Joel Cantero 
This workflow corresponds to n8n.io template #12407 — we link there as the canonical source.
This workflow follows the Execute Workflow Trigger → HTTP Request recipe pattern — see all workflows that pair these two integrations.
The workflow JSON
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{
"id": "fvScVpOkvJa4CQTY",
"name": "Extract YouTube auto-generated transcripts and save them for future use",
"tags": [],
"nodes": [
{
"id": "2e715548-dc0c-4f27-893d-aa944dda57b9",
"name": "Trigger: Execute Workflow",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.executeWorkflowTrigger",
"maxTries": 1,
"position": [
272,
1056
],
"parameters": {
"workflowInputs": {
"values": [
{
"name": "youtubeVideoUrl"
}
]
}
},
"retryOnFail": false,
"typeVersion": 1.1,
"waitBetweenTries": 1000
},
{
"id": "fd592f64-4d34-4a53-a91a-ba1a4f3f07a9",
"name": "Fetch: YouTube Page HTML",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
"notes": "Retrieves the HTML of the video page to extract API Key",
"maxTries": 3,
"position": [
496,
1056
],
"parameters": {
"url": "={{ 'https://' + $json.youtubeVideoUrl.replace(/^https?:\\/\\//, '') }}",
"options": {}
},
"retryOnFail": true,
"typeVersion": 4.3,
"waitBetweenTries": 2000
},
{
"id": "b988bc18-3e14-46b6-8df3-aca439a78f86",
"name": "Extract: API Key & Video ID",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
"notes": "Extracts API Key and Video ID with validation",
"maxTries": 1,
"position": [
720,
1056
],
"parameters": {
"mode": "runOnceForEachItem",
"jsCode": "const currentItem = $input.item.json;\nconst html = currentItem.data;\n\nif (!html || typeof html !== 'string') {\n throw new Error('HTML data not found');\n}\n\n// Extraer API Key\nconst apiKeyMatch = html.match(/INNERTUBE_API_KEY[\\s\\S]*?\\\"([a-zA-Z0-9_-]+)\\\"/);\nif (!apiKeyMatch || !apiKeyMatch[1]) {\n throw new Error('INNERTUBE_API_KEY not found in HTML');\n}\n\n// Extraer videoId del HTML\nconst htmlVideoIdMatch = html.match(/\\\"videoId\\\":\\s*\\\"([a-zA-Z0-9_-]{11})\\\"/);\nlet videoId = htmlVideoIdMatch ? htmlVideoIdMatch[1] : null;\n\nif (!videoId) {\n throw new Error('Could not extract videoId from HTML');\n}\n\nreturn {json: {\n apiKey: apiKeyMatch[1],\n videoId: videoId\n}};"
},
"retryOnFail": false,
"typeVersion": 2,
"waitBetweenTries": 1000
},
{
"id": "6e21195d-17b1-4653-ac34-e7cf9770c48e",
"name": "API: Get Video Metadata",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
"notes": "Get video metadata with subtitle tracks",
"maxTries": 3,
"position": [
944,
1056
],
"parameters": {
"url": "=https://www.youtube.com/youtubei/v1/player?key={{ $json.apiKey }}",
"method": "POST",
"options": {},
"jsonBody": "={\n \"context\": {\n \"client\": {\n \"clientName\": \"WEB\",\n \"clientVersion\": \"2.20210721.00.00\"\n }\n },\n \"videoId\": \"{{ $json.videoId }}\"\n}",
"sendBody": true,
"sendHeaders": true,
"specifyBody": "json",
"headerParameters": {
"parameters": [
{
"name": "Content-Type",
"value": "application/json"
}
]
}
},
"retryOnFail": true,
"typeVersion": 4.3,
"waitBetweenTries": 2000
},
{
"id": "0737b208-4ca0-4ac8-bc9d-342a666ede8b",
"name": "Extract: Auto-Generated Transcript URL",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
"onError": "continueErrorOutput",
"maxTries": 1,
"position": [
1168,
1056
],
"parameters": {
"mode": "runOnceForEachItem",
"jsCode": "// Obtener los caption tracks del video\nconst captionTracks = $input.item.json?.captions?.playerCaptionsTracklistRenderer?.captionTracks || [];\n\nif (!captionTracks || captionTracks.length === 0) {\n throw new Error('No caption tracks found for this video');\n}\n\n// Buscar el primer caption track con kind='asr' (autogenerado)\nconst asrTrack = captionTracks.find(track => track.kind === 'asr');\n\nif (!asrTrack) {\n throw new Error('No auto-generated transcript (asr) found. Available tracks: ' + captionTracks.map(t => t.languageCode + ' (' + (t.kind || 'default') + ')').join(', '));\n}\n\n// Retornar baseUrl y metadata del track\nreturn {json: {\n transcriptUrl: asrTrack.baseUrl,\n languageCode: asrTrack.languageCode,\n trackName: asrTrack.name?.simpleText || 'Auto-generated transcript',\n kind: asrTrack.kind\n}};"
},
"retryOnFail": false,
"typeVersion": 2,
"waitBetweenTries": 1000
},
{
"id": "08d78016-4fd2-485f-91a6-33bdad8587e0",
"name": "Fetch: Transcript XML",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
"notes": "Get XML transcript from extracted URL",
"maxTries": 3,
"position": [
1392,
960
],
"parameters": {
"url": "={{ $json.transcriptUrl }}",
"options": {}
},
"retryOnFail": true,
"typeVersion": 4.3,
"waitBetweenTries": 2000
},
{
"id": "259c3e38-5c10-4f0b-9204-6f587e675efb",
"name": "Parse: XML to JSON",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.xml",
"notes": "XML to JSON",
"maxTries": 1,
"position": [
1616,
960
],
"parameters": {
"options": {
"normalize": false
}
},
"retryOnFail": false,
"typeVersion": 1,
"waitBetweenTries": 1000
},
{
"id": "496cfcbd-7ff9-4b70-95dd-889aabb68eb9",
"name": "Transform: Process Transcript",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
"notes": "Processes transcript, decodes HTML entities, and concatenates text",
"maxTries": 1,
"position": [
1840,
960
],
"parameters": {
"mode": "runOnceForEachItem",
"jsCode": "// Funci\u00f3n para decodificar entidades HTML\nfunction decodeHTMLEntities(text) {\n const entityMap = {\n '&': '&',\n '<': '<',\n '>': '>',\n '"': '\"',\n ''': \"'\",\n ''': \"'\",\n ''': \"'\",\n '/': '/'\n };\n \n let decoded = text;\n for (const [entity, char] of Object.entries(entityMap)) {\n decoded = decoded.replace(new RegExp(entity, 'g'), char);\n }\n \n // Decodificar n\u00fameros hexadecimales (ej: ', )\n decoded = decoded.replace(/&#x([a-fA-F0-9]+);/g, (match, hex) => {\n return String.fromCharCode(parseInt(hex, 16));\n });\n \n // Decodificar n\u00fameros decimales (ej: ')\n decoded = decoded.replace(/&#(\\d+);/g, (match, dec) => {\n return String.fromCharCode(parseInt(dec, 10));\n });\n \n return decoded;\n}\n\nconst transcript = $input.item.json.transcript;\nif (!transcript || !transcript.text || !Array.isArray(transcript.text)) {\n throw new Error('No transcript data found');\n}\n\nlet fullTranscript = '';\ntranscript.text.forEach(item => {\n if (item._ && typeof item._ === 'string') {\n // Decodificar entidades HTML\n const decodedText = decodeHTMLEntities(item._);\n fullTranscript += decodedText + ' ';\n }\n});\n\nfullTranscript = fullTranscript.trim();\nconst wordCount = fullTranscript.split(/\\s+/).filter(w => w.length > 0).length;\n\nreturn {json: {\n transcript: transcript,\n fullTranscript: fullTranscript,\n wordCount: wordCount\n}};"
},
"retryOnFail": false,
"typeVersion": 2,
"waitBetweenTries": 1000
},
{
"id": "825ec3eb-2c08-4f1b-a3bf-b902bba8253c",
"name": "\ud83d\udccb Sticky: Overview",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"maxTries": 1,
"position": [
-496,
656
],
"parameters": {
"width": 700,
"height": 1046,
"content": "## \ud83c\udfac Extract and save YouTube auto-generated transcripts\n\nThis template extracts the **auto-generated transcript** from a YouTube video using YouTube's internal caption metadata.\n\nIt is useful for:\n- AI summarization\n- Content analysis\n- Accessibility workflows\n- Transcript archiving\n\n### Input\n- `youtubeVideoUrl`\n\n### Output\n```json\n{\n \"fullTranscript\": \"Auto-generated transcript text...\",\n \"wordCount\": 1234,\n \"transcript\": [...]\n}\n```\n## How it works\n1. Accepts a YouTube video URL as input\n2. Fetches the YouTube page HTML\n3. Extracts the `INNERTUBE_API_KEY` and video ID\n4. Requests video metadata from YouTube\n5. Finds the auto-generated caption track (`kind: \"asr\"`)\n6. Downloads the transcript XML\n7. Parses and cleans the transcript text\n8. Returns the full transcript, timestamps, and word count\n\n## Setup steps\n1. Import the workflow into n8n\n2. Activate or run the workflow manually\n3. Provide a value for `youtubeVideoUrl`\n4. Execute the workflow\n5. Use the output transcript in downstream AI or automation steps"
},
"retryOnFail": false,
"typeVersion": 1,
"waitBetweenTries": 1000
},
{
"id": "e46be3b4-da28-4acb-bfdc-8b75ead92a02",
"name": "Stop and Error",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stopAndError",
"position": [
1392,
1152
],
"parameters": {
"errorMessage": "No auto-generated transcript found for this video."
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "e514abc4-9c26-472a-a358-92e5a0c4b0b6",
"name": "Sticky Note",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
336,
752
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 928,
"height": 240,
"content": "\ud83d\udd11 PHASE 1: Credentials & Metadata Acquisition\n\nThis phase extracts the necessary information to access \nthe transcriptions:\n\n1. Fetch YouTube page HTML\n2. Extract INNERTUBE_API_KEY and videoId\n3. Call YouTube API to get video metadata\n4. Identify auto-generated track (kind: asr)\n\n\u2705 Output: transcriptUrl from caption track"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "b40e621e-2ce5-445e-a080-f6c3666d8013",
"name": "Sticky Note1",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
1328,
1312
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 672,
"height": 240,
"content": "\ud83d\udcdd PHASE 2: Transcript Download & Transformation\n\nThis phase processes the extracted transcription:\n\n1. Download XML file from obtained URL\n2. Convert XML to JSON\n3. Decode HTML entities\n4. Concatenate full text\n5. Count words\n\n\u2705 Output: Clean fullTranscript ready to use"
},
"typeVersion": 1
}
],
"active": true,
"settings": {
"binaryMode": "separate",
"availableInMCP": false,
"executionOrder": "v1"
},
"versionId": "b416ede4-3667-48c0-b3c1-e325f7924ab0",
"connections": {
"Parse: XML to JSON": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Transform: Process Transcript",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Fetch: Transcript XML": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Parse: XML to JSON",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"API: Get Video Metadata": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Extract: Auto-Generated Transcript URL",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Fetch: YouTube Page HTML": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Extract: API Key & Video ID",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Trigger: Execute Workflow": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Fetch: YouTube Page HTML",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Extract: API Key & Video ID": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "API: Get Video Metadata",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Extract: Auto-Generated Transcript URL": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Fetch: Transcript XML",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
],
[
{
"node": "Stop and Error",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
}
}
}
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About this workflow
Extracts the auto-generated transcript from any YouTube video automatically. 📥 Input: only 🌐 Fetch: GET YouTube page HTML to extract INNERTUBEAPIKEY 🔑 Extract: Parse API key and video ID 🎥 Metadata: GET caption metadata 🤖 Auto-Detect: Find auto-generated transcript () 📝 Fetch &…
Source: https://n8n.io/workflows/12407/ — original creator credit. Request a take-down →
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