# Youtube Data

Use when structured YouTube data is needed: pasted video/channel/playlist links...

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

## Install

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

## Description

Use when structured YouTube data is needed: pasted video/channel/playlist links, transcripts for analysis, video metadata, channel upload history, search results, or playlist contents, without Google API quotas or OAuth. Triggers on YouTube URLs, creator names, topic research, or any request needing YouTube content, even if not mentioned explicitly. Not for uploads, account management, or written-source-only research.

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

# YouTube Data

YouTube data access via [TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com), lightweight alternative to Google's YouTube Data API.

## 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.

## API Reference

Full OpenAPI spec: [transcriptapi.com/openapi.json](https://transcriptapi.com/openapi.json), consult this for the latest parameters and schemas.

## Video Data (transcript + metadata), 1 credit

```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"
```

**Response:**

```json
{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "transcript": [
    { "text": "We're no strangers to love", "start": 18.0, "duration": 3.5 }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up",
    "author_name": "Rick Astley",
    "author_url": "https://www.youtube.com/@RickAstley",
    "thumbnail_url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg"
  }
}
```

## Video Info & Rich Metadata

Check languages before spending a transcript credit (free), or pull view/like counts, publish date, description, duration, and tags (1 credit):

```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/info?video_url=VIDEO_URL" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

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