Get-VideoSubtitles.ps1

Extracts the embedded subtitle tracks of a video file into the current directory, or lists them with -List.

Parameters

-Video (required): Path to input video file (absolute or relative)
-List: List the subtitle tracks (index, codec and output name) instead of extracting them. Creates no files

Supported Formats

ffmpeg can copy text subtitles out of a container, and can copy Blu-ray bitmap subtitles to a .sup file. It cannot write DVD or DVB bitmap subtitles as a standalone file, and it cannot turn bitmaps into text without OCR.

Container	Subtitle codec	Output	Notes
MKV	SubRip (`subrip`)	`.srt`
MKV, WebM	WebVTT (`webvtt`)	`.srt`	Converted to SubRip
MP4, MOV, M4V	mov_text (`mov_text`)	`.srt`	Converted to SubRip
MKV	ASS / SSA (`ass`)	`.ass`	Copied unchanged, styling is kept
MKV, M2TS, TS	Blu-ray PGS (`hdmv_pgs_subtitle`)	`.sup`	Copied unchanged. Bitmap, not text
MKV, VOB	DVD (`dvd_subtitle`)	not extracted	Listed as not supported
TS	DVB (`dvb_subtitle`)	not extracted	Listed as not supported
AVI	none	not extracted	AVI has no standard subtitle track

Any other subtitle codec is listed as not supported and skipped with a warning.

Output Names

Each extracted file is saved in the current directory, not next to the video. The name is built from the video name and the track language:

<video>.<language>.<extension>, for example movie.en.srt for an English track
The language is the 2-letter ISO 639-1 code when one exists (eng becomes en, fra becomes fr). Otherwise it is the 3-letter code from the file (for example fre), or und when the track has no language tag
When two tracks produce the same name, the second and later ones get a counter: movie.en.2.srt, movie.en.3.srt

Examples

List the subtitle tracks without creating files:

.\Get-VideoSubtitles.ps1 -Video video.mkv -List

Extract all subtitle tracks to the current directory:

.\Get-VideoSubtitles.ps1 -Video video.mkv
# Creates video.en.srt, video.fr.ass, ... in the current directory

Using absolute paths:

.\Get-VideoSubtitles.ps1 -Video "C:\Videos\movie.mkv"

Using relative paths:

.\Get-VideoSubtitles.ps1 -Video ..\videos\clip.mp4

Behavior

If the video has no subtitle stream, the script displays a message and exits successfully. It creates no file
Each track is copied with ffmpeg in its own pass. Text tracks are written as SubRip (.srt), ASS tracks as .ass, and PGS tracks as .sup
Unsupported tracks produce a warning and the other tracks are still extracted
The video file itself is never changed

Existing Files

An existing file with the same name in the current directory is replaced without a prompt. ffmpeg runs with -y, so the old file is lost. Use -WhatIf first, or run from a different folder
If ffmpeg fails, or an expected output file is not created, the script stops with an error
-List creates and replaces nothing

Safe Execution

This script supports -WhatIf and -Confirm for safe execution:

-WhatIf: Simulate the operation without creating files. Shows which files would be written.
-Confirm: Prompt for confirmation before each subtitle file is written.

Simulate without making changes:

.\Get-VideoSubtitles.ps1 -Video video.mkv -WhatIf

Prompt before each file is written:

.\Get-VideoSubtitles.ps1 -Video video.mkv -Confirm

Notes

Requires ffmpeg and ffprobe to be installed and available in the system PATH.
Language codes come from the file's language tags. Tracks without a tag are named with und.

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