youtube-transcribe

YouTube Transcripts CLI

A TypeScript CLI tool that extracts transcripts from YouTube videos using AssemblyAI's speech-to-text API.

Features

• Extract transcripts from any YouTube video
• Automatically creates folders named after the video title
• Uses AssemblyAI for high-quality transcription
• Supports verbose logging
• Automatic cleanup of temporary files

Installation

1. Clone this repository

2. Install dependencies:

   pnpm install

3. Get your AssemblyAI API key from AssemblyAI Dashboard

4. Set up environment variables:

   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env and add your AssemblyAI API key

Usage

Development Mode

# Set your API key
export ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"

# Run the CLI
pnpm dev "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

Production Build

# Build the project
pnpm build

# Run the built version
pnpm start "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

CLI Options

youtube-transcripts <url> [options]

Arguments:
  url                    YouTube video URL

Options:
  -o, --output-dir <dir> Output directory (default: ".")
  -v, --verbose          Enable verbose logging
  -h, --help             Display help for command

Examples

# Basic usage
youtube-transcripts "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

# With custom output directory
youtube-transcripts "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" --output-dir ./transcripts

# Verbose mode
youtube-transcripts "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" --verbose

Output

The tool creates a folder named after the YouTube video title (sanitized and hyphenated) containing a transcript.txt file.

Example output structure:

how-to-build-a-cli-tool/
└── transcript.txt

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• AssemblyAI API key
• Internet connection for YouTube and AssemblyAI API access

Environment Variables

• ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY - Your AssemblyAI API key (required)

Error Handling

The tool handles various error scenarios:

• Invalid YouTube URLs
• Network connectivity issues
• AssemblyAI API errors
• File system permissions
• Missing API keys

Development

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Run in development mode
pnpm dev <youtube-url>

# Build for production
pnpm build

# Run built version
pnpm start <youtube-url>

Project Structure

youtube-transcripts/
├── src/
│   ├── cli.ts          # Main CLI entry point
│   ├── youtube.ts      # YouTube audio extraction
│   ├── transcription.ts # AssemblyAI integration
│   └── utils.ts        # Utility functions
├── spec/
│   └── project-spec.md # Project specification
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── .env.example
└── README.md

License

ISC