Facebook Ad Library Ad Transcript API
Returns the spoken words of a Facebook Ad Library video ad, from Facebook's captions when available or transcribed from the video itself.
GET /v1/facebook/adlibrary/ad/transcriptLast updated November 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
When to use the Facebook Ad Library Ad Transcript API
Use it when you need what an ad says out loud; adlibrary/ad returns the creative and spend but not the speech.
From the API reference
Retrieves a transcript for a single Facebook Ad Library video ad. Uses Facebook-provided captions when available, otherwise transcribes the public video URL on demand. Ads without retrievable captions return a 404 RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND, and on-demand transcription can fail transiently (503): both outcomes are free; credits are only deducted when a transcript is returned. On-demand transcription covers videos up to 2 minutes (120 seconds); a longer ad with no captions returns 400 INVALID_REQUEST with error.details.reason: video_too_long, duration_seconds and max_seconds, also free.
Searching 69 platforms in parallel
What can you do with the Ad Library Ad Transcript API?
The Ad Library Ad Transcript endpoint gives you structured Facebook data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.
Example Request
# GET /v1/facebook/adlibrary/ad/transcript: 10 credits per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
# --max-time 60: the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
# --retry 3: retries timeouts, 429 and 5xx, honoring Retry-After.
# -o response.json keeps only the final attempt's body.
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
IDEMPOTENCY_KEY=$(od -An -N16 -tx1 /dev/urandom | tr -d ' \n')
curl -sS --max-time 60 --retry 3 -o response.json \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/facebook/adlibrary/ad/transcript?id=1126618083054464&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fads%2Flibrary%3Fid%3D1126618083054464" && cat response.json# GET /v1/facebook/adlibrary/ad/transcript: 10 credits per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
import os
import random
import time
import uuid
import requests
API_KEY = os.environ.get("SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY", "YOUR_API_KEY")
TIMEOUT_S = 60 # the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
MAX_RETRIES = 3
URL = "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/facebook/adlibrary/ad/transcript"
def backoff(attempt):
# Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
return 2 ** attempt * (0.5 + random.random() / 2)
def socialcrawl(params):
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
idempotency_key = str(uuid.uuid4())
for attempt in range(MAX_RETRIES + 1):
try:
res = requests.get(
URL,
params=params,
headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY, "Idempotency-Key": idempotency_key},
timeout=TIMEOUT_S,
)
body = res.json()
except (requests.RequestException, ValueError):
# A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise
time.sleep(backoff(attempt))
continue
if body["success"]:
return body
error = body["error"]
# Branch on error["type"], never on the message text.
if error["type"] == "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND":
return None # refunded: nothing to read
retry_after = res.headers.get("Retry-After")
# SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
permanent = error["type"] == "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" and retry_after is None
if not error.get("retryable") or permanent or attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise RuntimeError(f"{error['type']}: {error['message']} (request_id {body['request_id']})")
# Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
time.sleep(float(retry_after) if retry_after else backoff(attempt))
params = {
"id": "1126618083054464",
"url": "https://www.facebook.com/ads/library?id=1126618083054464",
}
body = socialcrawl(params)
if body is not None:
print(body["data"])// GET /v1/facebook/adlibrary/ad/transcript: 10 credits per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
// Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
const API_KEY = process.env.SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY ?? "YOUR_API_KEY";
const TIMEOUT_MS = 60_000; // the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
const MAX_RETRIES = 3;
type Page = { next_cursor: string | null; has_more: boolean };
type SocialCrawlResponse =
| { success: true; data: any; pagination?: Page; credits_used: number; request_id: string }
| { success: false; error: { type: string; message: string; retryable: boolean }; request_id: string };
const sleep = (ms: number) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
// Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
const backoffMs = (attempt: number) => 2 ** attempt * 1000 * (0.5 + Math.random() / 2);
async function socialcrawl(url: URL) {
// One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
const idempotencyKey = crypto.randomUUID();
for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
let res: Response;
let body: SocialCrawlResponse;
try {
res = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
"x-api-key": API_KEY,
"Idempotency-Key": idempotencyKey,
},
signal: AbortSignal.timeout(TIMEOUT_MS),
});
body = (await res.json()) as SocialCrawlResponse;
} catch (error) {
// A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if (attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) throw error;
await sleep(backoffMs(attempt));
continue;
}
if (body.success) return body;
// Branch on error.type, never on the message text.
if (body.error.type === "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND") return null; // refunded: nothing to read
const retryAfter = res.headers.get("Retry-After");
// SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
const permanent = body.error.type === "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" && retryAfter === null;
if (!body.error.retryable || permanent || attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) {
throw new Error(`${body.error.type}: ${body.error.message} (request_id ${body.request_id})`);
}
// Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
await sleep(retryAfter ? Number(retryAfter) * 1000 : backoffMs(attempt));
}
}
const url = new URL("https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/facebook/adlibrary/ad/transcript");
url.searchParams.set("id", "1126618083054464");
url.searchParams.set("url", "https://www.facebook.com/ads/library?id=1126618083054464");
const body = await socialcrawl(url);
if (body) console.log(body.data);Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| id | No | Facebook Ad Library ad ID. Ad ids rotate as campaigns end, so take a current one from `/v1/facebook/adlibrary/company/ads` rather than reusing an old one. |
| url | No | Facebook Ad Library URL for the ad. A page URL is rejected with a 400 at 0 credits. |
What does the Facebook Ad Library Ad Transcript API return?
Every response follows one unified schema. Here is a real, unmodified response body, so you can see the exact fields you get back before spending a credit.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"endpoint": "/v1/tiktok/post/transcript",
"data": {
"id": "7499229683859426602",
"url": "https://www.tiktok.com/@stoolpresidente/video/7499229683859426602",
"transcript": "WEBVTT\n\n\n00:00:00.180 --> 00:00:01.740\nAlright, pizza review time.\n\n00:00:01.741 --> 00:00:03.701\nSal's Pizza Factory. Oh,\n\n00:00:03.702 --> 00:00:05.701\nit's fucking pouring. We're in Charlotte.\n\n00:00:05.702 --> 00:00:07.781\nAlright man, any chance I get a real quick picture?\n\n00:00:07.782 --> 00:00:09.901\nJack or Dwight Howard? I gotta pick one.\n\n00:00:09.902 --> 00:00:10.861\nYeah, Jack.\n\n00:00:10.862 --> 00:00:12.301\nYeah, easy, right?\n\n00:00:12.302 --> 00:00:13.981\nWe're still Jason Williams still with us?\n\n00:00:13.982 --> 00:00:16.381\nYeah, he on the plane right over,\n\n00:00:16.382 --> 00:00:18.261\nout of the blue. Said the following.\n\n00:00:18.262 --> 00:00:21.141\nHe would take Dwight Howard over Shaq at center.\n\n00:00:21.142 --> 00:00:23.461\nAnd says he lie about it for the rest of his life\n\n00:00:23.462 --> 00:00:25.341\nand would never admit to saying that.\n\n00:00:25.342 --> 00 …"
},
"credits_used": 10,
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"request_id": "req-8Kq2ZmR4vT9xLb3P",
"cached": false,
"redacted": true
}Example captured from the TikTok API. Every SocialCrawl endpoint returns this same unified schema, so your Facebook Ad Library Ad Transcript response has the same fields.
How does the Facebook Ad Library Ad Transcript API work?
Send a GET request with your API key and get back clean, structured JSON in our unified schema. Supported computed fields are populated when the source provides the required inputs.
Method
GET
Response
JSON
How do you scrape social media data in seconds?
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Query 69 platforms with identical response structures. Write your integration once.
Computed fields, not just scraped
When an endpoint supports these metrics and the source provides the required inputs, the normalized record includes engagement_rate, estimated_reach, content_category, and language. Ready to use.
See your data before you code
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import requests
response = requests.get(
'https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tiktok/profile',
params={'handle': 'charlidamelio'},
headers={'x-api-key': 'sc_YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json(){
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"data": {
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"followers": 152400000
},
"engagement": {
"likes": 12400000000,
"engagement_rate": 0.087
},
"metadata": {
"language": "en",
"content_category": "lifestyle"
}
}
}Have a question? We got answers
Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.
Contact usHow do I get the transcript of a Facebook video ad?
Do I pass the ad id or the ad url?
How much does the ad transcript endpoint cost?
Why turn video ads into text?
Is the response synchronous?
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