| name | youtube-research |
| description | This skill should be used when the user asks to "search YouTube", "find videos about", "get a transcript", "download subtitles", "extract audio from YouTube", "scan a channel", "research a topic on YouTube", "get video metadata", "what videos exist about", "download YouTube audio", "YouTube research", "summarize this video", "what is this video about", "pull captions from", "grab the audio from", or provides a YouTube/Vimeo/video URL and wants to extract information from it. Also triggers on "batch download transcripts", "analyze a channel", or any multi-video research workflow.
|
| argument-hint | <url-or-query> |
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Grep","Glob","Bash(python3:*)","Bash(yt-dlp:*)","Bash(jq:*)","AskUserQuestion","WebSearch","Task"] |
YouTube Research
Multi-platform video research toolkit. Operates in two modes: toolkit (individual operations)
and research (autonomous search-to-synthesis pipeline). All operations use a single CLI at
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/youtube-research/scripts/yt_research.py.
Run python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/youtube-research/scripts/yt_research.py <subcommand> --help
for full flag reference on any subcommand.
Toolkit Mode
Invoke individual subcommands for targeted operations. Default mode when the user requests
a specific action (transcript, search, metadata, audio, channel scan).
Search
Find videos matching a query. Returns structured results with metadata.
python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/youtube-research/scripts/yt_research.py search "<query>" --count 10
Add filters to narrow results: --min-duration 600 (seconds), --after 20250101 (YYYYMMDD),
--min-views 50000. Filters are applied client-side after fetching, so the tool over-fetches
automatically to compensate. Output is JSON by default; add -f text for human-readable.
Transcript
Download and clean subtitles to LLM-ready text.
python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/youtube-research/scripts/yt_research.py transcript "<url>"
Outputs clean prose to stdout by default. Add --timestamps for SRT with timing cues.
Add --save -t <topic> to persist to ~/youtube-research/<topic>/. Use --lang all to
list available subtitle languages before downloading. Fallback chain: manual subs then
auto-generated. Exit 4 if no subtitles exist in the requested language.
Metadata
Extract full video information without downloading.
python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/youtube-research/scripts/yt_research.py metadata "<url>"
Returns: title, description, channel, duration, chapters, view/like counts, tags, available
subtitle languages, thumbnail URL. Add --playlist for playlist entry listings.
Audio
Download audio in the requested format.
python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/youtube-research/scripts/yt_research.py audio "<url>" --audio-format mp3 -t <topic>
Saves to ~/youtube-research/<topic>/audio/. Supported formats: mp3, m4a, opus, wav.
Always saves to disk (audio cannot go to stdout). Prints the file path on success.
Channel
Scan a channel's content.
python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/youtube-research/scripts/yt_research.py channel "<url-or-@handle>" --limit 20
Supports tabs: --tab videos (default), shorts, streams, playlists. Filter with
--after/--before (YYYYMMDD). Sort with --sort views for most-viewed-first.
Batch Processing
Any subcommand except search accepts --batch <file> (or --batch - for stdin) to
process multiple URLs. One URL per line; lines starting with # or ; are skipped.
python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/youtube-research/scripts/yt_research.py transcript --batch urls.txt --save -t <topic>
Research Mode
Activate when the user asks to "research", "investigate", or "find out about" a topic
using YouTube as a source. This is an autonomous multi-step pipeline:
- Search for the topic with broad terms, request 15-20 results
- Evaluate results by reading titles, channels, view counts, and durations. Select 3-5
videos using these criteria in priority order: depth over breadth (a 30-minute deep-dive
from a domain expert outweighs five 3-minute overviews), channel authority (subject-matter
experts and recognized educators over generic aggregators), recency (prefer recent content
unless the topic is stable), and view count as a tiebreaker (higher views signal broader
validation, not necessarily quality)
- Extract metadata for selected videos to confirm relevance (check descriptions, chapters)
- Download transcripts for the final selection
- Read each transcript and synthesize findings into a report
Use WebSearch to cross-reference claims or fill gaps when YouTube sources disagree or
leave questions unanswered. Use Task to spawn parallel transcript downloads when
processing more than 3 videos.
Research Report Format
Present the synthesis as a structured markdown report:
- Title and one-paragraph summary of the research question
- Key findings (3-7 bullet points of the most important takeaways across all sources)
- Points of agreement between sources (what multiple videos confirm)
- Points of disagreement (where sources contradict, with attribution)
- Unique insights (notable points from individual videos not repeated elsewhere)
- Gaps in coverage (what the sources collectively missed)
- Sources table: video title, channel, duration, and URL for each video used
Attribute specific claims to their source video. Include timestamps when the transcript
preserves them. Save all transcripts under the topic directory for future reference.
See examples/research-report.md for a sample report structure.
Research Composability
See references/cli-reference.md for pipeline patterns that chain subcommands with
standard Unix tools (search → jq → batch transcript).
Error Recovery
| Exit Code | Meaning | Recovery Action |
|---|
| 0 | Success | — |
| 1 | Usage error | Check --help for correct syntax |
| 2 | yt-dlp not found | Tell user to install: pip install yt-dlp |
| 3 | Network/download error | Check URL validity; try --cookies <browser> for private/restricted content |
| 4 | No results | For transcripts: try --lang all to list available languages. For search: broaden query or remove filters |
Platform Notes
Load references/platforms.md when processing a non-YouTube URL or when a yt-dlp command
fails with exit code 3 on an unfamiliar platform. YouTube is the primary platform, but any
yt-dlp-supported URL works (Vimeo, Twitter, Twitch, etc.).
After extracting a transcript, read the output and summarize key points for the user unless
they asked for raw output only.
