How it works
Add a source, extract, understand, create, automate
Every GistCite tool follows the same five steps, and every step is one call in the API. This page explains the flow, the engines that do the work and how usage is metered.
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The five steps
Step 1
Add a source
Paste a YouTube link, a web address, or drop a PDF, Office file, recording or video. Nothing is stored except the text that comes out.
Step 2
Extract
The transcript or text comes back with its structure — timestamps, page anchors, headings and tables — ready to copy, download or send to your AI.
Step 3
Understand
Ask for a summary, key points and chapters, or ask a question and get an answer with citations back to the exact page or second.
Step 4
Create
Turn the source into a post, a brief, a script, captions, subtitles or clips, and download the file.
Step 5
Automate
Everything in the web app is one API call with the same account and quota, so a workflow that works by hand runs on a schedule.
What goes in and what comes out
| Tool | Takes | Gives back | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube Transcripts | A watch URL, a short link, or a bare video id all work; playlists and batches on Pro. | Copy, download TXT or SRT, translate, or summarize with AI. | 1 unit per transcript; cached repeats also 1 unit; anonymous visitors get a small per-session allowance without an account. |
| Document Extractor | PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, TXT, MD, EPUB or HTML, from your computer or a URL. | Save in nine formats, or summarize, ask, translate and create from it. | 1 unit per document; OCR 3 units per page; translation 2 units per page; batch items 1 unit each. |
| PDF Editor | Drop it into the editor; password-protected files ask for the password. | Download the flattened PDF. | Browser editing is free; server-side page operations (merge, split, protect, unlock) are 1 unit each. |
| AI Summary, Ask and Create | A transcript, document, web page or recording lands in your history. | Copy, download, or open the cited point in the source. | 10 units at Standard, 30 at Deep, 1 for a cached repeat. Ask and clip ideas run at Standard. |
| Speech to Text | Dictate live, record a browser tab, or upload audio or video. | Fix names, then copy or download TXT or SRT. | 1 unit per started minute, minimum 3; 2 units per minute at high quality; cached repeats 1 unit. |
| TTS Reader | Or open an extraction from your history. | Optional MP3 download. | Playback free; MP3 export 5 units. |
| Markdown Editor | Start blank, or open an extraction. | .md, .docx or .html. | None. |
| Web Extractor | Or a list, or a start page for a crawl. | Markdown, text, HTML, JSON, or a ZIP for batches and crawls. | 1 unit per page extracted, including each batch item and crawled page. |
| Media Tools | A file up to 500 MB, or a public video link. | Download each result; the transcript joins your history. | 1 unit per transform or Audio Kit export; downloads 1 unit per MB; clip ideas 10 units. |
| Sentiment Analysis | One video, or up to ten. | CSV, XLSX, JSON or HTML table. | 1 unit per 100 comments collected; 10 units per 100 comments scored with AI. |
| Open Library | Title, author, subject, ISBN or DOI. | Extract, summarize and cite. | 1 unit per download, then normal extraction costs. |
What it runs on
The engines are named so the behaviour is checkable, not a black box.
youtube-transcript-api and yt-dlp
YouTube caption retrieval
Docling and pypdf
Document extraction and layout-aware Markdown
OpenAI Whisper
Audio and video transcription
Claude by Anthropic
Summaries, Ask This Source, Create From Source
Playwright
Browser rendering for web extraction
Stripe
Checkout and billing portal
How usage is metered
Every plan is a monthly allowance of units. An extraction is 1 unit, whether it is a transcript, a document, a web page or a media transform. AI actions are 10 units at Standard quality or 30 at Deep, and a cached repeat is 1. Transcription is priced per minute, OCR and translation per page. The cost is shown before an action runs, and every metered API response carries quota headers that report what it cost and what is left.
The free plan has 100 units a month and covers extraction, PDF editing, Markdown, text to speech and dictation. Pro has 2,000 units and every AI, media and research tool; API has 10,000. Top-up packs are available on paid plans and never expire. See the pricing page for the current prices.
What is kept and what is not
Uploaded files are processed in memory and discarded; media streams through a temporary file for the duration of the job. What is kept is the extracted text, in your history, so that summaries, questions and drafts can be run on it later. You can export or delete everything from the Account page. The security page lists the controls in detail and says plainly which audits have not been done.
See it on a real source
Paste a YouTube link and follow the transcript through summary, question and draft.