JimmySadek/youtube-fetcher-to-markdown

What it solves

This tool allows users to convert YouTube videos into structured, archival Markdown notes. It solves the problem of raw transcript extractors that only provide text, by bundling the transcript with essential metadata like the creator, upload date, video description, and chapters into a single, portable file suitable for knowledge bases like Obsidian or Logseq.

How it works

The tool fetches captions and metadata from YouTube without requiring an API key. It can retrieve manual or auto-generated captions in various languages, handle machine translations, and extract video details using oEmbed or the optional yt-dlp library. The output is saved as a Markdown file with YAML frontmatter for easy querying, though it also supports exports to plain text, JSON, SRT, and WebVTT formats.

Who it’s for

It is designed for researchers, students, and knowledge workers who use personal knowledge management (PKM) systems like Obsidian to archive and organize video-based learning materials.

Highlights

• Comprehensive Archiving: Captures transcripts, chapters, and creator metadata in one file.
• No API Keys: Works without needing a YouTube API key or hosted services.
• Knowledge Base Ready: Generates Obsidian-ready files with YAML frontmatter and clickable timestamps.
• Flexible Language Support: Supports ordered language preferences, regional variants, and YouTube machine translation.
• Multiple Export Formats: Supports Markdown, TXT, JSON, SRT, and VTT.
• Safe File Handling: Prevents accidental overwrites and uses temporary files for atomic writes.