Download YouTube Subtitles as SRT File: Get a SubRip File

SRT file — that’s the standard file YouTube subtitles end up in when you need them for video editing or playback. This guide covers the direct workflow to download them as an SRT file, plus the format details.

Quick answer

1. Open YouTube Caption Downloader.
2. Paste the YouTube URL.
3. Pick a subtitle track (manual preferred).
4. Choose SRT as the output format.
5. Click download.

You now have a YouTube subtitle as an SRT file.

What an SRT file is

An SRT file is a SubRip subtitle file — plain UTF-8 text with:

• Cue indices (often)
• Timestamp ranges
• Caption text

A typical file looks like:

1
00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,500
Welcome to the channel.

2
00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:09,200
Today we're talking about SRT files.

The file extension is .srt. The format is widely supported across video players, editors, and caption tools.

What you can do with the SRT file

Edit in a non-linear editor

Premiere Pro 2022+, DaVinci Resolve 18+, Final Cut Pro 10.6+ all import SRT files. See captions for video editing for the per-editor workflow.

Edit in a text editor

Open the SRT file in VS Code, Sublime, Notepad, or any text editor. Each cue is numbered and timestamped. Fix errors, save, re-upload to YouTube as a manual track.

Use as sidecar captions

VLC: Subtitles → Add Subtitle File. OBS: load the SRT file as a text source.

Burn into video

In your NLE, render the timeline with the SRT file’s captions visible.

Convert to VTT for web embedding

ffmpeg -i subtitles.srt subtitles.vtt

Or manually: add WEBVTT header, change commas to dots in timestamps.

Track selection

For the most accurate SRT file:

1. Manual track — uploaded by creator. Highest accuracy.
2. Auto-generated track — produced by speech recognition. Variable accuracy.

For the accuracy deep-dive, see auto-generated captions explained.

SRT file details

• File extension: .srt
• Encoding: UTF-8
• Line endings: CRLF or LF (most parsers accept either)
• Milliseconds separator: comma (00:00:01,000)
• Cue indices: optional but present in most files

For the full format breakdown, see SRT vs VTT vs TXT.

Tips

• Use SRT files for editing. It’s the most universally supported format.
• Edit in a text editor first for obvious errors.
• Re-upload edited SRT files to YouTube as a manual track.

FAQ

Can I download YouTube subtitles as an SRT file? Yes. Use YouTube Caption Downloader and pick SRT.

What video editors accept SRT files? Premiere Pro (2022+), DaVinci Resolve (18+), Final Cut Pro (10.6+).

Can I edit SRT files in a text editor? Yes. SRT files are plain UTF-8 text.

Can I convert SRT files to VTT? Yes. ffmpeg -i input.srt output.vtt.

What’s the difference between SRT files and VTT files? SRT files use the older SubRip format. VTT files use the W3C WebVTT standard with styling cue support.

Methodology

We tested the workflow on 30 videos using YouTube Caption Downloader, then imported the SRT files into Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Final Cut Pro.

Conclusion

Downloading YouTube subtitles as SRT files is a one-click operation. The result is a file you can edit, embed, or import into any NLE. For format choice, see SRT vs VTT vs TXT.

About the author: The YouTube Caption Downloader Team maintains the free SRT file downloader at youtube-caption-downloader.com.

Last updated: 2026-10-09

Sources: - Matroska: SRT subtitles reference - YouTube Help: Subtitles and captions