Shorts links are supported
Copy the link from the Share button on a Short. It looks like youtube.com/shorts/ followed by an ID. Press Import from link in the upload box above and paste it; RocketScribe shows the title and length, fetches only the audio and transcribes it. The usual rules apply: the Short has to be public, and one link is one video.
Because Shorts are short, the transcript is back almost immediately. If you have a batch of them, queue several links and they run together. Each Short becomes its own transcript named after the video's title, so a week of posts stays easy to tell apart. If a Short is still a draft on your phone and has no public link yet, upload the video file instead.
Why creators transcribe their own Shorts
Shorts are often watched without sound, so text on screen matters. Creators use transcripts to:
- Export SRT with correct spelling of names and products and add the captions in their video editor before posting elsewhere.
- Post the same video on TikTok or Instagram with accurate captions and a written caption field.
- Keep a searchable log of every hook and script across hundreds of Shorts.
- Turn a run of Shorts on one topic into a longer article or a script for a full video.
Music, trending sounds and voice-overs
Short vertical videos are loud. A trending sound under the voice, quick cuts and sound effects all compete with speech. Talking-head Shorts and clear voice-overs, including text-to-speech voices, transcribe well. When the music is louder than the voice, expect to fix more lines; lyrics themselves are transcribed much less reliably than speech.
Many Shorts switch languages mid-video or use slang, brand names and internet shorthand that the model spells by ear. If the video is in one language throughout, set it yourself; very short clips give auto-detect little to work with.
Captions and text
SRT and VTT carry the timing, so the captions line up with the cuts. RocketScribe does not burn captions into the video; load the SRT into CapCut, Premiere, DaVinci Resolve or YouTube Studio for that. TXT and the Copy button are quickest for pasting the words into a description or a post.
A Short is a small piece of someone's work too. Only transcribe videos you have the right to use. A transcript of someone else's video is fine for your own notes and research; republishing it may need the owner's permission.