extract-videos

name	extract-videos
description	Extract video metadata from a YouTube channel and save to CSV for tracking. Use when adding a new channel, extracting conference videos, populating video lists, or when the user mentions "extract videos", "get videos from channel", "add channel", or "video metadata".

Extract Videos from YouTube Channel

Why? Manually tracking YouTube videos is tedious and error-prone. This skill automates extracting video metadata (titles, durations, URLs) into a CSV for systematic transcript downloading and analysis.

Quick Start

# Recurring channel (adds to channels.yaml for future syncs)
ytscriber extract https://www.youtube.com/@ChannelName/videos \
  --count 50 \
  --folder <channel-name> \
  --register-channel

# One-time extraction (conferences, playlists)
ytscriber extract <youtube_url> --count 100 --folder <name>

---

Workflow

1. Determine Extraction Type

Scenario	Use --register-channel?	Typical Count
New channel for ongoing tracking	Yes	50-200 initial, then 20-50 for syncs
Conference talks (one-time)	No	50-500
Specific playlist/topic	No	As needed
Testing/exploration	No	5-10

[!TIP] Use --register-channel only for channels you want to sync regularly. It adds the channel to channels.yaml for the sync-all-channels skill.

2. Run Extraction Command

ytscriber extract <channel_url> \
  --count <N> \
  --folder <channel-name> \
  [--register-channel]

Parameters:

Option	Description	Default	When to Use
--count, -n	Number of latest videos	10	Always specify explicitly
--folder	Folder name for this channel	Required	Always use for tracking
--register-channel	Add to channels.yaml	False	Recurring channels only
--verbose, -v	Enable verbose output	False	Debugging

[!CAUTION] The --count in the command sets the INITIAL extraction count. The count in channels.yaml (set by --register-channel) controls FUTURE sync counts. These are independent values.

3. Verify Extraction

# Check CSV was created with expected columns
head -3 ~/Documents/YTScriber/<channel-name>/videos.csv

# Count extracted videos
wc -l ~/Documents/YTScriber/<channel-name>/videos.csv

Expected CSV columns:

• url - Full YouTube video URL
• title - Video title
• duration_minutes - Video length
• view_count - Number of views
• description - Video description (truncated to 500 chars)
• published_date - Video publish date
• transcript_downloaded - Tracking field (initially empty)
• summary_done - Tracking field (initially empty)

---

Examples

Adding a New Channel for Regular Syncing

ytscriber extract https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium/videos \
  --count 100 \
  --folder veritasium \
  --register-channel

# Result: 100 videos extracted, channel added to channels.yaml with count: 100

One-Time Conference Extraction

# Extract AWS re:Invent talks (won't be synced later)
ytscriber extract https://www.youtube.com/@AWSEventsChannel/videos \
  --count 200 \
  --folder aws-reinvent-2025

# No --register-channel = not added to channels.yaml

Re-running on Existing CSV (Incremental Update)

# Running again only adds NEW videos (duplicates auto-skipped)
ytscriber extract https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium/videos \
  --count 20 \
  --folder veritasium

# Safe to run multiple times - existing videos preserved

---

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Solution
"No videos found"	Wrong URL format	Use https://www.youtube.com/@ChannelName/videos (include /videos)
CSV not created	Folder doesn't exist	The CLI creates the folder automatically
Duplicate videos appearing	Running with different URL variants	Always use canonical @handle/videos format
Channel not in channels.yaml	Forgot --register-channel	Re-run with flag, or manually add to YAML
Wrong video count in channels.yaml	Flag uses command's --count value	Edit channels.yaml manually to adjust future sync count

---

Common Mistakes

1. Forgetting /videos in URL

   • Wrong: https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium
   • Right: https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium/videos

2. Using --register-channel for one-time extractions

   • This pollutes channels.yaml with channels you won't sync
   • Only use for channels you want in the regular sync rotation

3. Expecting transcripts to download

   • This skill ONLY extracts video metadata to CSV
   • Use download-transcripts skill to actually fetch transcripts

4. Confusing command --count with channels.yaml count

   • Command --count: How many videos to extract NOW
   • channels.yaml count: How many videos for FUTURE syncs
   • Initial extraction might be 200, but sync count might be 30

---

Quality Checklist

Before considering extraction complete:

• CSV exists with expected video count
• CSV has all required columns (url, title, duration_minutes, etc.)
• If recurring channel: entry exists in channels.yaml
• If recurring channel: channels.yaml count is set appropriately for future syncs

---

Next Steps

After extracting videos:

1. Download transcripts: Use the download-transcripts skill
2. Sync channels later: Use sync-all-channels for registered channels
3. Add summaries: Use summarize-transcripts after downloading