How to see the transcript on YouTube (computer)
Open the video on youtube.com. Under the title, expand the description (…more). Click Show transcript. A panel lists the lines with timestamps. Click a line to jump the video. The button sits in the description area, not in the player gear menu.
How to find the transcript when you do not see a button
Scroll the description again. Show transcript only appears when that video has a caption track. The CC button in the player turns captions on the picture; it does not open the transcript panel. If neither CC nor Show transcript exists, YouTube never published captions for that upload.
How to open the transcript on your phone
In the YouTube app or mobile site, open the video, tap the description (or the arrow under the title), then tap Show transcript. The lines replace the description until you close the panel.
How to view or show the transcript
View, show, and open are the same control: Show transcript, after the description is expanded. There is no separate switch in Settings. If the panel is blank, switch caption language from the panel menu when the video has more than one track.
How to pull up a transcript when YouTube has none
You cannot. Show transcript is hidden when there is no public caption track. YouTubeForge reads that same track, so a missing button there means no transcript here either. We do not listen to the audio and write a new one.
When the on-YouTube panel is not enough
The panel does not hand you a TXT, SRT, or VTT file, and it is awkward to search across a long interview. Paste the same link into YouTubeForge to search the lines, copy a quote, or download the file.