yt-search-setup

name	yt-search-setup
description	Set up the /yt-search slash command for Claude Code. Installs yt-dlp, creates the search script, and registers the slash command. Use when the user says 'set up yt-search', 'install youtube search', or '/yt-search-skill-setup'.

YouTube Search Skill Setup

This skill installs the /yt-search slash command for Claude Code, enabling YouTube search directly from the CLI.

What it sets up

1. yt-dlp — The CLI tool that powers the search (installed via pip/pipx/brew)
2. Search script — ~/.claude/scripts/yt-search.py — Python script that queries YouTube and formats results
3. Slash command — ~/.claude/commands/yt-search.md — Claude Code command that invokes the script

Setup steps

1. Check and install yt-dlp

which yt-dlp || pip install yt-dlp

If pip fails due to externally-managed-environment, try pipx install yt-dlp or brew install yt-dlp.

2. Create the scripts directory

mkdir -p ~/.claude/scripts

3. Create the search script

Write ~/.claude/scripts/yt-search.py with:

• YouTube search via yt-dlp --dump-json --flat-playlist
• --count N flag (default: 20 results)
• --months N flag (default: 6, filters to recent videos)
• --no-date-filter flag (show all results regardless of date)
• Formatted output: title, channel (with subscriber count), views, duration, date, URL

4. Create the slash command

Write ~/.claude/commands/yt-search.md with frontmatter:

---
description: "Search YouTube and return structured video results"
argument-hint: "<query> [--count N]"
allowed-tools:
  - Bash
---

The command runs python3 ~/.claude/scripts/yt-search.py $ARGUMENTS.

5. Verify

python3 ~/.claude/scripts/yt-search.py "test query" --count 3

After setup

The user can search YouTube with:

/yt-search claude code skills
/yt-search AI agents --count 10
/yt-search react tutorials --months 3
/yt-search machine learning --no-date-filter

What it returns

For each video:

• Title
• Channel name and subscriber count
• View count
• Duration
• Upload date
• Direct YouTube link