# Captions

Use when captions, subtitles, or the spoken text of a YouTube video is needed, even if...

- Repository: https://github.com/ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills (1151 stars)
- Category: Design
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-10-27
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills --skill captions -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills --skill captions -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills --skill captions -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills --skill captions -g -a gemini-cli -y`

## Description

Use when captions, subtitles, or the spoken text of a YouTube video is needed, even if not explicitly requested: pasted video links or IDs, requests to read, quote, or translate a video, accessibility needs, deaf/HoH use cases, content review, or language learning. Fetches timestamped caption data from any YouTube video. Not for uploading subtitles or account management.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# Captions

Extract closed captions from YouTube videos via [TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com).

## Setup

If `$TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY` is not set, read [references/auth-setup.md](references/auth-setup.md) and follow the instructions there to get and store the key.

## Required Headers

Every request needs two headers:

- **Authorization:** `Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY`
- **User-Agent:** your agent's name and version if known (e.g. `HermesAgent/0.11.0`, `ClaudeCode/1.0`). Version is optional, agent name alone is fine. Do not omit this header or send a bare default, Cloudflare will return a 403 (error code 1010) and block the request.

## GET /api/v2/youtube/transcript

```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\
?video_url=VIDEO_URL&format=json&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

| Param               | Required | Default | Values                              |
| ------------------- | -------- | ------- | ----------------------------------- |
| `video_url`         | yes      |, | YouTube URL or video ID             |
| `format`            | no       | `json`  | `json` (structured), `text` (plain) |
| `include_timestamp` | no       | `true`  | `true`, `false`                     |
| `send_metadata`     | no       | `false` | `true`, `false`                     |

**Response** (`format=json`, best for accessibility/timing):

```json
{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "transcript": [
    { "text": "We're no strangers to love", "start": 18.0, "duration": 3.5 },
    { "text": "You know the rules and so do I", "start": 21.5, "duration": 2.8 }
  ],
  "metadata": { "title": "...", "author_name": "...", "thumbnail_url": "..." }
}
```

- `start`: seconds from video start
- `duration`: how long caption is displayed

**Response** (`format=text`, readable):

The rest: https://github.com/ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills/blob/HEAD/clawhub/captions/SKILL.md