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Manage and translate YouTube captions

Find a YouTube video's caption source, add or remove tracks, translate captions, review them and publish to YouTube, and see how captions affect Optimize.

Updated September 30, 2026

The Captions tab on a YouTube video shows the caption tracks already on YouTube, lets you add or remove tracks, and translates your captions into other languages. Nothing reaches YouTube until you review it and choose to upload or publish.

To open it, go to Content, open a YouTube video and select the Captions tab. Captions are managed for YouTube videos only.

Manage caption tracks

Under Caption tracks on YouTube, each track shows its language and type: Standard for uploaded captions, ASR for YouTube's automatic captions, and Draft for tracks hidden from viewers. You can download a track or delete it (automatic tracks cannot be deleted).

To upload your own file:

  1. Click Add captions.
  2. Enter the language code and, if you want, a track name.
  3. Choose an .srt, .vtt or .sbv file smaller than 4 MB.
  4. Keep Save as private draft selected, or clear it and confirm that the upload will be public.
  5. Click Upload.

Translate captions

  1. Under Source captions, click Check source. NOWScale reads the video's captions on YouTube and detects the spoken language. Standard tracks are preferred over automatic ones, and drafts are not used.
  2. Under Target languages, choose one or more languages. Languages that already exist on YouTube show Already available.
  3. Click Translate and confirm the Token price on the button. You are charged only for what the translation uses, and the price holds until the time shown.
  4. When a language shows Ready for review, click Review. Edit the text of any line (timing and order stay the same), then click Save changes.
  5. Click Upload as draft to send a private draft to YouTube.
  6. Click Publish to YouTube to make the caption public.
A draft upload does not make the caption public. Viewers see it only after you click Publish to YouTube.

To keep a translation consistent, use Preferred terms during review. A saved term applies to later translations for the same channel.

When no source is found

StatusWhat to do
No YouTube captions found.Upload a caption file with Add captions. If the video was uploaded through NOWScale, you may see Private source available instead.
Private source availableApprove one transcription run from the private copy of your video, then continue with translation.
Reconnect requiredReconnect the channel, then click Check source again.
Quota pausedYouTube's API quota was reached. Checking resumes after it resets.
Source window expiredClick Check source again.

Captions and Optimize

Optimize uses timed captions in the video's language when they are available. Without them, Optimize works from the title, description, tags and thumbnail. Some results are then marked Metadata-based with Limited confidence, chapters are not created, and Optimize may ask you to describe the video first. It does not guess what is said or shown in the video.

Get help

Support can check the status of a caption source or translation and explain the next step. Support cannot make YouTube provide captions or start a paid transcription or translation for you.

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