youtube

name	youtube
description	The most comprehensive YouTube skill for AI agents. Extract transcripts for FREE (zero API quota!), search with filters, batch video details, read comments, download videos/audio. We analyzed 15+ YouTube tools and built the one that does everything.
homepage	https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/tree/main/skills/youtube
metadata	{"openclaw":{"emoji":"📺","requires":{"bins":["uv"]},"install":[{"id":"uv-brew","kind":"brew","formula":"uv","bins":["uv"],"label":"Install uv (brew)"},{"id":"ytdlp-brew","kind":"brew","formula":"yt-dlp","bins":["yt-dlp"],"label":"Install yt-dlp for downloads (optional)"}]}}

YouTube Research Pro

The most comprehensive YouTube skill for AI agents.

We analyzed 15+ YouTube MCP servers and found each does one thing well, but none does everything. So we built the skill we wished existed.

Why This Skill?

What Others Do	What We Do
Transcripts OR search OR downloads	All three, unified
Burn API quota on transcripts	FREE transcripts (zero quota)
Single video at a time	Batch operations (50 videos)
Basic search	Filtered search (date, duration, order)
Text output only	JSON export for pipelines

The Killer Feature: FREE Transcripts

Most tools use the YouTube Data API for transcripts = 100 quota units per request. Daily limit is 10,000 units = only ~100 transcripts/day.

We use youtube-transcript-api — extracts directly from YouTube's frontend. Zero API quota. Unlimited transcripts.

Quick Reference

Command	Quota	What it does
transcript VIDEO	FREE	Get video transcript
transcript-list VIDEO	FREE	List available languages
download VIDEO	FREE	Download video (yt-dlp)
download-audio VIDEO	FREE	Extract audio only
search QUERY	100	Search videos
video ID [ID...]	1/video	Get details (batch!)
comments VIDEO	1	Get comments + replies
channel [ID]	1-3	Channel statistics

Setup (One Time)

# 1. Get credentials from Google Cloud Console
#    - Create OAuth 2.0 Client ID (Desktop app)
#    - Download JSON

# 2. Save credentials
mkdir -p ~/.config/youtube-skill
mv ~/Downloads/client_secret*.json ~/.config/youtube-skill/credentials.json

# 3. Authenticate
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py auth

Transcripts (FREE!)

# Plain text transcript
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py transcript VIDEO_ID

# With timestamps
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py transcript VIDEO_ID --timestamps

# Specific language (falls back to available)
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py transcript VIDEO_ID -l es

# List what's available
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py transcript-list VIDEO_ID

# JSON output
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py transcript VIDEO_ID --json

Works with URLs too:

uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py transcript "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

Search

# Basic search
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py search "AI news 2026"

# With filters
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py search "tutorial" -l 20 --order date
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py search "lecture" --duration long
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py search "news" --published-after 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Video Details (Batch Supported)

# Single video
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py video dQw4w9WgXcQ

# Multiple videos at once (up to 50)
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py video id1 id2 id3 id4 id5

# JSON output for processing
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py video id1 id2 --json

Comments

# Top comments
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py comments VIDEO_ID

# With replies
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py comments VIDEO_ID --replies

# Recent comments
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py comments VIDEO_ID --order time -l 50

Downloads (requires yt-dlp)

# Video (best quality)
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py download VIDEO_ID

# Specific resolution
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py download VIDEO_ID -r 720p

# With subtitles
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py download VIDEO_ID -s en

# Audio only (MP3)
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py download-audio VIDEO_ID

# Audio as M4A
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py download-audio VIDEO_ID -f m4a

User Data

uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py subscriptions
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py playlists
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py playlist-items PLAYLIST_ID
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py liked
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py channel

Command Aliases

Full	Alias
transcript	tr
search	s
video	v
comments	c
download	dl
download-audio	dla

Use Cases

Research: Fetch transcript → analyze with LLM → extract insights

Learning: Batch transcripts from playlist → create study notes

Monitoring: Search recent videos → extract transcripts → track trends

Podcasts: Download audio for offline listening

Analysis: Get channel stats → compare competitors

Multi-Account

uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py -a work subscriptions
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/youtube.py -a personal liked

Why We Built This

We surveyed the landscape:

• kimtaeyoon83/mcp-server-youtube-transcript (463⭐) — Great transcripts, no search
• kevinwatt/yt-dlp-mcp (211⭐) — Great downloads, no transcripts
• dannySubsense/youtube-mcp-server (9⭐) — Most functions, but uses paid API for transcripts
• kirbah/mcp-youtube (9⭐) — Batch ops, but no free transcripts

None combined free transcripts + search + downloads + batch ops.

Now one does.