Live Caption Extension adds real-time captions to any audio or video playing in your browser. Whether you're watching a tutorial, a live stream, or a conference call, this extension automatically generates and displays subtitles directly on the page. It supports multiple languages and offers customizable appearance settings.
- Real-time captioning – Generates captions as audio plays.
- Works on any website – Captions appear as an overlay on any
<video>or<audio>element, or via microphone input. - Multiple language support – Choose from over 100 languages for both transcription and display.
- Customizable appearance – Adjust font size, color, background, and position of the caption box.
- Offline mode – Uses on-device speech recognition (when supported) for privacy and low latency.
- Keyboard shortcuts – Toggle captions on/off quickly.
- Export transcripts – Save the entire session's transcript as a text file.
- Lightweight – Minimal performance impact.
- Visit the Chrome Web Store and search for "Live Caption Extension".
- Click Add to Chrome.
- The extension icon will appear in your toolbar.
- Download the latest release from GitHub Releases.
- Unzip the package.
- Open
chrome://extensions(or your browser's extensions page). - Enable Developer mode (toggle in the top right).
- Click Load unpacked and select the unzipped folder.
- The extension is now installed.
- Navigate to any page with audio/video content (e.g., YouTube, Netflix, a podcast player, or a meeting app).
- Click the Live Caption icon in your browser toolbar to open the popup.
- Click the Start Captioning button.
- Captions will appear as an overlay on the active media element. If no media is found, you can enable microphone input to caption live speech from your surroundings.
- To stop, click the popup again and select Stop Captioning.
Ctrl+Shift+C(Windows/Linux) /Cmd+Shift+C(Mac) – Toggle captions on/off.Ctrl+Shift+T– Export current transcript.
(Shortcuts can be customized in the extension settings.)
Click the extension icon and select Settings to access:
- Language – Choose the source language and the display language.
- Caption Style – Font, size, color, background opacity, and position (top/bottom/left/right).
- Auto-start – Automatically enable captions when a media element is detected.
- Microphone Mode – Toggle to caption ambient audio from your microphone.
- Save Transcript – Automatically save transcripts to your downloads folder.
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Captions not appearing | Ensure the page has an active video/audio element. Refresh the page and try again. |
| Captions are delayed | This can happen on slower devices. Try reducing the caption font size or disabling background effects. |
| Microphone not working | Check that you have granted microphone permissions to the extension (browser permission prompt). |
| Unsupported language | Some languages may not be available for on-device recognition. Check the settings for supported languages. |
| Extension icon missing | Re-add the extension from the browser's extensions page. |
If problems persist, please open an issue with details about your browser version and the website you're using.
We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guidelines for details.
- Fork the repository.
- Create a new branch:
git checkout -b feature/your-feature. - Commit your changes:
git commit -m 'Add some feature'. - Push to the branch:
git push origin feature/your-feature. - Open a Pull Request.
This project is licensed under the MIT License – see the LICENSE file for details.
- Built with Web Speech API and MediaStream API.
- Icons provided by FontAwesome.
Enjoy seamless captioning everywhere!
If you like this extension, please ⭐ star the repository and share it with others.