A YouTube transcript extension that works beside the video
Claras is a YouTube transcript extension for Chrome. It opens in a side panel next to the video, so you can copy, download or search the full transcript without leaving YouTube.
It lives on the YouTube page
Add Claras to Chrome and a Summarize button appears under the video, next to Like. Click it and a side panel opens with the analysis already running.
- Prefer the toolbar? Click the Claras icon and the link is filled in from your tab
- The Transcript tab has a search box that highlights every match
- Add Claras to Chrome
Copy or download without the wait
If all you need is a YouTube transcript copy extension, two small buttons beside Analyze with AI do that job. They fetch the transcript straight away, with no summary first, and they don't count as one of your videos.
- Copy puts the text on your clipboard, one line per caption with its timestamp
- Download saves a text file with the title, link and date at the top
- After an analysis, the Transcript tab can also download plain text with no timestamps
Where the words come from
Claras reads the video's captions, so the transcript is as good as they are. When a video has no captions, AI listens to the audio instead, up to a length limit that depends on your plan.
- The text stays in the language of the captions. It is not translated
- Send it to Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Gemini Notebook or Perplexity
- The extension covers YouTube. For .srt subtitles, your own files, Instagram and TikTok, use the web app
Getting a transcript with the extension, step by step
- Add Claras to Chrome and sign in. The panel asks you to sign in the first time you open it. The account is free, with no card.
- Open a YouTube video and click the Claras icon. The side panel opens with the video's link already filled in. You can also paste any YouTube link there.
- For the text only, use Copy or Download. The two icons beside Analyze with AI fetch the transcript and either copy it or save it as a .txt file. Nothing else runs.
- For everything else, analyze. Click Analyze with AI, or the Summarize button under the video, which opens the panel and starts straight away. This also makes the summary and chapters, and it counts as one of your videos.
- Read and search in the Transcript tab. The whole transcript sits in one scrolling block, with a timestamp on each line. Type in the search box and every match is highlighted.
- Take it with you. Download it with or without timestamps, send it to another AI, or have Claras draft social posts from it. Send to AI copies the transcript and opens a new chat in Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Gemini Notebook or Perplexity, where you paste it.
Two worked examples
"I just need the words in my notes"
Say you're watching a lecture and want its text in your notes app. Click the Claras icon, then the Copy icon, then paste. Each line arrives with its time in brackets, so you can find the moment again later. No summary ran, and none of your videos was used.
"Where did they talk about jobs?"
Now take the 2 hour 24 minute debate from our home page demo, "AI Experts Debate: The AI Labs Are Lying To Everyone". Click Summarize under the video. When it's done, open the Transcript tab and type "jobs". Every match lights up in the text. The demo puts the main job discussion at 1:00:12, so scroll to the matches around that time and read the lines there. To watch it, click the matching chapter in the Contents tab. Transcript lines in the extension can't be clicked, but chapters can.
Search matches the letters you type, so "job" also finds "jobs", while "work" won't find "employment". If a search comes up empty, try the word the speaker would use.
The same video in the web app
In the web app, the search box works as a filter instead. It hides every line without your word, and clicking a line moves the player there. Use whichever suits the job.
What it does well, and where it stops
What it does well
- Staying on YouTube. The panel sits beside the video, so you can read and watch at the same time.
- Speed on captioned videos. Copy and Download read the captions the video already has, with no AI step.
- Videos without captions. When there are none, Claras transcribes the audio with AI, within a length limit.
Where it stops
- Caption quality. The transcript is the captions, word for word. YouTube's automatic captions mishear names, numbers and jargon, and Claras doesn't correct them.
- No speaker names. Captions rarely say who is talking, so neither does the transcript.
- No captions, long video. AI transcription covers videos up to 30 minutes on the free plan, if Claras can check the length, and up to 3 hours on a paid plan. A long one can take a while, and Claras may ask you to try again in a minute or two. A video with no speech returns an error.
- YouTube only, Chrome only. The extension takes YouTube watch links and youtu.be links. Shorts and live links don't work yet. For Instagram, TikTok and your own files, use the web app, which runs in any browser.
- Account first. Nothing works in the panel until you sign in.
- Very long pastes. Above roughly 100,000 tokens, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity may cut a pasted transcript short. Claras warns you and suggests Claude or Gemini Notebook, which take more.
Extension or web app?
Both use the same account and the same transcript. They differ in what you can do with it.
| Chrome extension | Web app | |
|---|---|---|
| Works on | YouTube | YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, video and audio files |
| Transcript without a summary | Yes, with Copy and Download | No, it comes with the analysis |
| Search | Highlights every match in the full text | Shows only the lines that match |
| Click a line to jump there | No, use the chapters | Yes |
| Downloads | .txt with or without timestamps, summary and chapters as PDF | .txt with or without timestamps, and .srt subtitles |
| Chapter markers on YouTube's progress bar | Yes | No |
| Your own AI key | On any paid plan | No |
How it fits the rest of Claras
The transcript is what everything else in Claras is built on, so once you have it, the rest is one tab away.
Comparing extensions? Our roundup of transcript extensions for Chrome covers others too. Not on Chrome? The free transcript tool shows a video's transcript in any browser, with no account for the first one. The extension needs a free account, with no card. Add it to Chrome, compare plans or see all features.
Questions about the transcript extension
Is the Claras extension free?
You need a free account, with no card. Copy and Download don't count toward your videos. A full analysis does: the free plan includes 3 videos a month, Pro covers 50 a day, and Unlimited has no cap.
Can it get a transcript when a video has no captions?
Yes. AI transcribes the audio instead. That works on videos up to 30 minutes on the free plan, if Claras can check the length, and up to 3 hours on a paid plan.
Does it work in Firefox, Safari or Edge?
The extension is made for Chrome. In any other browser, use the web app at app.meetclaras.com, which has the same transcript with clickable lines and .srt downloads.
Can I download subtitles as an .srt file?
Not from the extension. In the web app, choose Download, then Subtitles (.srt).
Can I get the transcript in another language?
The transcript isn't translated. It comes in the language of the captions Claras finds. If a video has captions in several languages, pick the one you want with the extension's video language menu next to the link. For a translation, send the transcript to another AI and ask for one.
Does it work on YouTube Shorts?
Not yet. Shorts links and live links don't work in the extension or the web app at the moment.
What can the extension see?
It runs on youtube.com pages, where it adds the Summarize button and reads which video you're on. To get a transcript, it sends the video's link to Claras. Videos you analyze are saved to your History.
Watch less. Learn more.
Paste a video link and get the summary, chapters and answers in seconds.