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How to Scrape Facebook Video Transcripts in 2026 - The Easy Way

•Jonathan Geiger
Facebook APIVideo TranscriptsData ExtractionFacebook ScrapingAccessibility

Extracting transcripts from Facebook videos manually doesn't scale. Whether you're analyzing content, building accessibility tools, or conducting research, you need a reliable way to get Facebook transcripts programmatically.

In this guide, I'll show you how to scrape Facebook video transcripts using SocialKit's Facebook Transcript API - a straightforward solution that handles Facebook's anti-scraping measures and gives you clean transcripts without the headache.

Why Scraping Facebook Transcripts is Hard

Unlike YouTube, Facebook doesn't provide easy access to caption data. This creates several challenges:

  • Login Requirements - Facebook blocks most automated access without authentication
  • Anti-Bot Protection - Aggressive rate limiting and CAPTCHA challenges
  • No Public API - Facebook's official API doesn't expose transcript data
  • Dynamic Content - JavaScript-heavy pages require browser automation
  • Frequent Changes - Facebook constantly updates their DOM structure

That's why using a dedicated API is the easiest approach.

Getting Started

1. Get Your API Access Key

First, you'll need an API access key. Visit your SocialKit Dashboard to get your free access key. The free tier includes 20 requests - perfect for testing and small projects.

2. The API Endpoint

Here's the endpoint you'll be working with:

GET https://api.socialkit.dev/facebook/transcript

Required Parameters:

  • access_key: Your API access key
  • url: The Facebook video URL

Example Request & Response

Let's look at a real example using a Facebook video:

GET https://api.socialkit.dev/facebook/transcript?access_key=<your-access-key>&url=https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=876091671461782

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "url": "https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=876091671461782",
    "transcript": "You take the man out of the city, out of the city, out the man, you take the man out of the And when I'm back in Chicago, I see the end Another version of me, I'm losing it Oh, I'll make it back to the end, to begin To begin",
    "transcriptSegments": [
      {
        "text": "You take the man out of the city, out of the city, out the man, you take the man out of the",
        "start": 0,
        "duration": 10,
        "timestamp": "0:00"
      },
      {
        "text": "And when I'm back in Chicago, I see the end",
        "start": 10,
        "duration": 6,
        "timestamp": "0:10"
      },
      {
        "text": "Another version of me, I'm losing it",
        "start": 16,
        "duration": 5,
        "timestamp": "0:16"
      },
      {
        "text": "Oh, I'll make it back to the end, to begin",
        "start": 21,
        "duration": 7,
        "timestamp": "0:21"
      },
      {
        "text": "To begin",
        "start": 28,
        "duration": 2,
        "timestamp": "0:28"
      }
    ],
    "wordCount": 51,
    "segments": 5
  }
}

You get:

  • Full transcript as plain text
  • Timestamped segments with precise start times and durations
  • Word count for quick content analysis
  • Segment count to understand video structure

Code Examples

Choose your preferred language and start extracting Facebook transcripts:

JavaScript/Node.js Example

const axios = require('axios');

async function getFacebookTranscript(videoUrl, accessKey) {
  const endpoint = 'https://api.socialkit.dev/facebook/transcript';

  try {
    const response = await axios.get(endpoint, {
      params: {
        access_key: accessKey,
        url: videoUrl,
      },
    });

    const data = response.data;

    if (data.success) {
      return data.data;
    } else {
      throw new Error(`API Error: ${data.message || 'Unknown error'}`);
    }
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.response) {
      throw new Error(
        `API Error: ${error.response.data.message || error.response.statusText}`
      );
    }
    throw new Error(`Request failed: ${error.message}`);
  }
}

// Usage
(async () => {
  const ACCESS_KEY = 'your-access-key-here';
  const VIDEO_URL = 'https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=876091671461782';

  try {
    const result = await getFacebookTranscript(VIDEO_URL, ACCESS_KEY);

    console.log(`Video URL: ${result.url}`);
    console.log(`Word Count: ${result.wordCount}`);
    console.log(`Segments: ${result.segments}`);
    console.log(`\nFull Transcript:\n${result.transcript}`);

    console.log('\n--- Timestamped Segments ---');
    result.transcriptSegments.forEach((segment) => {
      console.log(`[${segment.timestamp}] ${segment.text}`);
    });
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(`Error: ${error.message}`);
  }
})();

Python Example

import requests

def get_facebook_transcript(video_url, access_key):
    """
    Extract transcript from a Facebook video

    Args:
        video_url: The Facebook video URL
        access_key: Your SocialKit API access key

    Returns:
        dict: Transcript data including full text and timestamped segments
    """
    endpoint = "https://api.socialkit.dev/facebook/transcript"

    params = {
        "access_key": access_key,
        "url": video_url
    }

    try:
        response = requests.get(endpoint, params=params)
        response.raise_for_status()

        data = response.json()

        if data["success"]:
            return data["data"]
        else:
            raise Exception(f"API Error: {data.get('message', 'Unknown error')}")

    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
        raise Exception(f"Request failed: {str(e)}")

# Usage
if __name__ == "__main__":
    ACCESS_KEY = "your-access-key-here"
    VIDEO_URL = "https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=876091671461782"

    try:
        result = get_facebook_transcript(VIDEO_URL, ACCESS_KEY)

        print(f"Video URL: {result['url']}")
        print(f"Word Count: {result['wordCount']}")
        print(f"Segments: {result['segments']}")
        print(f"\nFull Transcript:\n{result['transcript']}")

        print("\n--- Timestamped Segments ---")
        for segment in result['transcriptSegments']:
            print(f"[{segment['timestamp']}] {segment['text']}")

    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: {str(e)}")

PHP Example

<?php

function getFacebookTranscript($videoUrl, $accessKey) {
    $endpoint = 'https://api.socialkit.dev/facebook/transcript';
    
    $url = $endpoint . '?' . http_build_query([
        'access_key' => $accessKey,
        'url' => $videoUrl
    ]);
    
    $response = file_get_contents($url);
    $data = json_decode($response, true);
    
    if ($data['success']) {
        return $data['data'];
    } else {
        throw new Exception('API Error: ' . ($data['message'] ?? 'Unknown error'));
    }
}

// Usage
$accessKey = 'your-access-key-here';
$videoUrl = 'https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=876091671461782';

try {
    $result = getFacebookTranscript($videoUrl, $accessKey);
    
    echo "Video URL: " . $result['url'] . "\n";
    echo "Word Count: " . $result['wordCount'] . "\n";
    echo "Segments: " . $result['segments'] . "\n";
    echo "\nFull Transcript:\n" . $result['transcript'] . "\n";
    
    echo "\n--- Timestamped Segments ---\n";
    foreach ($result['transcriptSegments'] as $segment) {
        echo "[" . $segment['timestamp'] . "] " . $segment['text'] . "\n";
    }
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
}

cURL Example

curl -X GET "https://api.socialkit.dev/facebook/transcript?access_key=your-access-key&url=https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=876091671461782"

Use Cases

Here are practical ways to use Facebook transcript extraction:

1. Content Analysis at Scale

Analyze spoken content from Facebook videos without watching:

async function analyzeVideoContent(videoUrls, accessKey) {
  const results = [];
  
  for (const url of videoUrls) {
    const data = await getFacebookTranscript(url, accessKey);
    
    results.push({
      url: url,
      wordCount: data.wordCount,
      segments: data.segments,
      transcript: data.transcript,
      // Calculate speaking rate (words per minute)
      totalDuration: data.transcriptSegments.reduce((sum, s) => sum + s.duration, 0),
      wordsPerMinute: Math.round(data.wordCount / (data.transcriptSegments.reduce((sum, s) => sum + s.duration, 0) / 60))
    });
  }
  
  return results;
}

2. Accessibility & Subtitle Generation

Create subtitles for videos:

def generate_srt_subtitles(video_url, access_key, output_file):
    """Generate SRT subtitle file from Facebook video"""
    
    data = get_facebook_transcript(video_url, access_key)
    
    srt_content = []
    for i, segment in enumerate(data['transcriptSegments'], 1):
        start_time = format_srt_time(segment['start'])
        end_time = format_srt_time(segment['start'] + segment['duration'])
        
        srt_content.append(f"{i}")
        srt_content.append(f"{start_time} --> {end_time}")
        srt_content.append(segment['text'])
        srt_content.append("")
    
    with open(output_file, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
        f.write('\n'.join(srt_content))
    
    return output_file

def format_srt_time(seconds):
    """Convert seconds to SRT timestamp format"""
    hours = int(seconds // 3600)
    minutes = int((seconds % 3600) // 60)
    secs = int(seconds % 60)
    millis = int((seconds % 1) * 1000)
    return f"{hours:02d}:{minutes:02d}:{secs:02d},{millis:03d}"

3. Keyword & Topic Extraction

Extract keywords and topics from video transcripts:

async function extractKeywords(videoUrl, accessKey) {
  const data = await getFacebookTranscript(videoUrl, accessKey);
  
  const transcript = data.transcript.toLowerCase();
  const words = transcript.split(/\s+/).filter(w => w.length > 3);
  
  // Count word frequency
  const wordCount = {};
  words.forEach(word => {
    // Remove punctuation
    const cleanWord = word.replace(/[^\w]/g, '');
    if (cleanWord) {
      wordCount[cleanWord] = (wordCount[cleanWord] || 0) + 1;
    }
  });
  
  // Sort by frequency
  const sortedWords = Object.entries(wordCount)
    .sort((a, b) => b[1] - a[1])
    .slice(0, 20);
  
  return {
    url: videoUrl,
    totalWords: data.wordCount,
    topKeywords: sortedWords.map(([word, count]) => ({ word, count }))
  };
}

4. Multi-Language Content Processing

Process transcripts for translation or localization:

def process_for_translation(video_url, access_key):
    """Prepare transcript for translation services"""
    
    data = get_facebook_transcript(video_url, access_key)
    
    # Split into manageable chunks for translation APIs
    chunks = []
    current_chunk = []
    current_length = 0
    max_chunk_length = 500  # Characters per chunk
    
    for segment in data['transcriptSegments']:
        if current_length + len(segment['text']) > max_chunk_length:
            chunks.append({
                'text': ' '.join(current_chunk),
                'segments': len(current_chunk)
            })
            current_chunk = []
            current_length = 0
        
        current_chunk.append(segment['text'])
        current_length += len(segment['text'])
    
    if current_chunk:
        chunks.append({
            'text': ' '.join(current_chunk),
            'segments': len(current_chunk)
        })
    
    return {
        'url': video_url,
        'total_segments': data['segments'],
        'translation_chunks': chunks
    }

5. SEO Content Generation

Convert video content into searchable text for SEO:

async function generateSEOContent(videoUrl, accessKey) {
  const data = await getFacebookTranscript(videoUrl, accessKey);
  
  // Create SEO-friendly content
  const seoContent = {
    title: `Transcript: ${videoUrl.split('/').pop()}`,
    description: data.transcript.substring(0, 160) + '...',
    fullText: data.transcript,
    timestamps: data.transcriptSegments.map(s => ({
      time: s.timestamp,
      text: s.text
    })),
    metadata: {
      wordCount: data.wordCount,
      segments: data.segments,
      estimatedReadTime: Math.ceil(data.wordCount / 200) + ' min'
    }
  };
  
  return seoContent;
}

Response Data Explained

Transcript Data

  • url - The Facebook video URL
  • transcript - Full transcript as plain text
  • wordCount - Total number of words
  • segments - Number of transcript segments

Segment Details

Each segment in transcriptSegments contains:

  • text - The spoken text for this segment
  • start - Start time in seconds
  • duration - Duration in seconds
  • timestamp - Formatted timestamp (M:SS)

Supported URL Formats

The API accepts various Facebook video URL formats:

  • https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
  • https://facebook.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
  • https://www.facebook.com/reel/REEL_ID
  • https://www.facebook.com/PAGE_NAME/videos/VIDEO_ID
  • https://fb.watch/SHORT_CODE

Error Handling

Always implement proper error handling in production:

async function getFacebookTranscriptWithRetry(videoUrl, accessKey, maxRetries = 3) {
  for (let i = 0; i < maxRetries; i++) {
    try {
      const response = await axios.get('https://api.socialkit.dev/facebook/transcript', {
        params: { access_key: accessKey, url: videoUrl }
      });
      
      if (response.data.success) {
        return response.data;
      }
      
      throw new Error('API returned unsuccessful response');
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(`Attempt ${i + 1} failed:`, error.message);
      
      if (i === maxRetries - 1) {
        throw error;
      }
      
      // Wait before retrying (exponential backoff)
      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, Math.pow(2, i) * 1000));
    }
  }
}

Try It Free First

Want to test transcript quality before integrating the API? Use our Free Facebook Transcript Extractor tool to extract transcripts from any Facebook video directly in your browser. No coding required!

Pricing

The Facebook Transcript API is included in all SocialKit plans:

  • Free: 20 credits (20 transcript extractions)
  • Basic: $13/month (2,000 credits)
  • Pro: $27/month (10,000 credits)
  • Ultimate: $95/month (50,000 credits)

Each API request costs 1 credit. View full pricing →

Complete Facebook API Suite

SocialKit offers a comprehensive suite of Facebook APIs:

Facebook APIs:

Free Facebook Tools:

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the API work with all Facebook videos?

The API works with public Facebook videos that have audio content. Private videos and videos without spoken content cannot be transcribed.

How accurate are the transcripts?

The API uses advanced speech recognition to generate transcripts. Accuracy depends on audio quality, background noise, and accent clarity.

Can I get transcripts in different languages?

The API transcribes the spoken language in the video. For translation, you can use the transcript output with translation services.

What's the maximum video length?

There's no strict limit, but longer videos will take more time to process. The API handles videos of typical Facebook lengths efficiently.

Conclusion

Extracting Facebook video transcripts doesn't have to be complicated. With SocialKit's Facebook Transcript API, you can skip the complexity of web scraping, browser automation, and anti-bot detection.

Get your free API access key and start extracting Facebook transcripts in minutes. Whether you're building accessibility tools, conducting research, or analyzing content at scale, you'll have reliable transcript data at your fingertips.

Happy transcript extracting!

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