Guides

What YouTube does and does not give you, and how to get the words out anyway. Written for people who want the text of a video, not for developers.

• Why are captions unavailable on YouTube, and how to get the transcript anywayThe CC button is missing or greyed out. Here is what that means, who can fix it, and how to get the words from a video that has no captions at all.2026-07-11 · 3 min read
• What is a YouTube URL? Every link format, and where the video ID hidesWatch links, youtu.be links, Shorts, playlists, channels, and the ID inside each one. How to find a video's URL on desktop and mobile, and which links a transcript tool accepts.2026-07-11 · 3 min read