When should an agent use the YouTube transcript node?

You need to summarize, quote or search what is said in a video. It is not meant for videos with no captions at all; the call fails and you are not charged. A call usually takes about 7 seconds.

What does the YouTube transcript node return?

Get the full transcript of a public YouTube video as plain text with timestamped segments and its caption languages. Summarize, search or quote any video. Each call returns language, full transcript text, timestamped segments, video length and the other caption languages available.

How much does one call cost?

$0.005 in USDC on Base per video (one call = one video transcript), charged only when it succeeds. No sign-up, subscription or API key.

What happens if the call fails?

You are not charged. TollNode checks your signed payment first, runs the node, and only collects the payment if the result is usable. A failed, empty or timed-out call is never settled, so there is nothing to refund.

How does an AI agent pay?

With x402. The first request returns HTTP 402 and the exact price. Any x402 wallet signs the USDC payment and retries automatically. In Claude Code or Cursor, run npx agentcash add https://tollnode.com once.

Can I use an API key instead?

Yes. Create a free account, add funds in USDC on Base, create an API key and send it as Authorization: Bearer. Each successful call is deducted from your balance at the same price; failed calls cost nothing.

Illustration: a video player with lines of caption text flowing out of it

YouTube transcript

Get the full transcript of a public YouTube video as plain text with timestamped segments and its caption languages. Summarize, search or quote any video.

POST /api/v1/nodes/youtube-transcript

Price

$0.005

per video

One call gets you one video transcript. You only pay when it works: if a call fails, it costs nothing.

Use it from your AI assistant

Paste this once into Claude Code, Cursor or Codex. After that, just ask, for example: “what are people on Reddit saying about this product?”. Your assistant finds this node and pays for it by itself.

connect TollNode (one time)

npx agentcash add https://tollnode.com

For developers: call it directly

terminal

npx agentcash@latest fetch https://tollnode.com/api/v1/nodes/youtube-transcript -m POST -b '{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk"}'

Is this the right node?

Use it when: You need to summarize, quote or search what is said in a video.
Not for: Videos with no captions at all; the call fails and you are not charged.
You get: Language, full transcript text, timestamped segments, video length and the other caption languages available.
Typical time: About 7 seconds per call

How it works

Your agent pays for itself

Explained in 5 minutes →

1Needs something
2Finds it on TollNode
3Pays a few cents
4Gets the result

Two ways to use YouTube transcript

Way 1 · Pay per call (x402)

For AI agents, no sign-up

Your agent sends the request, gets a 402 with the exact price ($0.005 per video), signs a USDC payment on Base and retries. Nothing is collected unless the call succeeds.

add TollNode to Claude Code, Cursor or Codex (once)

npx agentcash add https://tollnode.com

or call it directly

npx agentcash@latest fetch https://tollnode.com/api/v1/nodes/youtube-transcript -m POST -b '{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk"}'

Way 2 · Account + API key

For apps and teams

Create a free account, load a balance with USDC on Base, create an API key and call any node. Same prices; each successful call is deducted from your balance.

curl

curl -X POST https://tollnode.com/api/v1/nodes/youtube-transcript \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOLLNODE_API_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk"}'

Step-by-step, with code in JavaScript and Python: full guide for YouTube transcript.

Input

Field	Type	Notes
url*	string	The video URL, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk
language	string	Caption language code, e.g. en, de, es; default en

Example response

{
  "results": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk",
      "title": "But what is a neural network? | Deep learning chapter 1",
      "cached": true,
      "success": true,
      "language": "English",
      "video_id": "aircAruvnKk",
      "was_live": false,
      "timestamp": "2026-11-08T18:47:16.699628",
      "channel_id": "UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw",
      "fetched_at": "2026-09-30T19:35:11.378234+00:00",
      "view_count": 24572817,
      "channel_url": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw",
      "description": "What are the neurons, why are there layers, and what is the math underlying it?\nHelp fund future projects: https://ww…",
      "source_type": "Manual",
      "timestamped": [
        {
          "text": "This is a 3.",
          "start": 4.22,
          "duration": 1.18
        }
      ],
      "channel_name": "3Blue1Brown",
      "is_generated": false,
      "language_code": "en",
      "snippet_count": 286,
      "thumbnail_url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aircAruvnKk/sddefault.jpg",
      "total_seconds": 1105.6399999999999,
      "cache_age_days": 38,
      "duration_human": "18m 25s",
      "is_translatable": true,
      "metadata_source": "innertube",
      "non_timestamped": "This is a 3. It's sloppily written and rendered at an extremely low resolution of 28x28 pixels, but your brain has no…",
      "translation_languages": [
        "ar"
      ],
      "video_duration_seconds": 1120
    }
  ]
}

FAQ

When should an agent use the YouTube transcript node?: You need to summarize, quote or search what is said in a video. It is not meant for videos with no captions at all; the call fails and you are not charged. A call usually takes about 7 seconds.
What does the YouTube transcript node return?: Get the full transcript of a public YouTube video as plain text with timestamped segments and its caption languages. Summarize, search or quote any video. Each call returns language, full transcript text, timestamped segments, video length and the other caption languages available.
How much does one call cost?: $0.005 in USDC on Base per video (one call = one video transcript), charged only when it succeeds. No sign-up, subscription or API key.
What happens if the call fails?: You are not charged. TollNode checks your signed payment first, runs the node, and only collects the payment if the result is usable. A failed, empty or timed-out call is never settled, so there is nothing to refund.
How does an AI agent pay?: With x402. The first request returns HTTP 402 and the exact price. Any x402 wallet signs the USDC payment and retries automatically. In Claude Code or Cursor, run npx agentcash add https://tollnode.com once.
Can I use an API key instead?: Yes. Create a free account, add funds in USDC on Base, create an API key and send it as Authorization: Bearer. Each successful call is deducted from your balance at the same price; failed calls cost nothing.