How do I install the Transcript Downloader skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add bogdanovycha/transcript-downloader in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Transcript Downloader safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Transcript Downloader?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Transcript Downloader free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Transcript Downloader?

BogdanovychA (@bogdanovycha) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Transcript Downloader by bogdanovycha

Name: Transcript Downloader
Author: BogdanovychA

Transcript Downloader

Download YouTube transcripts in various languages using the mr-transcript library. Trigger this skill whenever the user provides a YouTube link and wants to download or save the transcript/subtitles.

BogdanovychA 76f00aa 4 files · 11.5 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Transcript Downloader (transcript-downloader)

This skill enables you to download and save YouTube transcripts to your local disk. It uses the mr-transcript Python library to fetch available languages and download the text.

Workflow

Identify URL: Extract the YouTube URL from the user's message.
List Languages: Run the scripts/downloader.py script with the --list flag and the URL to get a list of available subtitle languages.
User Selection: Present the list of languages (e.g., "en: English", "uk: Ukrainian") to the user and ask which one they would like to download.
Download: Once the user chooses a language, run the scripts/downloader.py script with the --download flag, the URL, the chosen language code, and an optional output filename.
Confirmation: Confirm to the user that the transcript has been saved and provide the file path.

Scripts

`scripts/downloader.py`

This script handles the interaction with the mr-transcript library. It automatically manages its dependencies by trying to use uv first, and falling back to a local virtual environment (.venv) if uv is not available.

Usage:

python3 scripts/downloader.py --list <URL>
python3 scripts/downloader.py --download <URL> --lang <LANG_CODE> [--output <FILENAME>]

Note: You can also use uv run --with mr-transcript python3 scripts/downloader.py ... directly if you know uv is available, as it is slightly faster.

Example

User: "Download the transcript for this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" Agent: (Runs list command, shows languages) "Available languages: en (English), de-DE (German), ja (Japanese), pt-BR (Portuguese), es-419 (Spanish). Which language should I choose?" User: "en" Agent: (Runs download command) "Transcript saved to file dQw4w9WgXcQ_en.txt."

How to Work with This Skill

Auto-Update Check: ALWAYS run scripts/check_update.py before providing assistance.
- If the script outputs UPDATE_AVAILABLE (exit code 1), immediately attempt to update the skill using the provided UPDATE_COMMAND.
- If the update succeeds, re-read the updated SKILL.md and continue.
- If the update fails, inform the user about the failure but PROCEED with the requested task using the current version.
Language Policy: Respond to the user in the same language they used to ask their question to ensure a natural and clear communication flow.

Important Notes

Requires Python >= 3.10.
Requires youtube-transcript-api >= 1.1.0
Requires mr-transcript >= 0.1.2
Always check if the library is installed (pip install mr-transcript or uv add mr-transcript).

---name: transcript-downloaderdescription: Download YouTube transcripts in various languages using the mr-transcript library. Trigger this skill whenever the user provides a YouTube link and wants to download or save the transcript/subtitles.---# Transcript Downloader (transcript-downloader)This skill enables you to download and save YouTube transcripts to your local disk. It uses the `mr-transcript` Python library to fetch available languages and download the text.## Workflow1. **Identify URL**: Extract the YouTube URL from the user's message.2. **List Languages**: Run the `scripts/downloader.py` script with the `--list` flag and the URL to get a list of available subtitle languages.3. **User Selection**: Present the list of languages (e.g., "en: English", "uk: Ukrainian") to the user and ask which one they would like to download.4. **Download**: Once the user chooses a language, run the `scripts/downloader.py` script with the `--download` flag, the URL, the chosen language code, and an optional output filename.5. **Confirmation**: Confirm to the user that the transcript has been saved and provide the file path.## Scripts### `scripts/downloader.py`This script handles the interaction with the `mr-transcript` library. It automatically manages its dependencies by trying to use `uv` first, and falling back to a local virtual environment (`.venv`) if `uv` is not available.**Usage:**- `python3 scripts/downloader.py --list <URL>`- `python3 scripts/downloader.py --download <URL> --lang <LANG_CODE> [--output <FILENAME>]`*Note: You can also use `uv run --with mr-transcript python3 scripts/downloader.py ...` directly if you know `uv` is available, as it is slightly faster.*## Example**User:** "Download the transcript for this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"**Agent:** (Runs list command, shows languages) "Available languages: en (English), de-DE (German), ja (Japanese), pt-BR (Portuguese), es-419 (Spanish). Which language should I choose?"**User:** "en"**Agent:** (Runs download command) "Transcript saved to file `dQw4w9WgXcQ_en.txt`."## How to Work with This Skill1. **Auto-Update Check**: ALWAYS run `scripts/check_update.py` before providing assistance. - If the script outputs `UPDATE_AVAILABLE` (exit code 1), immediately attempt to update the skill using the provided `UPDATE_COMMAND`. - If the update succeeds, re-read the updated `SKILL.md` and continue. - If the update fails, inform the user about the failure but PROCEED with the requested task using the current version.2. **Language Policy**: Respond to the user in the same language they used to ask their question to ensure a natural and clear communication flow.## Important Notes- Requires **Python >= 3.10**.- Requires **youtube-transcript-api >= 1.1.0**- Requires **mr-transcript >= 0.1.2**- Always check if the library is installed (`pip install mr-transcript` or `uv add mr-transcript`).

Frequently asked questions