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How to extract subtitles from a video on a Mac
By Himanshu Ranjan · Updated 8 November 2026
To extract subtitles from a video on a Mac, select the file in Finder, hold the right Option key and run FileDial's Convert › Extract subtitle tracks. Each text track is saved as an SRT. The video is untouched, and everything runs offline with no upload.
Soft subtitles versus burned-in
Subtitles come in two kinds. Wikipedia describes closed or soft subtitles as stored separately from the video, so viewers can turn them on or off and different languages can be offered. Open or burned-in subtitles are added directly to the picture and cannot be removed afterward.
Only soft subtitles can be extracted. If the text is part of the picture, there is no track to pull out.
Extract with FileDial
Convert › Extract subtitle tracks saves each text track in the video as its own SRT file.
- Select the video in Finder.
- Hold the right Option key to open the dial.
- Choose Convert › Extract subtitle tracks.
- Open the SRT files in a text editor or subtitle app, or pair them with another video.
What to do next
Once you have an SRT, you can reuse it. Combine › Burn in subtitles takes a video and an SRT or VTT file and makes a copy with the text baked into the picture. Combine › Add subtitle track adds a subtitle file as a switchable track without re-encoding, which suits players that support soft subtitles. See the add-subtitles-to-video guide for the full workflow.
To drop the tracks instead, Adjust › Remove subtitle tracks makes a copy without them, with no re-encoding.
Working with SRT files
An SRT is a plain text file with numbered entries, times and lines of text, so any text editor opens it. You can fix typos, translate lines or shift your own timing. Keep the file name the same as the video, with a different extension, so players pick it up automatically.
If the extracted file looks empty or garbled, the track may be an image-based subtitle, such as those on discs, which are pictures rather than text. FileDial's note says each text track is saved as an SRT, so image tracks need another tool.
Keeping subtitles with a converted file
When you convert an MKV to MP4, extract the subtitles first so you have a copy. After conversion you can add the SRT back with Combine › Add subtitle track, or burn it in if the player cannot show soft subtitles.
If you plan to publish a video, check the licence of the subtitles you reuse. Subtitles can be someone's work.
Formats and common mistakes
SRT is the simplest subtitle format: numbered entries with start and end times and the text. It is supported almost everywhere, which makes it the right output for reuse. Other formats exist, such as VTT for the web, and Combine › Burn in subtitles accepts SRT or VTT.
A frequent mistake is expecting every subtitle track to come out as clean text. Tracks made of images, as on many discs, are not text, so nothing readable results. Another is mixing up tracks: a file may hold several languages, and each text track is saved separately, so open them to see which is which.
A third mistake is forgetting character encoding. If accented letters look wrong in a text editor, try opening the file with UTF-8 encoding.
FileDial is the right tool for pulling text tracks out of a video you own and for turning speech into an SRT with Convert › Transcribe to subtitles… It is not the right tool for converting image-based subtitles into text, which needs optical recognition software, or for editing timing line by line, where a subtitle editor is better.
Checklist for working with subtitles
These steps make subtitle work predictable.
- Open the video in a player and confirm which subtitle tracks exist.
- Run Convert › Extract subtitle tracks and check how many SRT files appear.
- Open each SRT in a text editor to identify the language.
- Keep the SRT next to the video with a matching name.
- If a track is empty or garbled, treat it as an image-based track.
- Copy the SRT before editing it so you keep the original timing.
- If the video must be shared on a service that does not support soft subtitles, burn the text in on a copy.
No subtitles yet
If the video has no text track, FileDial can make one from the speech: Convert › Transcribe to subtitles… produces an SRT and a TXT on this Mac. Wikipedia reminds that subtitle files must record when each line should appear, so check timing after transcription.
AVI cannot store subtitles at all according to Wikipedia, so subtitles for AVI files live in separate files. Converting the video with the MKV-to-MP4 guide helps when subtitles are in a Matroska file. All of this stays on your Mac.
Questions
Can I extract subtitles from an MKV on a Mac?
Yes. Run FileDial's Convert › Extract subtitle tracks and each text track is saved as an SRT. The video itself is not changed. Image-based subtitle tracks, such as those found on discs, are pictures and are not text, so they need a different tool.
Why does the tool find nothing?
The subtitles may be burned into the picture, in which case there is no separate track. Only soft subtitle tracks can be extracted. Burned-in text is part of the picture, so there is no track to extract and nothing to switch off.
How do I put subtitles back?
Use Combine › Add subtitle track for a switchable track without re-encoding, or Combine › Burn in subtitles to bake the text into the picture. Both options leave the video intact, but only one lets viewers turn the subtitles off in a player.
Can I create subtitles for a video that has none?
Yes. Convert › Transcribe to subtitles… makes an SRT and a TXT on your Mac from the speech, so the audio is not sent anywhere. Automatic transcripts contain mistakes and the timing can drift, so review the wording and timing before you use the file or burn it into a copy.