The easiest way to download YouTube subtitles and captions?

The YouTube Subtitle Downloader by antonkhoteev is a popular Google Chrome extension designed to simplify the process of extracting text and caption files directly from the YouTube interface. This extension acts as an integrated transcript manager.

It is particularly popular because it supports Manifest V3 (the latest Chrome security standard) and includes a "Featured" badge from the Chrome Web Store, indicating it follows Google’s best practices for safety and performance.

Step 1: Visit the Chrome Web Store link and click "Add to Chrome."

Step 2: Open any YouTube video. A new green button will appear directly on the YouTube video control panel or just below the video title.

Step 3: Click the button to open the extension's side panel. From here, you can toggle Timestamps on or off.

Step 4: If the video has multiple languages, select your preferred language from the dropdown menu. You can also use the Translation feature within the extension to convert the subtitles into one of over 150 languages.

Step 5: Select your desired format: SRT (for video players), VTT (for web use), or TXT (for plain text). Click the download icon or the "Copy" button to save the text to your clipboard.

Cons ❌

Browser Dependency: It only works on Chrome (or Chromium-based browsers like Edge, Brave, and Opera). It will not work on mobile apps or Firefox. Make sure about this if you really want to download youtube subtitles.

Data Collection: While the developer states data is not sold, the extension does collect a unique identifier and your email for identification purposes.

Performance: Having many extensions installed can occasionally slow down your browser's startup time or interfere with the layout of specific websites.

Update Risks: If YouTube changes its site code, extensions often "break" and stop working until the developer releases a manual update.