# YouTube Skills for AI Agents 🎬

> Get YouTube transcripts, search videos, browse channels, and extract playlists — from any AI agent.

YouTube Skills gives your AI agent instant access to **YouTube transcripts**, **video search**, **channel data**, and **playlist extraction**. No yt-dlp (YouTube blocks all major cloud IPs), no headless browsers, no binaries — just a fast API call that works everywhere. Powered by [TranscriptAPI](https://transcriptapi.com), the same backend behind [YouTubeToTranscript.com](https://youtubetotranscript.com).

Works with 🦞 [OpenClaw](https://www.clawhub.ai/therohitdas/youtube-full) (ClawdBot/Moltbot), <img src="assets/hermes.png" alt="" height="14"> [Hermes Agent](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com), Claude Code, Cursor, Antigravity, and any agent that supports the [Agent Skills](https://skills.sh) format.

**Free tier · No credit card · 100 credits on signup**

[TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com) · [MCP Server](https://github.com/ZeroPointRepo/youtube-mcp) · [Docs](https://transcriptapi.com/docs/)

---

## Install

Most users want **youtube-full** — it covers transcripts, search, channels, and playlists in one skill.

**🦞 OpenClaw (ClawdBot/Moltbot):**
```bash
npx clawhub@latest install youtube-full
```

**<img src="assets/hermes.png" alt="" height="14"> Hermes Agent:**
```bash
hermes skills install skills-sh/ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills/skills/youtube-full
```

**Claude Code / Cursor / Antigravity / Cline / Codex:**
```bash
npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills --skill youtube-full
```

**All 12 skills at once:**
```bash
npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills
```

**Manual (git clone):**
```bash
git clone https://github.com/ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills.git
cp -r youtube-skills/skills/youtube-full ~/.claude/skills/
```

> **Not a developer?** Just paste this prompt into 🦞 [OpenClaw](https://www.clawhub.ai/therohitdas/youtube-full), <img src="assets/hermes.png" alt="" height="14"> [Hermes Agent](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com), Claude, ChatGPT, or any AI agent:
>
> ```
> Install the youtube skills from this GitHub repo: https://github.com/ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills
> I want to be able to get YouTube transcripts, search YouTube, and browse channel videos from my agent.
> Set everything up for me.
> ```
>
> The agent will handle the rest.

---

## What You Can Do

Just install and ask. No config, no code — talk to your agent in plain English.

| Task | Example Prompt |
|------|----------------|
| **Get a YouTube transcript** | "Summarize this video: [URL]" |
| **Search YouTube** | "Find videos about machine learning" |
| **Browse a channel** | "What has TED posted this week?" |
| **Get playlist contents** | "List all videos in this playlist" |
| **Extract video captions** | "Get captions from this video in Spanish" |
| **Bulk transcripts** | "Get transcripts for every video in this channel" |
| **Research a topic** | "Find and summarize the top 5 videos about quantum computing" |
| **Get latest uploads** | "Show me NASA's recent videos" |
| **Search within a channel** | "Search the TED channel for 'artificial intelligence'" |

---

## Setup — API Key

When you install a skill and run your agent for the first time, **the agent will set up your free API key automatically**. Here's what happens:

1. The agent asks you for your **email address** and registers you with TranscriptAPI
2. You'll receive an **OTP code** in your email — the agent will ask you to enter it
3. Once verified, the agent **saves the API key** to your shell and agent config automatically

That's it. 100 free credits, no credit card required.

<details>
<summary><strong>Manual setup (if you prefer to do it yourself)</strong></summary>

1. Sign up at [transcriptapi.com](https://transcriptapi.com) — free, no credit card required
2. Copy your API key from the dashboard (starts with `sk_`)
3. Ask your agent to store it for you:

   > "My TranscriptAPI key is `sk_...` — store it so it persists across sessions."

Or set it yourself as an environment variable:

```bash
export TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY="sk_your_key_here"
```

</details>

<details>
<summary><strong>Where does the key get saved?</strong></summary>

Your agent stores the API key here (depends on the runtime):

| Location | File |
|----------|------|
| **OpenClaw/Moltbot** | `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json` or `~/.clawdbot/moltbot.json` |
| **Hermes Agent** | Hermes secret store (`TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY` declared via `required_environment_variables` in skill frontmatter) |
| **macOS shell** | `~/.zshenv`, `~/.zprofile` |
| **Linux shell** | `~/.profile`, `~/.bashrc`, `~/.zshenv` |
| **Fish shell** | `~/.config/fish/config.fish` |
| **Fallback** | `~/.transcriptapi` (mode 600) |

Your agent picks it up automatically after saving.

</details>

---

## Skills

`youtube-full` is the recommended skill for most users. It includes everything: transcripts, search, channels, playlists.

If you prefer smaller, focused skills (smaller context = better agent performance for specific tasks), pick what you need:

| Skill | What It Does | Install |
|-------|--------------|---------|
| **youtube-full** | Everything — transcripts, search, channels, playlists | `--skill youtube-full` |
| **transcript** | Get video transcripts with timestamps | `--skill transcript` |
| **youtube-search** | Search YouTube for videos and channels | `--skill youtube-search` |
| **youtube-channels** | Browse uploads, get latest videos, resolve @handles | `--skill youtube-channels` |
| **youtube-playlist** | Extract all videos from a playlist | `--skill youtube-playlist` |

```bash
# Install a specific skill
npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills --skill transcript

# Install multiple specific skills
npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills --skill transcript --skill youtube-search
```

<details>
<summary><strong>All 12 skills</strong></summary>

We ship 12 skills total. Many are narrower variants or aliases of the core 5 above — so your agent can find the right skill regardless of how you phrase your request.

| Skill | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| **youtube-full** | Complete YouTube toolkit — transcripts + search + channels + playlists |
| **transcript** | Extract transcript from any YouTube video with timestamps |
| **captions** | Get closed captions / CC from YouTube videos |
| **subtitles** | Extract subtitles from YouTube videos |
| **youtube-search** | Search YouTube for videos and channels |
| **youtube-channels** | Browse channel uploads, get latest videos, resolve @handles |
| **youtube-playlist** | Fetch all videos from a YouTube playlist |
| **youtube-data** | Get YouTube video and channel data (lightweight alternative to Google's API) |
| **youtube-api** | YouTube API access for AI agents — no Google quota hassle |
| **transcriptapi** | Full TranscriptAPI access with all endpoints |
| **video-transcript** | Convert YouTube videos to text transcripts |
| **yt** | Quick YouTube utility for fast lookups |

</details>

---

## Pricing

| Plan | Price | Credits | Rate Limit |
|------|-------|---------|------------|
| **Free** | $0 | 100 credits on signup | 300 req/min |
| **Starter** | $5/month | 1,000 credits/month | 300 req/min |
| **Starter Annual** | $54/year ($4.50/mo) | 1,000 credits/month | 300 req/min |

Most operations cost 1 credit. Channel resolve and latest are free. No credit card required for the free tier.

[View pricing →](https://transcriptapi.com)

---

## Supported Agents

Works with any AI agent that supports the [Agent Skills](https://skills.sh) format:

| Agent | Install Command |
|-------|----------------|
| 🦞 **[OpenClaw](https://www.clawhub.ai/therohitdas/youtube-full)** (ClawdBot/Moltbot) | `npx clawhub@latest install youtube-full` |
| <img src="assets/hermes.png" alt="" height="14"> **[Hermes Agent](https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com)** | `hermes skills install skills-sh/ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills/skills/youtube-full` |
| **Claude Code** | `npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills` |
| **Cursor** | `npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills` |
| **Antigravity** | `npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills` |
| **Cline** | `npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills` |
| **Codex** | `npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills` |
| **Others** | Goose, AMP, Kiro, Roo, OpenCode, Gemini, GitHub Copilot... |

---

## FAQ

### How do I get a YouTube transcript?

Install `youtube-full` (or `transcript`) and ask your agent:

> "Get the transcript for this video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

The agent fetches the full transcript with timestamps. You can then ask it to summarize, translate, quote, or analyze the content.

### How do I search YouTube from my agent?

Install `youtube-full` (or `youtube-search`) and ask:

> "Find videos about machine learning"

Returns up to 50 results with titles, thumbnails, view counts, and publish dates.

### How do I get all videos from a YouTube channel?

Install `youtube-full` (or `youtube-channels`) and ask:

> "List all videos from the TED channel"

The agent resolves the @handle, fetches uploads (paginated, 100/page), and can then get transcripts for any or all of them.

### Can I bulk download YouTube transcripts?

Yes. Install `youtube-full` and ask:

> "Get transcripts for all videos in this playlist: [URL]"

The agent fetches the playlist, iterates through videos, and extracts each transcript.

### Do I need a Google YouTube Data API key?

No. TranscriptAPI replaces the Google YouTube Data API for transcript extraction, search, and channel/playlist operations. No Google Cloud project, no quota limits, no OAuth setup.

### Do I need an API key?

Yes, but signup is free and instant — 100 credits, no credit card required. Your agent handles the setup automatically on first run.

### Which skill should I install?

- **Want everything?** → `youtube-full` (recommended)
- **Just transcripts?** → `transcript`
- **Just search?** → `youtube-search`
- **Just channel data?** → `youtube-channels`
- **Just playlists?** → `youtube-playlist`

### What is TranscriptAPI?

[TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com) is a REST API and MCP server for YouTube data. It provides transcript extraction, video search, channel browsing, and playlist operations — built for developers and AI agents. Also available as an [MCP Server](https://github.com/ZeroPointRepo/youtube-mcp) for direct LLM integration (Claude, ChatGPT).

---

## Powered by TranscriptAPI

[TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com) — 15M+ transcripts/month, 99.9% uptime.

Also available: [MCP Server](https://github.com/ZeroPointRepo/youtube-mcp) for direct LLM integration with Claude and ChatGPT.

Full API docs: [transcriptapi.com/docs](https://transcriptapi.com/docs)

## Contributing

PRs welcome. See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md).

## License

MIT © [TranscriptAPI](https://transcriptapi.com)