Buda Youtube To Script

YouTube to Talking Script

Turn a video URL into a new talking script by downloading the source video and audio, transcribing it, and rewriting the content into the user's requested angle.

This skill is self-contained. It does NOT depend on any separate downloader skill. The yt-dlp download logic ships with this skill at scripts/download-audio.sh, and the output template ships at assets/talking-script-template.md.

Important default: for Buda demos and script-generation tasks, keep the source video as a user-facing artifact together with the MP3, transcript, and final script.

Default behavior

Unless the user says otherwise:

• Output language: English
• Script style: short-form talking script suitable for Red Note / TikTok / YouTube Shorts
• Target length: 60–90 seconds
• Rewrite mode: creative repurposing, not a literal translation or transcript summary
• Preserve the source video's core idea, but make the final script natural for a human to speak
• Include a strong 0–3 second hook
• Save all artifacts under /agent/outputs/talking-scripts/<safe-title-or-id>-<YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS>/
• By default keep the downloaded source video, MP3 audio, transcript, and final script

Inputs to extract from the user

Required:

• Video URL

Optional:

• Angle / prompt, for example: get new talking script, for entrepreneurs, make it 60 seconds, Red Note style, focus on how AI tools boost efficiency
• Target platform
• Target audience
• Target duration
• Output language
• Whether to include timestamps, subtitles, or title ideas

If the user gives only a URL, proceed with the defaults. Do not ask unnecessary clarification questions.

Workflow

1. Prepare a task folder

Create a durable output directory, not scratch files in /agent root.

mkdir -p /agent/outputs/talking-scripts
WORKDIR="/agent/outputs/talking-scripts/$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
mkdir -p "$WORKDIR"

If possible, use yt-dlp --print title or yt-dlp --print id to create a more descriptive folder name. Sanitize names so they are safe as file paths.

2. Verify dependencies

which ffmpeg || echo "ffmpeg missing — install with: brew install ffmpeg"

You normally do NOT need to install yt-dlp manually. The bundled download script resolves yt-dlp in this order:

1. yt-dlp on PATH
2. /agent/.local/bin/yt-dlp
3. If still missing, it auto-installs into a dedicated venv at /agent/.local/venvs/yt-dlp and symlinks /agent/.local/bin/yt-dlp — this persists across sandbox restarts.

Auto-install needs python3 (or python) available, which the Buda sandbox provides by default. ffmpeg is required for MP3 extraction and is also preinstalled.

3. Download source video and audio with the bundled helper

Keep both source video and MP3 audio as user-facing artifacts. Use the bundled script. Resolve its path against this skill directory:

/space/.agents/skills/buda-youtube-to-script/scripts/download-audio.sh

bash /space/.agents/skills/buda-youtube-to-script/scripts/download-audio.sh \
  -o "$WORKDIR" --video \
  "VIDEO_URL"

The helper:

• Saves the source video to $WORKDIR/video/ when --video is used
• Saves the MP3 to $WORKDIR/audio/
• For YouTube, tries --cookies-from-browser chrome first, then automatically retries without cookies
• For non-YouTube sites, tries without cookies first, then retries with cookies

If you prefer to run yt-dlp directly instead of the helper, the equivalent command is:

yt-dlp \
  --cookies-from-browser chrome \
  -P "$WORKDIR/audio" \
  -o "%(title).180B [%(id)s].%(ext)s" \
  -x --audio-format mp3 \
  "VIDEO_URL"

Retry without --cookies-from-browser chrome if the browser profile is unavailable.

4. Video fallback

If the video was not downloaded in the first pass, or if the UI should show a video artifact, pull the full video:

bash /space/.agents/skills/buda-youtube-to-script/scripts/download-audio.sh \
  -o "$WORKDIR" --video \
  "VIDEO_URL"

This saves the video to $WORKDIR/video/. If audio download failed but video exists, extract audio with ffmpeg.

5. Transcribe with Whisper

Use the Whisper tool on the downloaded MP3 (or other audio file).

• Use response_format: text for a clean transcript, or verbose_json if timestamps are useful.
• Use language only when obvious or requested. For English videos, en; for Chinese videos, zh.
• Add a short prompt if the video has known jargon, creator names, products, or acronyms.

Save the transcript to:

$WORKDIR/transcript.txt

If the tool returns JSON, also save $WORKDIR/transcript.json.

6. Read the talking script template

Always read the bundled template, resolving the relative path against this skill directory:

/space/.agents/skills/buda-youtube-to-script/assets/talking-script-template.md

If this file is missing, recreate this structure in the final answer:

# Talking Script: [Short title based on the video]

Source: [YouTube URL]
Estimated length: [Estimated speaking time based on the final script]
Angle: [The specific idea this script will focus on]
Audience: [Who this is for]

## Core Idea

[One sentence that captures the point of the video.]

## Timeline

| Time | Visual / Action | Voiceover | On-screen Text | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|

## Full Read-Through

[The complete voiceover script without table formatting.]

## Optional Titles

- [Title option 1]
- [Title option 2]
- [Title option 3]

7. Generate the new talking script

Use the transcript as source material, but do not simply compress it. Create a new script that fits the user's angle and target audience.

Quality bar:

• Start with a punchy hook in the first timeline row
• Make the voiceover conversational and speakable
• Avoid academic summary language like “this article mainly discusses”
• Prefer concrete examples over vague claims
• Keep sentences short enough for spoken delivery
• Keep the timeline realistic for the target duration
• Include concise on-screen text that works as captions
• Include delivery notes such as pause, emphasis, speed, or facial/action cues
• Include 3 title options with different angles
• Mention the source URL in the Source field

Respect the template headings exactly unless the user asks for another format.

8. Save outputs

Save at least:

$WORKDIR/talking-script.md
$WORKDIR/transcript.txt
$WORKDIR/audio/<downloaded-file>.mp3
$WORKDIR/video/<downloaded-file>

The MP3 is a required output unless the source platform truly prevents audio download. Treat the MP3 as a user-facing artifact that should be previewed in the UI. The source video is also a user-facing artifact for the Buda demo and should be preserved when possible.

9. Report back to the user

Keep the final response concise:

• Say the script is generated
• Provide the saved path
• Mention that the source video, MP3, transcript, and script were saved
• If talking-script.md should be previewed, first verify it with the Buda send-file script, then include the returned [send:...] marker in the reply
• Verify the downloaded MP3 with the Buda send-file script and include the returned [send:...] marker in the reply so the frontend UI shows a file card for the audio

Do not write [send:...] manually without verifying the file exists first. Do not paste the entire transcript unless the user asks.

Failure handling

Audio download fails

Try in this order:

1. Bundled helper (handles cookies + no-cookies retry automatically)
2. Direct YouTube with --cookies-from-browser chrome
3. Direct YouTube without cookies
4. List formats with yt-dlp -F URL (or download-audio.sh --list URL)
5. Download best audio fallback or, only if needed, a video fallback and extract audio with ffmpeg

Video download fails

If video was optional for the task, skip it and continue as long as audio/transcript generation succeeded.

If the video is private, members-only, age-restricted, geo-restricted, or unavailable, explain clearly and ask the user for access/cookies or another URL.

Whisper fails

Check:

• Audio file exists
• File is not zero bytes
• Audio format is supported

If needed, convert audio to a clean MP3:

ffmpeg -y -i "$AUDIO_FILE" -ac 1 -ar 16000 "$WORKDIR/audio/whisper-ready.mp3"

Then retry Whisper.

Template missing

Use the fallback template shown above and tell the user the original template file was missing.

Example prompts this skill should handle

• get new talking script https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123
• generate a talking script from this YouTube video https://youtu.be/abc123, angled for AI entrepreneurs
• download this video and audio, transcribe it, then write a Red Note talking script using the template: https://youtube.com/watch?v=abc123
• turn this video into a 60-second short-form script, make it punchy: https://youtu.be/abc123