YouTube Transcript - Setup Guide

Why Residential IP?

YouTube blocks cloud provider IPs (AWS, Hetzner, GCP, Azure, etc.) from accessing transcripts. Requests from these IPs get 403/429 errors or bot detection.

Solution: Route requests through a residential IP via WireGuard VPN to a home router.

Prerequisites

Python 3.x installed
WireGuard installed on VPS
Access to a residential network (home router with WireGuard support)

1. Install Python Dependencies

pip3 install youtube-transcript-api requests

2. Configure WireGuard VPN

You need a WireGuard server on a residential network (home router, NAS, etc.).

On Your Home Router (Server)

# Generate keys
wg genkey | tee /etc/wireguard/privatekey | wg pubkey > /etc/wireguard/publickey

# Configure interface (e.g., /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf or via LuCI/OpenWRT)
[Interface]
PrivateKey = <router_private_key>
Address = 10.100.0.1/24
ListenPort = 51820

[Peer]
PublicKey = <vps_public_key>
AllowedIPs = 10.100.0.2/32

Enable masquerading/NAT so the VPS can route traffic through your home IP.

On Your VPS (Client)

# Generate keys
wg genkey | tee /etc/wireguard/privatekey | wg pubkey > /etc/wireguard/publickey

# Configure /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf
[Interface]
PrivateKey = <vps_private_key>
Address = 10.100.0.2/24
Table = 51820

[Peer]
PublicKey = <router_public_key>
Endpoint = <your-home-ip-or-ddns>:51820
AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0
PersistentKeepalive = 25

Bring Up VPN

wg-quick up wg0
ip rule add from 10.100.0.2 table 51820

Verify

curl --interface 10.100.0.2 ifconfig.me  # Should show your home IP

3. Configure Script (If Needed)

Edit scripts/fetch_transcript.py and adjust:

VPN_INTERFACE = "wg0"        # Your WireGuard interface name
VPN_SOURCE_IP = "10.100.0.2" # Your VPS's WireGuard IP

Troubleshooting

Error	Cause	Solution
VPN not available	WireGuard down	Script auto-retries; check `wg show`
Transcripts disabled	Creator disabled captions	No workaround
No transcript found	No captions in requested languages	Try different language codes
RequestBlocked	VPN not routing properly	Verify `curl --interface <VPN_IP> ifconfig.me` shows residential IP

Alternatives to WireGuard

If you can't set up WireGuard:

SSH tunnel: ssh -D 1080 user@home-server + configure SOCKS proxy
Residential proxy service: Bright Data, Oxylabs, SmartProxy (paid)
Tailscale/ZeroTier: Easier setup than raw WireGuard

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