Download YouTube Subtitles
Save YouTube subtitles to your vault so you can read, search, and annotate them alongside the video.
You can download subtitles from any YouTube video that has them, whether creator-uploaded, auto-generated, or auto-translated. The subtitle saves as a text track file in your vault and opens in a transcript view where you can click any line to jump to that moment in the video.
This works in both the local embedded player and the web viewer. Pick the method that matches your setup.
From the local embedded player
This uses the YouTube embed player that loads when you open a YouTube link in a media view. The main daemon is required. If you haven't set it up yet, follow How to Set Up the Main Daemon.
- Open a YouTube video in a media view and start playback
- Click the button on the player
- Hover over Download subtitles to see available tracks
- Click the subtitle you want to download
The subtitle file is saved to your vault and opens in a transcript view.
From the web viewer
This works when you open a YouTube page directly in Obsidian's web viewer. Web viewer integration is required. If you haven't set it up yet, follow How to Set Up Web Viewer Integration.
- Open a YouTube video in the web viewer and start playback
- Click the button at the top-right of the web viewer tab
- Hover over Download subtitles to see available tracks
- Click the subtitle you want to download
The subtitle file is saved to your vault and opens in a transcript view.
Auto-translated subtitles from the web viewer may not all download successfully. YouTube limits which translations are available for download. If a specific auto-translated track fails, try downloading the original-language subtitle instead.
If subtitle download fails
YouTube requires a special token to serve subtitle files. Media Extended captures this token automatically when you play a video. If the download fails with a message about a missing token, try these steps:
- Make sure the video is playing (not paused)
- Turn on YouTube's built-in subtitles using the CC button on the player
- Wait a few seconds, then turn subtitles off again
- Try the download again
Toggling subtitles forces YouTube to send the token that Media Extended needs. Once captured, the token stays cached for that session.
See also
- Read Along with a Transcript — tutorial for navigating and quoting from transcripts
- Transcript & Subtitle — how transcripts are detected, stored, and displayed
- Add a Subtitle to Media — link your own subtitle files to any media
- Subtitle Track Properties — hash parameters on subtitle links