YouTubeTranscriptAPI
n8n · import and run

n8n YouTube transcript templates

Four workflows you import in a minute: a YouTube summary by email, a daily digest of new uploads, a draft in Google Docs, and a chat agent. They call our API, so transcripts come back without YouTube blocks, and failed calls are never charged.

Before you start

What you need

  • n8n Cloud or self-hosted. The chat agent needs version 1.104 or later; the others run on any recent version.
  • An API key from Dashboard → API Keys. New accounts get 100 free credits.
  • An OpenAI API key for the summaries. You can swap the OpenAI Chat Model node for Anthropic, Gemini or another model n8n supports.
  • Gmail or Google Docs, depending on the template.
Once

Add your API key to n8n

  1. Create a Header Auth credential

    In n8n, open Credentials → New and choose Header Auth. Set Name to Authorization and Value to Bearer tk_live_… with your key. Call it “YouTubeTranscriptAPI key”.

  2. Pick it in each YouTube node after importing

    Every template marks the nodes that need it. All four templates use the same credential.

Templates

Pick a workflow

Link → summary → email

A form where you paste a YouTube link and your email. It fetches the transcript, has the model summarize it, and emails you the summary.

Needs: YouTubeTranscriptAPI key, an OpenAI key, Gmail · Cost: 1 credit per video

Import from URL
https://youtubetranscriptapi.com/templates/n8n/youtube-summary-by-email.json
Download JSON

Daily digest of new uploads

Every morning it checks the channels you list, summarizes each video posted in the last 24 hours in two sentences, and emails one digest. No new videos, no email.

Needs: YouTubeTranscriptAPI key, an OpenAI key, Gmail · Cost: Checking channels is free; 1 credit per new video

Import from URL
https://youtubetranscriptapi.com/templates/n8n/youtube-daily-digest.json
Download JSON

Video → draft in Google Docs

Paste a link and say what to write: a blog post, a newsletter or a LinkedIn post. A draft that keeps the speaker's examples lands in your Google Drive.

Needs: YouTubeTranscriptAPI key, an OpenAI key, Google Docs · Cost: 1 credit per video

Import from URL
https://youtubetranscriptapi.com/templates/n8n/youtube-google-docs-draft.json
Download JSON

Chat with YouTube

An AI Agent with the hosted YouTube MCP server as its tool. Ask about any video or channel in n8n's chat and it picks the right tool itself.

Needs: YouTubeTranscriptAPI key, an OpenAI key, n8n 1.104 or later · Cost: 1 credit per transcript, 4 per search, latest videos free

Import from URL
https://youtubetranscriptapi.com/templates/n8n/youtube-chat-agent.json
Download JSON
Import

Three ways to import

  • From URL: open a new workflow, then the ⋯ menu → Import from URL, and paste the template's URL from above.
  • From file: download the JSON, then ⋯ → Import from File.
  • Paste: open the JSON, copy all of it, click the empty canvas and paste (Ctrl/Cmd + V).

After importing, pick your credentials in the nodes that ask for them, read the yellow setup note on the canvas, and run it once with the test button.

Help

If something doesn't work

›401 from the Get transcript node

The credential's Value must be Bearer followed by your key, with the space. Check the key isn't revoked in the dashboard.

›402: out of credits

The node shows our message with a billing link. Failed calls are never charged.

›404 for a video

The video has no captions, is private, or was removed. Nothing is charged. The daily digest skips such videos and keeps going; the other templates stop for that run.

›The chat agent only shows an "SSE Endpoint" field

Your MCP Client Tool node is the old version. Delete it, add the MCP Client Tool again, and set its endpoint to https://youtubetranscriptapi.com/mcp. See the n8n MCP guide.

›The model node errors

Check your OpenAI key and that the model it names is available to your account. You can choose another model in the node.

n8n changes its menus from time to time. We checked these steps on 18 October 2026 against n8n's import and export docs and the MCP Client Tool docs. If something looks different, the app has probably moved it; tell us through the contact form.

Product names and logos belong to their owners and are shown only to say which apps this works with. YouTubeTranscriptAPI isn't affiliated with or endorsed by them.

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n8n YouTube transcript templates: summary, digest, docs, chat