Open a Video's Transcript

To open the transcript of a YouTube video on a computer, click ...more under the video to expand its description, scroll down to the Transcript section ("Follow along using the transcript.") and click Show transcript. The transcript opens in a panel beside the video, scrolls along with the speech, and jumps the video to any line you click (View video transcripts). The button exists only on videos with captions, including YouTube's automatic ones; a video without captions has no transcript (Captions and Subtitles).

Quick facts

How do I see the transcript of a YouTube video?

1. Open the video on youtube.com.
2. Under the video's title, click the description box or its ...more link to expand it.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the description, past sections such as "How this was made", to the heading Transcript.
4. Click Show transcript. A Transcript panel opens on the right, above the suggested videos.
5. Click any line to jump the video there. Close the panel with the X at its top.

The button used to sit in the three-dot menu under the video. George Vanous, who runs the Freedom! YouTube network, recorded it there in his tips, and noted later that it had moved into the description. Older guides that send you to the three dots describe that earlier layout.

Toggle timestamps and copy the text

By default each line starts with its time. To get clean text:

1. In the Transcript panel, click the three dots at its top right.
2. Click Toggle timestamps. The times disappear; click it again to bring them back.
3. Select the text in the panel with the mouse (drag from the first line to the last), then press Ctrl + C (Command + C on a Mac) to copy it.

There is no "copy all" or download button in the panel.

Search a transcript

The panel had no search box when Vi.ki checked on Nov 6, 2026, and YouTube Help describes none. The browser's own find works on the panel's text: press Ctrl + F (Command + F on a Mac) and type a word, and the browser highlights it in the lines shown. Click the highlighted line to jump there.

Languages

Transcripts are built from a video's captions, so a video with captions in several languages has text in each. YouTube Help's transcript page does not describe how to choose the language, or whether auto-translated captions appear in the transcript, and Vi.ki has not found a source it trusts that does.

Phones and tablets

YouTube Help's transcript page describes only the computer view, and Vi.ki checked only youtube.com on a computer. In the YouTube app, the description opens when you tap the video's title; look for the same Transcript section there.

Which videos have one

Any video with captions, says YouTube Help, whether the creator uploaded them or YouTube generated them automatically. Help adds that the transcript can also help viewers find Chapters and people, places and products mentioned in the video.

Frequently asked questions

Why is there no Show transcript on a YouTube video? The video has no captions. YouTube builds transcripts from captions, so a video without uploaded or automatic captions has no Transcript section in its description.

Where did YouTube move the transcript button? Into the description. Click ...more under the YouTube video, scroll to the Transcript section and click Show transcript; it used to be in the three-dot menu.

How do I copy a YouTube transcript without timestamps? Open the transcript, click the three dots at the panel's top and choose Toggle timestamps, then select the text and copy it.

Can I download a YouTube transcript? YouTube offers no download button for viewers; select the text in the transcript panel and copy it.

Can I search inside a YouTube transcript? Not with a YouTube search box; open the transcript, then use your browser's find (Ctrl + F) to highlight a word in it.

Sources

• View video transcripts, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
• George Vanous's YouTube tips document, opening a video's transcript, read Nov 6, 2026
• Vi.ki's check of the Transcript section and panel on a watch page, Nov 6, 2026