Timestamps

YouTube transcript with timestamps

A YouTube transcript with timestamps puts the time of every line right next to the words — and each one is clickable, so the video jumps straight to that moment. Paste a link below to get yours. Free, no sign-in.

Works on any video with captions · or add the Chrome extension for one-click transcripts on every video.

Why timestamps matter

Plain text tells you what was said. Timestamps tell you when — and that turns a transcript from a wall of words into something you can navigate. Want to check a quote in context? Click its time. Need the part where the speaker covers one topic? Jump to it. Writing show notes or a citation? Drop in the timestamp so anyone can find the exact spot.

Every transcript here comes time-coded by default — there’s nothing to switch on. For the full picture of what a transcript is, see the YouTube transcript overview.

Clickable timestamps

Each line carries the moment it was spoken, shown as a clickable time like 2:14. Click it and the video moves straight to that point. It’s the fastest way to verify something, skip the intro, or re-watch one section without dragging the timeline back and forth.

Click 2:14 and the video is at 2:14. No scrubbing.

To get there, just get the transcript the usual way — paste the link, and the timestamps are already there.

Search, then jump

Timestamps and search work together. Type a word into the transcript, land on the line that contains it, then click its time to open that moment in the video. For a long talk or podcast, that’s the difference between finding a point in seconds and re-watching for ten minutes. The transcript extractor makes this quick on any video.

Export with the times included

The timestamps don’t have to stay on the page. Export the transcript and keep the times in the file:

• TXT — each line prefixed with its time, e.g. [2:14].
• Markdown — the same, formatted for docs and note apps.

That’s handy for notes, show notes, or anywhere you want the reader to jump back to the source.

SRT and VTT keep the exact timing

If you need the timing for subtitles rather than reading, export to SRT or VTT. These are the standard subtitle formats, so they keep the precise start and end time of every line — ready to load onto another video or into an editor.

Timestamps for show notes and citations

Timestamps make a transcript easy to reference. Writing show notes for a podcast? List each topic with the time it starts, so listeners can jump straight in. Citing a video in an article or an essay? Quote the line and add its timestamp, and anyone can check it at the source. Teachers point students to “the part at 12:30”; researchers log the exact moment a claim is made. The time turns a quote into something verifiable, not just a paraphrase.

Jump around long videos and podcasts

The longer the video, the more the times save you. A two-hour podcast is painful to scrub through, but with a time-coded transcript you search for the topic, click the line, and you’re there. No dragging the timeline back and forth, no re-watching to find one point. The whole transcript loads at once, however long the video runs, so finding a moment in a long talk takes seconds instead of minutes.

How the times line up with the video

Each line’s timestamp is the moment that line begins in the audio, taken straight from the caption track — so it matches the video exactly. Click 5:42 and you land where the speaker started that sentence, not a few seconds off. In the SRT and VTT exports, every line also carries an end time, which is what subtitle players use to show and hide captions in sync. Whether you’re reading on the page or building subtitles from the file, the timing comes from the same place and stays accurate.

Prefer it without timecodes?

Sometimes you just want clean prose. Toggle the timecodes off, or export to TXT or Markdown without them, and you get the words on their own — easy to paste into a document or hand to an AI tool for a summary. Switching is instant: one toggle flips the whole transcript between timed and clean, so you can read with the times on the page, then grab a tidy, time-free copy for your notes in the same session. The timestamps are there when you need them, and out of the way when you don’t.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get a YouTube transcript with timestamps?

Paste the link into the tool above. The transcript loads with a clickable timestamp on every line — no setting to turn on.

Do the timestamps jump to the video?

Yes. Click any timestamp and the video moves to that exact moment.

Can I get the transcript without timecodes?

Yes. Toggle timecodes off, or export to TXT or Markdown without them, for a clean read.

Do SRT and VTT keep the timing?

Yes. SRT and VTT are subtitle formats, so they keep the precise start and end time of every line.