| name | video-transcript-downloader |
| description | This skill should be used when the user asks to "download this video", "get the transcript", "save this clip", "rip audio from", "get subtitles for", "transcribe this video", or mentions YouTube URLs, yt-dlp, or video/audio extraction. Use for any video downloading, transcript extraction, or format troubleshooting. |
Video Transcript Downloader
Download videos, audio, subtitles, and clean paragraph-style transcripts from YouTube and any yt-dlp supported site.
Setup
Run once to install dependencies:
cd ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/video-transcript-downloader/scripts && npm ci
Core Commands
All commands use ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/video-transcript-downloader/scripts/vtd.js.
Transcript (Default: Clean Paragraph)
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/video-transcript-downloader/scripts/vtd.js transcript --url 'https://...'
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/video-transcript-downloader/scripts/vtd.js transcript --url 'https://...' --lang en
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/video-transcript-downloader/scripts/vtd.js transcript --url 'https://...' --timestamps
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/video-transcript-downloader/scripts/vtd.js transcript --url 'https://...' --keep-brackets
Transcript behavior:
- YouTube: Fetches via
youtube-transcript-plus when possible
- Other sites: Pulls subtitles via
yt-dlp, cleans into paragraph
- Default output: Single paragraph, no timestamps
- Bracketed cues like
[Music] stripped by default
Download Video
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/video-transcript-downloader/scripts/vtd.js download --url 'https://...' --output-dir ~/Downloads
Download Audio Only
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/video-transcript-downloader/scripts/vtd.js audio --url 'https://...' --output-dir ~/Downloads
Download Subtitles
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/video-transcript-downloader/scripts/vtd.js subs --url 'https://...' --output-dir ~/Downloads --lang en
List Available Formats
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/video-transcript-downloader/scripts/vtd.js formats --url 'https://...'
Advanced Options
Specific Format Selection
After listing formats, download specific format ID:
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/video-transcript-downloader/scripts/vtd.js download --url 'https://...' --output-dir ~/Downloads -- --format 137+140
Prefer MP4 Container (Remux)
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/video-transcript-downloader/scripts/vtd.js download --url 'https://...' --output-dir ~/Downloads -- --remux-video mp4
Extra yt-dlp Arguments
Pass additional yt-dlp args after --:
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/video-transcript-downloader/scripts/vtd.js formats --url 'https://...' -- -v
Command Reference
| Command | Purpose | Key Options |
|---|
transcript | Extract text transcript | --lang, --timestamps, --keep-brackets |
download | Download video | --output-dir |
audio | Extract audio as MP3 | --output-dir |
subs | Download subtitle file | --output-dir, --lang |
formats | List available formats | (none) |
Prerequisites
Requires yt-dlp and ffmpeg:
sudo pacman -S yt-dlp ffmpeg
brew install yt-dlp ffmpeg
yt-dlp --version
ffmpeg -version | head -n 1
Troubleshooting
"missing yt-dlp": Install yt-dlp and ensure it's on PATH
"missing ffmpeg": Required for audio extraction; install ffmpeg
Empty transcript: Site may not have subtitles; try different --lang value
Format issues: Use formats command to list available formats, then specify with --format
