How to Download Subtitles from a YouTube Video

YouTube is the leading platform for video content online. Some videos come with subtitles as part of the video itself, while others have intentionally created available subtitles or narrations. Even when subtitles are missing, YouTube automatically generates subtitles or captions for many videos to help recognize speech. The method of downloading these subtitles depends on the source.

Copy the URL of the video.

Search for the appropriate application based on the website. Popular sites include KeepVid and ClopConverter. The website you want to use for this is one that allows video downloads from YouTube.

Paste the video URL into the appropriate field. This is typically an open text field next to the download button. On KeepVid, it's a white field that starts with 'enter the link' next to the gray 'Download' button. On ClipConverter, the field is gray and black without text, next to the black 'Continue' button.

Choose your video format. Modern video downloaders usually let you select from a variety of formats and video qualities. Common formats include MP4, AVI, and FLV. On ClipConverter, they appear directly next to the URL field, under the heading 'Conversion Format:.' After continuing, you can select video quality, and pressing 'Start' will begin the conversion process and move to the download screen. On KeepVid, these options appear after clicking your link and pressing 'Download'. Different formats and quality options will be listed as separate links.

Download your video. By default, the video will be saved to your downloads folder, but if you right-click the link and select 'Save As', you can choose any location to save the video and even rename it if you prefer. Since subtitles are part of the video, they will appear regardless of format or quality.

Copy the URL of the video.

Find the appropriate web application. Keep in mind that there are fewer applications for downloading subtitles compared to basic video download apps. DownSub is a dedicated example, but KeepVid also offers this feature. Before selecting a download method, click on the white 'CC' box near the bottom right corner of the video you want to download. If the text appears intermittently, it is either manually added or auto-generated. This can be downloaded separately from the video’s audio and visuals. Use Method 2 to do so.

Paste the video URL into the appropriate field. On DownSub, this is a white field starting with 'Enter the link' next to the blue 'Download' button.

Download the extracted subtitles. The files generated will be SRT files. These are text files with encoded timestamps, instructing the video on what to display and when. You’ll need a video player that supports SRT files to view the subtitles. On DownSub, after submitting the URL, you will be provided with a series of 'Download' links, each labeled with the language, either the original language or a translation. To download SRT files from KeepVid, scroll to the bottom of the list of file format options presented after submitting the URL. You will be able to choose subtitles in the original language or several pre-translated subtitle languages. Be aware that auto-generated subtitles on YouTube can often be inaccurate. If you have difficulty understanding the spoken content in your language, auto-generated subtitles may not help much. However, they can still be useful for the hearing impaired or for foreign languages.

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