How to Add Subtitles to Any YouTube Video

Are you looking for a way to add subtitles to any YouTube video? Adding subtitles can be a great way to make your videos more accessible and easier to understand, especially for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing. In this article, we will show you how to add subtitles to any YouTube video.

To start, you'll need to find the video you want to add subtitles to. Once you've found it, click on the 'Add language' button in the upper right corner. This will open a drop-down menu with a list of languages. From here, select the language you want to use for your subtitles.

Next, click on the preview of the video you'd like to edit. This will take you to the YouTube Studio section, where you can upload or create a new caption file. Note that the API response does not contain the actual captions, and instead provides the ability to retrieve a caption track using the `captions.download` method.

Once you've uploaded your caption file, you'll be able to see it in the list of available languages for your video. From here, you can click on the 'Add subtitle' button to add the subtitles to your video.

It's worth noting that the process of embedding subtitles from scratch involves several steps:

1. Retrieve a list of caption tracks associated with a specified video using the `captions.list` method.

2. Upload or create a new caption file for the track.

3. Use the `captions.download` method to retrieve the caption track.

A caption track is associated with exactly one YouTube video, and each caption track has a unique identifier (ID) that is used to refer to it in API requests. The way that caption IDs are generated and assigned has changed recently, as part of an update to the YouTube caption system.

In August 2022, YouTube announced that it would be changing the way caption IDs are generated, which means that any captions you upload will receive new IDs. This change is intended to improve the accuracy and consistency of captioning on the platform.

By following these steps, you can easily add subtitles to any YouTube video. Whether you're looking to make your videos more accessible or just want to provide additional context for your viewers, adding subtitles is a great way to enhance the viewing experience.

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