Below are answers to questions you may ask. If you don't find the help you need, click the 'Get in touch' button at the bottom of the page.
A browser extension that adds a search overlay to YouTube. Load a video's transcript, search it for any word or phrase, jump straight to the moment it was said, collect Timestamp Links, and export the results.
Yes. The core features are free, including loading and searching transcripts, colour-coded Timestamp Links, text export, themes and more. A one-time Pro licence unlocks the advanced tools. See Free vs Pro for the details.
Add the extension from the Chrome Web Store or Edge Add-ons. No account is required.
No. There is no sign-up, no login and no email required to use the free version.
Yes — any Chromium-based browser supports Chrome extensions. Install from the Chrome Web Store and it will work in Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi, and similar browsers.
Go to any YouTube video with captions, click the extension icon, then click Load Transcript. The full timed transcript appears in seconds. You can also paste any YouTube watch URL into the URL field of the overlay.
Type a word or phrase and press Enter or click Search. Matches are highlighted in the transcript. Use the Aa button to switch case-sensitive matching on or off.
Every search creates a colour-coded batch of results in the left pane of the overlay. Click any entry to jump the video to that moment. Tick the entries you want, then export only those. You can also Select All / None, delete entries, and step through them with Prev / Next.
Click any line in the transcript, or any entry in your Timestamp Links list, and the video seeks to that exact moment.
Yes. Use the sync offset sliders: coarse (seconds) and fine (milliseconds). Double-click a slider to reset it. The same offsets apply to seeking, Following mode, the Teleprompter and exports.
Yes. Use the opacity slider in the top bar to let the video show through the panel to whatever degree you like.
Yes. Drag the top bar to move it and drag the edges or corners to resize it. Layout slots A and B let you save and recall two positions and sizes, and the minimise button collapses the overlay to a small circular icon.
Free: plain text (.txt) and copy to clipboard, for both the full transcript and your Timestamp Links. Pro adds SRT, CSV, JSON and Markdown for the full transcript, and JSON and Markdown for Timestamp Links. When a sync offset is active you can choose adjusted or original timestamps.
Yes. For example: Enter runs a search, Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Shift+Z step back and forward through search states, Ctrl + scroll changes the transcript font size, and Ctrl+0 resets it. The full list is under the ⚙ button, on the Shortcuts tab.
With Pro, yes. Long-press Load Transcript to choose from every language and caption track YouTube offers for that video, such as official or auto-generated. Without Pro, the default caption track is loaded.
A Pro feature. It opens a floating panel that scrolls the transcript in time with the video, which is ideal for voice-overs, practice, or following along without the main overlay. Font, cascade, background, active-line highlight and more are all adjustable.
A Pro feature. It shows a vertical strip of coloured dots, one for every match, so you can see where results fall across the whole transcript. Click a dot to jump to that point.
Teleprompter, Append Search, URL lock, the language picker, chapter import, manual add to the Timestamp list, SRT / CSV / JSON / Markdown export, longer search history and undo depth, and the minimap. See Pro for details.
No. Pro is a single one-time payment of 9.99 for a lifetime licence.
Click ★ Go Pro to open the Purchase page. Payment is made through PayPal, and your licence key is sent to the email address you provide.
Click the ★ Pro button in the bottom bar of the overlay, then enter the email address you used at purchase and your licence key. Verification happens locally on your device.
Keys are delivered manually, typically within 8 hours. First check your spam folder. If it's been more than 8 hours, email us at yt.transcript.search@gmail.com with your PayPal payment reference and we'll send it straight away.
Make sure you're entering the same email address you used when paying. The key is case-insensitive but the email must match exactly. If it's still not working, contact us and we'll verify it manually.
Your settings and Pro status stored on your device are removed along with the extension. If you reinstall later, just activate Pro again with the same email and key.
No. Using the free version involves no data collection at all. If you buy Pro, your email address is used only to send your licence key and to verify it if you contact us about activation.
No. Transcripts are fetched directly from YouTube by your browser and are discarded when you navigate away or close the tab. We have no way of seeing which videos you search, what you search for, or what you export.
Only on your own device, in your browser's local storage: things like your theme, panel position and size, and Pro licence status. Nothing is synced to an account.
Right here: Privacy Policy. Short version: we collect nothing and store only your preferences locally on your own device.
Not all YouTube videos have captions — particularly older, private, or unlisted videos. If a video shows the CC button on YouTube's own player, it should work with our extension too. If it has captions but still won't load, please report it to us with the video URL.
Refresh the YouTube tab. That reloads the extension with the new version.
It may have been minimised. Minimising collapses the overlay to a small circular icon; click the icon to restore it.
Email us at yt.transcript.search@gmail.com — see the Contact page. For a bug, tell us what happened, which video you were on and which browser you're using. Screenshots are always welcome.
Email us at yt.transcript.search@gmail.com with details and we'll get back to you.