YouTube Transcript Search

Search inside any YouTube video by its transcript

Type a word or phrase and TimeCue finds every moment it's said, then jumps you straight to the timestamp. It's Ctrl+F for video — search one transcript or your entire library at once.

Why YouTube's search can't find what you heard

YouTube only searches titles and descriptions — not what's actually spoken. So when you remember a line from a video but not where it was, you're stuck dragging the progress bar back and forth.

A YouTube transcript search fixes that. Instead of scrubbing, you search the caption text itself and land on the exact second the words are said.

How to search a YouTube transcript with TimeCue

1. Add a video

Paste a YouTube link. TimeCue reads the captions and builds a searchable transcript automatically.

2. Search the transcript

Type any word or phrase. TimeCue does a full transcript search and lists every matching moment — a true word search inside the video.

3. Jump to the moment

Click any result to jump straight to that timestamp. No scrubbing, no rewatching.

Search YouTube transcripts across every video at once

The built-in YouTube transcript only covers one video. TimeCue lets you search captions across your whole library — ask "where did anyone explain aperture?" and get matching moments from every tutorial you've saved, each with a one-click jump.

TimeCue vs. YouTube's transcript panel

YouTube TranscriptTimeCue
Search across many videos
Jump to the exact timestamp
Works without opening a panel
Semantic search (meaning, not just words)
Export matching moments

YouTube transcript search FAQ

How do I search a YouTube transcript?

Add a YouTube video to TimeCue and it builds a searchable transcript automatically. Type any word or phrase, and TimeCue shows every moment it's spoken with a clickable timestamp — no scrubbing required.

Can I search YouTube captions across multiple videos?

Yes. TimeCue's cross-video search looks through the captions and transcripts of every video in your library at once, so one search returns matching moments from all of them.

Is this different from YouTube's built-in transcript?

YouTube's transcript only lets you Ctrl+F one video at a time in a cramped panel, and only when a transcript is shown. TimeCue searches inside the video content directly, works across your whole library, and jumps you to the exact second on click.

What if the video has no captions?

Any YouTube video with subtitles — including auto-generated captions — works. TimeCue reads the available transcript so you can search what's actually said.

Does searching the transcript cost anything?

You can start free: the free plan covers 3 hours of video per month. Each video is only processed once, so searching it again later is free.

Stop scrubbing. Search the transcript.

Search inside any YouTube video and jump to the exact moment. Free to start.

Get Started Free