Ijharul Islam
To convert SRT to text, remove the cue numbers and the timing lines (00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:03,000) and join the remaining lines into paragraphs. A converter does it in one step; by hand, a find-and-replace with a regular expression does the same. The result is a transcript you can read, quote, translate or turn into a blog post.
More on this topic: Subtitles and captions, every guide in one place.
Below are four ways to do it, how to keep paragraph breaks or timestamps, and how to clean up the repeated lines YouTube's auto-captions leave behind.
The short answer
Fastest: drop the .srt (or .vtt) into QuickVeed's free SRT to Text Converter; it removes cue numbers, timings and tags, skips repeated rolling-caption lines, starts a new paragraph after a pause (2 seconds by default), and lets you keep timestamps. By hand: in a text editor with regex, replace ^\d+\s*$ and ^\d\d:\d\d:\d\d,\d{3} --> .*$ with nothing, then remove blank lines. Subtitle Edit can also export plain text.
Key takeaways
- An SRT is plain text: number, timing line, one or two lines of text, blank line, repeated.
- Removing the numbers and timings leaves the words; joining lines makes it readable.
- Paragraph breaks at pauses (2 seconds or more) make a transcript much easier to read.
- YouTube auto-captions repeat each line as it rolls; de-duplicate them or the text doubles.
- Keep timestamps at paragraph starts if you'll quote or make chapters from the transcript.
What does an SRT file look like inside?
An SRT file is plain text made of numbered cues. Each cue has a number, a timing line with start and end times (hours:minutes:seconds,milliseconds), one or two lines of text, and a blank line:
| Line | Example | Keep for a transcript? |
|---|---|---|
| Cue number | 12 | No |
| Timing | 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:06,900 | No (or only at paragraph starts) |
| Text | So the first thing we changed | Yes |
| Text (second line) | was the pricing page. | Yes, joined to the line above |
| Blank line | No |
Subtitles may also contain formatting tags such as <i> for italics, {\an8} to move a line to the top, and sound labels like [Music] or (laughs). A good conversion removes the tags and lets you choose whether to keep the sound labels. How to make an SRT file explains the format in detail.
How do you convert SRT to text online?
You convert SRT to text online with QuickVeed's free SRT to text converter, which is free, runs in your browser and never uploads anything:
- Drop the .srt or .vtt file on the page (up to 5 MB), or paste its contents.
- Choose the pause that starts a new paragraph; 2 seconds is the default.
- Optionally turn on Keep timestamps (each paragraph starts with its time), remove repeated lines, and remove sound tags like [Music].
- Copy the text or download it as a UTF-8 .txt file.
It removes cue numbers, timing lines, HTML and VTT tags and ASS-style override codes such as {\an8}. If your subtitles are in ASS format, convert them first with the free ASS to SRT converter.
How do you remove timestamps from an SRT with find and replace?
You remove timestamps with a regular-expression find and replace in any editor that supports regex (Notepad++, VS Code, Sublime Text, BBEdit). Run these in order, replacing each with nothing:
| Step | Find (regex) | Removes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ^\d+\s*$ | Cue numbers on their own line |
| 2 | ^\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}[,.]\d{3} --> .*$ | Timing lines (SRT commas or VTT dots) |
| 3 | <[^>]+> | Tags like <i> and <b> |
| 4 | \{\\[^}]*\} | Override codes like {\an8} |
| 5 | \n{2,} → \n | Extra blank lines |
That leaves one subtitle line per line. To make paragraphs, replace single line breaks with spaces (\n → space), then add breaks by hand where the topic changes. Test on a copy first. On a Mac or Linux command line, grep -vE '^[0-9]+$|-->' in.srt | grep -v '^$' > out.txt does steps 1, 2 and 5 at once.
How do you convert SRT to text in Subtitle Edit or with Python?
In Subtitle Edit (free, Windows), open the SRT and use File > Export > Plain text, where you can choose to merge lines, remove formatting and add or skip time codes. It's handy if you're also fixing the subtitles.
In Python, a few lines do it, for batches of files:
| Step | Code |
|---|---|
| Read the file | text = open('in.srt', encoding='utf-8-sig').read() |
| Split into cues | cues = text.strip().split('\n\n') |
| Keep the text lines | lines = [' '.join(c.splitlines()[2:]) for c in cues] |
| Write it out | open('out.txt', 'w', encoding='utf-8').write(' '.join(lines)) |
The utf-8-sig encoding skips the invisible byte-order mark that some SRT files start with. Add a regex to strip tags if your file has them.
Why does my transcript repeat every line?
Your transcript repeats every line because YouTube's automatic captions roll: each cue shows the previous line plus the new one, so each sentence appears twice in the file. Removing duplicate consecutive lines fixes it; the converter's Remove repeats option does this automatically, and in a text editor you can sort out the worst of it with a duplicate-line remover that keeps the original order.
If you're getting the transcript from YouTube in the first place, how to see the transcript of a YouTube video shows where to find it, and how to get the transcript of a YouTube video covers downloading and cleaning it.
How do you turn the text into something readable?
You turn subtitle text into something readable by fixing what subtitles leave out: punctuation across line breaks, paragraph breaks and speaker names. Subtitle lines are cut for timing, not for reading, so a raw transcript often has sentences broken mid-thought and no paragraphs at all.
| Problem in the raw text | Quick fix |
|---|---|
| One long block | Start a new paragraph at pauses of 2 seconds or more, or where the topic changes |
| Sentences split across cues | Join lines with a space, not a line break |
| Fillers and false starts (um, you know) | Delete them for an article; keep them for a verbatim record |
| No speaker names | Add "Name:" at each change of speaker; auto-captions don't include them |
| Sound labels like [Music] | Remove them unless you need an accessibility transcript |
| Numbers and names misheard | Check against the video before you publish anything |
For a blog post or show notes, add a heading every few paragraphs and turn lists that were spoken ("first... second...") into real lists. Reading the video's transcript at 2× speed while skimming the text is a quick way to catch errors.
Should you keep timestamps in the text?
Keep timestamps at the start of each paragraph if you'll quote the video, make chapters, or check a passage later; drop them for a blog post, article or translation. A middle ground is one timestamp per paragraph, which the converter's Keep timestamps option gives you:
| Use | Timestamps? |
|---|---|
| Blog post or article from a video | No |
| Show notes and chapters | Yes, at paragraph starts; the free chapter timestamp generator formats them for YouTube |
| Quotes for social posts | Yes |
| Translation | No (translate the SRT itself if you need subtitles back) |
| Accessibility transcript | Optional |
Going the other way, from plain text to timed subtitles, is what the free text to SRT converter does. And if you don't have an SRT yet, QuickVeed's auto subtitles transcribe a video and export SRT, VTT or plain text in 32 languages, from 2 credits for a 1-minute video.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert an SRT file to text?
Remove the cue numbers and timing lines and join the rest. A free converter does it in one step, or use a regex find and replace.
Can I keep the timestamps?
Yes. Keep one at the start of each paragraph, which is useful for quotes and chapters.
Does this work with VTT files?
Yes. VTT has the same structure with dots instead of commas in the times; the same steps and the converter handle both.
How do I open an SRT as text?
Open it in any text editor (Notepad, TextEdit in plain-text mode, VS Code); it's plain text.
Why are there repeated lines in my YouTube transcript?
YouTube auto-captions roll, so each line appears in two cues. Remove consecutive duplicates.
Is my file uploaded when I use the converter?
No. QuickVeed's SRT to text converter runs in your browser and never uploads the file.
Try it with your own video
Get a transcript of any video, edit it, and export SRT, VTT or plain text in 32 languages. Upload a video, check the transcript line by line, and download it as text. QuickVeed plans start at $18/month, and new accounts get a 14-day trial with 250 credits, no card needed. Sign up or see pricing.
Sources
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