in YouTube Studio, or use yt-dlp.

Short answer

To download YouTube subtitles as an SRT file, paste the video link into a transcript tool such as SubGrab and choose SRT. For a video on your own channel, open YouTube Studio, go to Subtitles and download the track as .srt. On the command line, yt-dlp can save the captions and convert them to SRT.

An SRT file is the subtitle format almost every video editor and player understands: numbered lines of text, each with the exact moment it appears and disappears. YouTube stores captions for millions of videos, but it doesn't give viewers a button to save them. Here are three ways to get them as SRT.

Method 1: Paste the Link into SubGrab (Any Public Video)

1. Copy the YouTube link. Shorts, youtu.be links and regular watch links all work.

2. Paste it into the box on the YouTube transcript page.

3. Sign in. A free account comes with 2 credits.

4. SubGrab reads the video's captions. Extracting them costs 1 credit, whatever the video's length.

5. Click Download and choose SRT.

If the video has captions in several languages, pick the one you want from the language menu. If it has no captions at all, SubGrab offers AI transcription instead, at 1 credit per hour of audio, and that transcript downloads as SRT too.

Method 2: YouTube Studio (Your Own Videos)

YouTube lets you download captions for videos on a channel you manage:

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.

2. Open Subtitles in the left menu and pick the video.

3. Find the language track, open its three-dot menu, and choose Download.

4. Pick .srt. YouTube also offers .vtt and .sbv.

This only works for your own videos. For anyone else's, use Method 1 or Method 3, and keep it to your own notes, study or accessibility: ask the creator before republishing their captions.

Method 3: yt-dlp (Command Line)

yt-dlp is a free, open-source downloader. This command saves the English captions as SRT without downloading the video:

yt-dlp --skip-download --write-subs --write-auto-subs --sub-langs "en.*" --convert-subs srt "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"
  • --write-subs saves uploaded captions, and --write-auto-subs saves YouTube's automatic ones.
  • --sub-langs "en.*" picks the language. Run yt-dlp --list-subs with the link to see every language available.
  • --convert-subs srt converts to SRT, which needs ffmpeg installed.

What an SRT File Looks Like

1
00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:04,000
Welcome back to the channel.

2
00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,500
Today we're looking at three ways to do this.

Each block has a number, a start and end time with a comma before the milliseconds, and the text. That is the whole format, which is why nearly every editor, player and subtitle platform accepts it. For when to choose VTT or plain text instead, see SRT vs VTT vs TXT.

Why YouTube's Transcript Panel Isn't Enough

The Show transcript button under a video's description shows the captions with timestamps, and you can read or copy them. There is no download button and no SRT option, so you'd have to rebuild the timing by hand.

Common Problems

  • No captions. Not every video has them. Use AI transcription instead.
  • Mistakes in automatic captions. YouTube's automatic captions get names, brands and jargon wrong more often than uploaded ones. Check them before publishing.
  • The wrong language. A video can have several tracks. Choose the language before you download.

Related Reading

Frequently asked

Can I download subtitles from a video I don't own?

YouTube Studio only downloads captions for videos on a channel you manage. For other public videos, a tool that reads the captions from the link, such as SubGrab or yt-dlp, gets you the same text. Use it for notes, study or accessibility, and ask the creator before republishing it.

Does it work when a video only has auto-generated captions?

Yes. YouTube's automatic captions save as SRT the same way as uploaded ones. They contain more mistakes, so check names and technical terms.

What if the video has no captions at all?

Then there is nothing to download. SubGrab offers AI transcription instead, at 1 credit per hour of audio, and the result exports as SRT with timestamps.

What is the difference between SRT and VTT?

Both are timed text files. SRT puts a comma before the milliseconds and opens in almost every video editor and player. VTT uses a dot and is the format web video players expect.