youtube-transcript

Extract transcripts from YouTube videos. Use when the user asks for a transcript, subtitles, or captions of a YouTube video and provides a YouTube URL (youtube.com/watch?v=, youtu.be/, or similar). Supports output with or without timestamps.

13 stars

byconnorads

View on GitHub Installation ↓

Best use case

youtube-transcript is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.

Teams using youtube-transcript should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.

When to use this skill

You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.

When not to use this skill

You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.

Installation

Claude Code / Cursor / Codex

$curl -o ~/.claude/skills/youtube-transcript/SKILL.md --create-dirs "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/connorads/dotfiles/main/.agents/skills/youtube-transcript/SKILL.md"

Manual Installation

Download SKILL.md from GitHub
Place it in .claude/skills/youtube-transcript/SKILL.md inside your project
Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill

How youtube-transcript Compares

Feature / Agent	youtube-transcript	Standard Approach
Platform Support	Not specified	Limited / Varies
Context Awareness	High	Baseline
Installation Complexity	Unknown	N/A

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this skill do?

Where can I find the source code?

You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.

Related Guides

AI Agent for YouTube Script Writing

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SKILL.md Source

# YouTube Transcript

Extract transcripts from YouTube videos using the youtube-transcript-api.

## Usage

Run the script with a YouTube URL or video ID:

```bash
uv run scripts/get_transcript.py "VIDEO_URL_OR_ID"
```

With timestamps:

```bash
uv run scripts/get_transcript.py "VIDEO_URL_OR_ID" --timestamps
```

## Defaults

- **Without timestamps** (default): Plain text, one line per caption segment
- **With timestamps**: `[MM:SS] text` format (or `[HH:MM:SS]` for longer videos)

## Supported URL Formats

- `https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID`
- `https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID`
- `https://youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID`
- Raw video ID (11 characters)

## Output

- CRITICAL: YOU MUST NEVER MODIFY THE RETURNED TRANSCRIPT
- If the transcript is without timestamps, you SHOULD clean it up so that it is arranged by complete paragraphs and the lines don't cut in the middle of sentences.
- If you were asked to save the transcript to a specific file, save it to the requested file.
- If no output file was specified, use the YouTube video ID with a `-transcript.txt` suffix.

## Notes

- Fetches auto-generated or manually added captions (whichever is available)
- Requires the video to have captions enabled
- Falls back to auto-generated captions if manual ones aren't available

Related Skills

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