Convert an SRT file to plain text.
Paste SubRip subtitles or choose an .srt file. The converter removes cue numbers and timestamps, keeps the spoken text in order, and gives you a UTF-8 .txt download. It runs in this browser tab.
Before and after
Before: an SRT file
Two cue numbers, two timing lines, an italic tag, and a cue that is only a number someone said.
1
00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:03,100
We tested 3 caption styles
on the same interview.
2
00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:05,900
<i>The second one read best on a phone.</i>
3
00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:07,000
42After: the .txt download
The spoken 3 and 42 stay. The line break inside the first cue stays. A blank line marks where each cue ended.
We tested 3 caption styles
on the same interview.
The second one read best on a phone.
42How this tool works
- 01
Paste or choose the SRT
Paste the whole file, including cue numbers and timing lines, or pick an .srt file of up to 500 KB from this device.
- 02
Extract the text
Each cue becomes a paragraph. Timing lines, cue numbers and common SRT formatting tags are removed.
- 03
Check, then download
Read the preview for anything the file got wrong, then download a UTF-8 .txt file.
Practical guide
What to know before you download
What is removed and what is kept
Only the line directly above a timing line is treated as a cue number, so numbers inside the dialogue are never stripped. Timestamps, the cue numbers, and the formatting habits SRT files commonly carry — <i>, <b>, <u>, <font> tags and {\an8}-style position codes — are removed. Everything else between the tags is kept as written, including accented letters, emoji and non-Latin scripts. Text that only looks like HTML, such as a line containing <script>, stays literal: SRT has no markup specification, so anything else in angle brackets may genuinely be part of what was said.
A .txt file has no timing
Plain text keeps the words and throws away when they were said. Players and platforms cannot display it as captions, and it cannot be converted back into a synchronized subtitle file without timing it again. Keep the original .srt alongside the text. If you need a caption file for a web player instead, use the SRT to VTT converter.
Why a file is rejected
The tool stops at the first cue it cannot read safely instead of guessing. A timestamp such as 00:00:61,000, an end time before the start, or a cue with no text is reported by cue number. So is a cue that runs straight into the next cue's number and timing line: without the blank line between them, extracting text would put a timestamp into the transcript. Add the missing blank line and extract again.
Limits worth knowing
Input is limited to 500 KB of subtitle text, well beyond a feature-length file, so a mistaken pick of a video cannot lock up a phone's browser tab. The converter does not merge short cues into sentences, remove repeated lines, detect speakers or fix transcription errors. Automatically generated subtitles that roll the same words across several cues will show those repeats in the text.
Questions about this tool
Is my SRT file uploaded?+
No. The file is read and converted by JavaScript in this browser tab. Its text and its file name are not sent to the Auto Subtitle Generator server, and no account is needed.
Will numbers in the dialogue disappear?+
No. Only a number sitting directly above a timing line is treated as a cue number. A cue whose text is just "42" keeps it.
Can I turn the TXT back into an SRT?+
Not with this tool. The timing is gone from the text file, so it would have to be synchronized again. Keep the original SRT if you may need captions later.
Does this transcribe a video?+
No. It only reads subtitle text that already exists. To get words from a video's speech, generate subtitles from the video first and then download the text.
How are line breaks handled?+
Line breaks inside a cue are kept as they were written, and a blank line separates one cue from the next, so you can still see where the original captions were split.