TikTok Transcript API in Python: Requests Example

Overview

A short Python client: one function, a timeout, typed errors and a retry for retryable failures.

requests, a timeout, typed errors.
Retry only retryable errors.

quickstart.py

import os, requests

API = os.environ.get("TTA_API_BASE", "https://api.example.com")
r = requests.get(
    f"{API}/api/v1/tiktok/transcript",
    params={"url": "https://www.tiktok.com/@gardenclub/video/7000000000000000001", "lang": "en"},
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['TTA_API_KEY']}"},
    timeout=60,
)
data = r.json()
if not data["success"]:
    raise SystemExit(f"{data['error']['code']}: {data['error']['message']}")
print(data["transcript_source"], data["language_code"], len(data["segments"]), "segments")
print(data["transcript"])
print("credits left:", data["credits_remaining"])

A minimal call

Captured output from the local mock (not the real API)

captions en 5 segments
Okay, three tips for a small garden. Tip one: measure the sun before you buy seeds. Tip two: raised beds drain better. Tip three: water in the morning. Follow for the full guide.
credits left: 14999

Handle errors

Check success before you read fields, and use error.retryable to decide whether to try again. The batch workflow has a full loop with backoff and Retry-After.

Error from the mock for a private video

error private_video: This video is private.

Set a timeout

Always pass timeout. Speech-to-text can take a while, so use the job flow rather than a very long timeout.

Next: fetch many transcripts and async jobs. Run against the local mock in tools/mock-api, which follows the assumed contract on these pages. It is not the real API, and the output is captured from that mock.