YouTube transcript in n8n

{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "transcript": [
    { "start": 0.0,  "duration": 3.52, "text": "We're no strangers to love" },
    { "start": 3.52, "duration": 2.88, "text": "You know the rules and so do I" }
  ]
}

{
  "name": "YouTube transcript to plain text",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {},
      "name": "Manual Trigger",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        0,
        0
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "assignments": {
          "assignments": [
            {
              "id": "url",
              "name": "url",
              "type": "string",
              "value": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "name": "Video URL",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
      "typeVersion": 3.4,
      "position": [
        220,
        0
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "jsCode": "// Code node · Mode: Run Once for All Items\nconst url = String($input.first().json.url || '');\nconst m = url.match(/(?:v=|youtu\\.be\\/|\\/shorts\\/|\\/embed\\/|\\/live\\/)([A-Za-z0-9_-]{11})/);\nif (!m) throw new Error('No YouTube video id in: ' + url);\nreturn [{ json: { url, videoId: m[1] } }];"
      },
      "name": "Extract video id",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [
        440,
        0
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "url": "https://api.transcriptapi.io/transcript",
        "authentication": "genericCredentialType",
        "genericAuthType": "httpHeaderAuth",
        "sendQuery": true,
        "queryParameters": {
          "parameters": [
            {
              "name": "video_id",
              "value": "={{ $json.videoId }}"
            },
            {
              "name": "language",
              "value": "en"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "name": "TranscriptAPI",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "typeVersion": 4.2,
      "position": [
        660,
        0
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "jsCode": "// Code node · Mode: Run Once for All Items\nconst body = $input.first().json;\nconst segments = body.transcript || [];\nconst text = segments\n  .map((s) => s.text.trim())\n  .filter(Boolean)\n  .join(' ');\nreturn [{ json: { videoId: body.video_id, segments: segments.length, text } }];"
      },
      "name": "Join segments",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [
        880,
        0
      ]
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "Manual Trigger": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Video URL",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Video URL": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Extract video id",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Extract video id": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "TranscriptAPI",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "TranscriptAPI": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Join segments",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    }
  }
}

// Code node · Mode: Run Once for All Items
const url = String($input.first().json.url || '');
const m = url.match(/(?:v=|youtu\.be\/|\/shorts\/|\/embed\/|\/live\/)([A-Za-z0-9_-]{11})/);
if (!m) throw new Error('No YouTube video id in: ' + url);
return [{ json: { url, videoId: m[1] } }];

// Code node · Mode: Run Once for All Items
const body = $input.first().json;
const segments = body.transcript || [];
const text = segments
  .map((s) => s.text.trim())
  .filter(Boolean)
  .join(' ');
return [{ json: { videoId: body.video_id, segments: segments.length, text } }];

HTTP 422
{
  "detail": "video_id still contains an unsubstituted template placeholder ('{{ $json.videoId }}'). Your automation sent the variable rather than its value — check the expression that builds this request."
}

HTTP 404
{
  "detail": "This video has captions turned off, so there is no transcript to fetch. Your credits have been refunded.",
  "error": "TranscriptsDisabled",
  "hint": "Retrying will not help — the uploader has disabled captions for this video.",
  "retryable": false,
  "credits_refunded": true
}

// IF node, after the HTTP Request node with
// Options → Response → "Include Response Headers and Status" = on
// and "Never Error" = on

// Output 1 (true): a transcript came back
{{ $json.statusCode === 200 }}

// Output 2: the video itself is the problem — do not retry
{{ $json.statusCode !== 200 && $json.body.retryable === false }}

// Anything else (502/503): transient. Wait node, then loop back.

curl -X POST "https://api.transcriptapi.io/channel/subscribe" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TA_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"channel_id":"UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw","webhook_url":"https://your-n8n.example/webhook/yt-new-video"}'

POST https://your-n8n.example/webhook/yt-new-video
{
  "channel_id": "UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw",
  "video_id": "kN_iMEAi1dw"
}