| name | youtube-search |
| description | Use when the user wants to find YouTube content on any topic: searching for videos or channels, finding creators who cover a subject, discovering tutorials, talks, or expert discussions, or looking up a channel by name or handle. Also use proactively when the user wants to research a topic and YouTube is a good source. Not for account management or written-source-only research. |
| version | 1.5.0 |
| user-invocable | true |
| compatibility | Requires internet access to reach transcriptapi.com. No additional runtimes or dependencies needed. |
| required_environment_variables | [{"name":"TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY","prompt":"Your TranscriptAPI key (starts with sk_)","help":"Free account at https://transcriptapi.com — 100 credits, no card required. Or let the agent create one for you.","required_for":"all API requests"}] |
| metadata | {"openclaw":{"emoji":"🔍","requires":{"env":"[Truncated]"},"primaryEnv":"TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY","homepage":"https://transcriptapi.com"},"hermes":{"tags":["youtube","search","video","channels","discovery","research"],"category":"media"}} |
YouTube Search
Search YouTube and fetch transcripts via TranscriptAPI.com.
Setup
If $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY is not set, read 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 — consult this for the latest parameters and schemas.
GET /api/v2/youtube/search — 1 credit
Search YouTube globally for videos or channels.
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search?q=QUERY&type=video&limit=20" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
| Param | Required | Default | Validation |
|---|
q | yes | — | 1-200 chars (trimmed) |
type | no | video | video or channel |
limit | no | 20 | 1-50 |
Video search response:
{
"results": [
{
"type": "video"
