Chrome extension
Read the transcript and take timestamped notes in a side panel, next to the video you are already watching. Current version: 2.3.1.
Install (developer mode)
- Download the extension: vidwords-extension.zip
- Unzip it somewhere permanent.
- Open
chrome://extensions, enable Developer mode (top right). - Click Load unpacked and select the unzipped folder.
- Open a YouTube video, click the VidWords icon, then choose Connect to VidWords.
- Already had YouTube tabs open? Reload them so the panel can follow the player.
Connecting opens a VidWords page where you sign in normally and approve the extension. The extension never sees your password. After the first successful connection, a one-time welcome explains the main panel features and can be dismissed immediately.
What the extension does
On YouTube watch, Shorts, and live-video pages, the panel loads that video's transcript. Where possible it reads the transcript from the YouTube page you are already viewing — in your own browser, from your own connection — and sends just the transcript text and its language to VidWords to save under your account. When that isn't possible it falls back to fetching the transcript on the VidWords server. Either way you can search it, switch caption languages, translate it, copy it, export TXT, SRT, or VTT, and generate, copy, or export an AI summary if your plan includes one. Each new transcript or translation uses one credit from your monthly allowance; reopening an existing transcript is free.
Reading the transcript in your browser only sends the caption text and language to VidWords — never your YouTube cookies, account, or browsing activity.
Clicking a timestamp jumps the YouTube player to that moment, and the panel highlights and follows the line currently being spoken. Scroll manually whenever you want to read ahead; follow mode pauses briefly so it never fights you. Notes you write are anchored to the playback position, can quote the transcript line they were taken against, and appear in your VidWords library alongside notes written on the web.
Starter and higher plans can open the Chat tab to ask follow-up questions about the video. The conversation keeps a short thread for context, and answers are grounded in the transcript rather than the open web.
The History tab lists transcripts saved to your VidWords account. Choose one to open its YouTube video and load the saved transcript through the same free reopen path used elsewhere in the panel.
Extension settings let you choose the default transcript view, start with profanity masking on or off, and enable or disable playhead following.
Right-click a YouTube watch page, Short, live video, or a link to one and choose Open transcript in VidWords to navigate to that video and open the side panel in one step.
Keyboard shortcuts
Use Ctrl+Shift+Y to open the panel, Alt+Shift+F to focus transcript search, and Alt+Shift+N to start a note at the current playhead. On macOS, the defaults are Command+Shift+Y, Control+Shift+F, and Control+Shift+N. Change any of them at chrome://extensions/shortcuts.
Signing in, and what the extension can reach
The extension holds a token issued only for the browser you approved. That token can read your transcript history, use transcript chat, read and write your notes, and check how much of your monthly allowance is left. It cannot change your plan, make payments, see your billing history, or regenerate your API token. Revoke it at any time from Settings or from the panel's menu — your notes stay in your account.
Permissions, in plain language
| Permission | Why it is used |
|---|---|
sidePanel | Show the VidWords panel beside the page instead of in a small popup. |
storage | Keep the connection token and your panel preferences for this browser. |
identity | Open the VidWords sign-in page during Connect and receive the resulting token. |
contextMenus | Add the Open transcript in VidWords item only on supported YouTube video pages and links. |
youtube.com access | Add the Open in VidWords button, read the current playback position and the captions already loaded for the video on screen, jump the player when you click a timestamp, and notice when you switch to a different video so the panel can follow along. |
vidwords.com access | Fetch your transcripts and notes from your account. |
The extension requests no browsing-history, clipboard, microphone, camera, or all-sites access, and it sends nothing to any server other than vidwords.com. It deliberately does not ask for the tabs permission, so it cannot see the address of any tab that is not a YouTube page. It does not read the video's audio, contains no analytics or advertising code, and loads no remote code. Data practices for the extension are set out in the privacy policy.
Developer-mode installation notice
This build is distributed as a ZIP and is not currently installed through the Chrome Web Store. Developer-mode extensions do not receive automatic store updates, so return to this page to check the version before reinstalling. Chrome may display a developer-mode warning at startup; remove the extension from chrome://extensions if you no longer use it.
When a transcript is unavailable
Videos that are private, unavailable, age-restricted, or have no accessible captions may not produce a transcript, and the panel says so instead of failing silently. Paid plans can transcribe caption-less videos with AI.
Prefer not to install anything? Paste the link directly into the web extractor. For many videos, use the bulk transcript extractor.