YouTube Shorts transcript API

What to build with it

Identify the exact video rather than matching by caption alone.
Preserve transcript language and time segments when the response includes them.
Keep a no-transcript outcome separate from an empty spoken track, and link summaries back to the video.
Preserve available segment times so a generated summary can link a claim back to the relevant point in the Short.

Provider reference: Virlo documentation. Authentication uses a provider-issued Bearer token, stored on your server.

Endpoints and inputs

1 documented operation. Query and path fields are listed separately from JSON request-body fields.

GET/v1/raw/youtube/video/transcript

Send exactly one of url or id. The fields are individually optional in the schema, but omitting both or sending both does not satisfy the documented request contract.

Path and query parameters

url: string (query) · optional
id: string (query) · optional

Documented response fields

data: object · required
data.video_id: string · required
data.platform: string · required · values: tiktok, youtube, instagram
data.language: string | null · required
data.has_transcript: boolean · required
data.text: string · required
data.segments: array | null · required
data.segments[].start_seconds: number · required
data.segments[].end_seconds: number | null · required
data.segments[].text: string · required

Documented HTTP responses: 200, 400, 401, 402, 404, 429, 502, 503, 504. Handle each non-success response explicitly; do not silently convert a failed lookup to an empty result.

Before you integrate

Shorts research is not the same as a complete YouTube Data API replacement. Check the returned video format before combining this data with long-form channel statistics.
Transcript availability and accuracy vary by video and language. Retrieval does not grant permission to republish the full spoken content.

Check the provider's current price, allowed use and retention terms before sending requests. An optional field can be absent; the schema alone does not establish its completeness or accuracy.

For a deeper profile, compare the creator lookup with the ongoing tracking workflow.

Give this task to your coding agent

youtube-shorts-transcript-api agent prompt

Help me implement youtube shorts transcript api using the documented Virlo API.

Reference: https://allthemapis.com/social-media-apis/youtube-shorts-transcript-api
Provider documentation: https://dev.virlo.ai/docs/raw
Base URL: https://api.virlo.ai
Starting operation: GET /v1/raw/youtube/video/transcript

Read the current provider docs and confirm the required inputs before writing code. Load VIRLO_API_KEY from a server-side environment variable and use Bearer authentication. Do not put the key in client code, logs, analytics, or the chat.

Ask me for any missing video URL, creator handle, research intent, or job ID. Do not invent a result. Ask for approval before starting billable lookups, recurring jobs, or destructive changes. For jobs, keep the returned ID and poll with the documented delay instead of starting the job twice. Handle pagination, rate limits, partial results, and missing fields explicitly.

Build the smallest integration for this task:
1. Identify the exact video rather than matching by caption alone.
2. Preserve transcript language and time segments when the response includes them.
3. Keep a no-transcript outcome separate from an empty spoken track, and link summaries back to the video.
4. Preserve available segment times so a generated summary can link a claim back to the relevant point in the Short.

Return the code, the environment variables I need, and a short explanation of what was actually retrieved versus inferred. Do not execute paid requests until I approve.

Sources and review dates

Virlo's public documentation and OpenAPI schema reviewed October 27, 2026. Endpoint paths and field names below refer to that provider's API. This is an integration reference, not a measured performance ranking.

Corrections: email faizank@docsalot.dev with an official source.