How does PodPast.ai get YouTube transcripts?

PodPast.ai uses the official YouTube Data API to fetch the caption track associated with each video. YouTube provides automatic captions for most videos and manual captions where the creator has added them. Manual captions are preferred when available — they are more accurate. The caption track is timestamp-accurate to within 1–2 seconds. No video downloading occurs; only the caption data is fetched.

What happens if a YouTube video has no captions?

If a video has no YouTube caption track, PodPast.ai falls back to Deepgram nova-2 transcription, which streams the audio URL directly to Deepgram without downloading or storing it locally. This consumes Deepgram credit minutes from your account balance. Free tier includes 120 minutes. If your balance is zero and a video has no captions, the video is marked as 'transcription pending' until credits are added.

Can I import an entire YouTube channel?

Yes. Paste a channel URL (e.g., youtube.com/@channelname or youtube.com/channel/UC...) and PodPast.ai fetches the full video catalogue. On the Solo and Pro plans, new videos are automatically detected and transcribed on a weekly polling schedule. On the Free tier, you can trigger a manual refresh from the feed settings.

Does YouTube import work for private or age-restricted videos?

No. PodPast.ai can only access videos that are publicly available without authentication. Private videos, unlisted videos shared via direct link, and age-restricted videos that require sign-in are not supported. Unlisted videos with a direct URL can be added by pasting the specific video URL directly.

Add any YouTube video to your vault.

PodPast.ai imports YouTube videos by fetching the official YouTube caption track — free, instant, and timestamp-accurate to the second. Paste any video URL or channel URL, and every word is indexed and searchable inside Claude within 60 seconds. No downloads, no API keys required on your end.

Three steps to a searchable YouTube library

Copy a YouTube video URL or channel URL
Open YouTube and copy the URL from your browser's address bar. You can paste a single video URL (youtube.com/watch?v=...) or an entire channel URL (youtube.com/@channelname) — PodPast.ai handles both.
Paste the URL into PodPast.ai
Log in to PodPast.ai, click 'Add feed', and paste the URL. For a channel, PodPast.ai fetches the full video catalogue automatically — no need to add videos one by one.
Ready in under 60 seconds
For videos with YouTube captions, indexing completes in under 60 seconds. For audio-only content using Deepgram, allow 2–5 minutes per hour. You receive an in-app notification when the feed is searchable.

Technical notes

Caption source priority

Manual captions (created by the uploader) → YouTube auto-generated captions → Deepgram nova-2 (fallback for no captions). Manual captions are most accurate. Auto-generated captions have ~95% accuracy for clear English speech.

Timestamp accuracy

YouTube caption tracks are accurate to within 1–2 seconds. Each transcript chunk includes the start and end timestamp, so every search result links directly to the correct moment in the video.

No video stored

PodPast.ai never downloads or stores video files. Only the caption data (text + timestamps) is fetched. For Deepgram fallback, the streaming URL is passed directly to Deepgram's API and discarded immediately.

Channel polling

Solo and Pro plans poll your YouTube channels weekly for new videos. Free tier users can trigger a manual refresh from the feed settings page at any time.

YouTube import questions

How does PodPast.ai get YouTube transcripts?: PodPast.ai uses the official YouTube Data API to fetch the caption track associated with each video. YouTube provides automatic captions for most videos and manual captions where the creator has added them. Manual captions are preferred when available — they are more accurate. The caption track is timestamp-accurate to within 1–2 seconds. No video downloading occurs; only the caption data is fetched.
What happens if a YouTube video has no captions?: If a video has no YouTube caption track, PodPast.ai falls back to Deepgram nova-2 transcription, which streams the audio URL directly to Deepgram without downloading or storing it locally. This consumes Deepgram credit minutes from your account balance. Free tier includes 120 minutes. If your balance is zero and a video has no captions, the video is marked as 'transcription pending' until credits are added.
Can I import an entire YouTube channel?: Yes. Paste a channel URL (e.g., youtube.com/@channelname or youtube.com/channel/UC...) and PodPast.ai fetches the full video catalogue. On the Solo and Pro plans, new videos are automatically detected and transcribed on a weekly polling schedule. On the Free tier, you can trigger a manual refresh from the feed settings.
Does YouTube import work for private or age-restricted videos?: No. PodPast.ai can only access videos that are publicly available without authentication. Private videos, unlisted videos shared via direct link, and age-restricted videos that require sign-in are not supported. Unlisted videos with a direct URL can be added by pasting the specific video URL directly.

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