Video to VTT: Generate a WebVTT File from a Video

To generate a VTT from a video, send the video to the Potok bot on Telegram and export the transcript as VTT. The result is a WebVTT subtitle file for web players. Videos up to 2 GB are accepted, and the subtitle lines keep their time ranges.

Transcribe a recording

Send your voice message, audio or video to @potok_now_bot on Telegram and the text comes back in the chat.

Open @potok_now_bot in Telegram

Files up to 2 GB · export to TXT, MD, DOCX, PDF, SRT and VTT · speaker labels and timestamps · about 30 languages

Key facts

Web video players that use the HTML track element read WebVTT files, so VTT is the format for your own website.
A VTT file starts with a WEBVTT line, and its times use a dot before the milliseconds.
SRT is a close relative, and both formats can be exported from the same transcript.
The track is a separate file. The video itself is not changed.

How to do it

Prepare the page. Put your video in a standard video tag on the page, with a track tag ready for the subtitle file.
Open the bot. Open @potok_now_bot in Telegram.
Send the video. Attach it as a file. If it is up to 2 GB, use the Upload button of the mini app for large files.
Export VTT. When the transcript is ready, save it as VTT. TXT, MD, DOCX, PDF and SRT are also possible.
Check the first lines. Open the file in a text editor and confirm it begins with the WEBVTT header.
Link it in the track tag. Point the src of the track tag to the file, set the kind to subtitles and test the page in a browser.

What the result looks like

Example: a product tour as WebVTT cues

[00:00] Speaker 1: Click the plus button to create a new project.
[00:05] Speaker 1: Name it, choose a folder and press the green button.

Sample text written by us to show the layout of a transcript. It is not the output of the recognition engine and not a real recording.

What Potok can do
Feature	Details
Where it works	Telegram bot @potok_now_bot; large files go through the bot's mini app
File size	Up to 2 GB
Export	TXT, MD, DOCX, PDF, SRT, VTT
Speakers and time	Speaker labels and timestamps can be switched on
Languages	About 30 languages with good published results; a few more with warnings
Translation	The transcript is not translated into another language
Dictation	A separate Potok desktop app lets you dictate text into any program; it recognises Russian speech

Common mistakes

Common mistakes and how to fix them
Mistake	What happens	Fix
Removing the WEBVTT header line while editing	Browsers reject the file and show no subtitles.	Keep the first line exactly as it is.
Serving the VTT from another site without permission	The browser blocks the track because of cross-origin rules.	Host the subtitle file on the same site as the video, or allow cross-origin access.
Replacing the dot in the times with a comma	That is the SRT style. A VTT parser may skip those cues.	Use a dot before the milliseconds in VTT.
Not marking the track kind and language	The player cannot offer the track in its subtitle menu.	Set kind, label and the language attribute in the track tag.

See the full list of languages, the tools and the glossary.

Frequently asked questions

What is a VTT file?

VTT is WebVTT, a subtitle format for web video. Players that use the HTML track element read it.

How do VTT and SRT differ?

They hold similar cues. VTT begins with a WEBVTT line and writes times with a dot, SRT uses a comma.

Do I need a video tag?

Yes, to show the subtitles on your own page. A VTT file alone only holds text and times.

Can I edit the VTT?

Yes. It is plain text, so any editor works. Keep the header and the structure of the cues.

Can I export SRT too?

Yes. SRT, TXT, MD, DOCX and PDF come from the same transcript.

Sources

Each source was opened by hand on the date shown. Pages change, so open the source if a detail matters to you.

WebVTT (Wikipedia), Wikipedia · checked 2026-10-18
WebVTT: The Web Video Text Tracks Format (W3C), W3C · checked 2026-10-18

Try it on your own recording