# Buda Youtube To Script > Use this skill whenever the user provides a YouTube or other video URL and asks to create, generate, rewrite, repurpose, summarize into, or get a new talking script, voiceover script, or short-form video script. Trigger strongly when this skill is selected and the user sends only a video URL, or on phrases like "get new talking script", "rewrite this video as a script", "turn this YouTube video into a voiceover", or when the user gives a video URL plus an angle or prompt. This skill is fully self-contained — it downloads the source video and audio with the bundled yt-dlp helper, transcribes the audio with Whisper, reads the bundled assets/talking-script-template.md, then produces a new template-based talking script. No other skill needs to be installed. - Skill: `buda-ai/buda-youtube-to-script` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 5 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add buda-ai/buda-youtube-to-script` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/buda-ai/buda-youtube-to-script/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - Author: buda-ai (https://skillmd.com/u/buda-ai) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/buda-ai/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/-/` - 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. ```bash 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 ```bash 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: ```text /space/.agents/skills/buda-youtube-to-script/scripts/download-audio.sh ``` ```bash 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 `$WORKDIR/audio/` - For YouTube, tries `--cookies-from-browser chrome` first, then automatically retries without cookies - For non-YouTube sites, tries without cookies first, then retries with cookies If you prefer to run yt-dlp directly instead of the helper, the equivalent command is: ```bash yt-dlp \ --cookies-from-browser chrome \ -P "$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 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: ```text $WORKDIR/transcript.txt ``` If the tool returns JSON, also save `$WORKDIR/transcript.json`. ### 6. Read the talking script template Always read the bundled template, resolving the relative path against this skill directory: ```text /space/.agents/skills/buda-youtube-to-script/assets/talking-script-template.md ``` If this file is missing, recreate this structure in the final answer: ```markdown # 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: ```text $WORKDIR/talking-script.md $WORKDIR/transcript.txt $WORKDIR/audio/.mp3 $WORKDIR/video/ ``` The MP3 is a required output unless the source platform truly prevents audio download. Treat the MP3 as a user-facing artifact that should be previewed in the UI. The source video is also a user-facing artifact for the Buda demo and should be preserved when possible. ### 9. Report back to the user Keep the final response concise: - Say the script is generated - Provide the saved path - Mention that the source video, MP3, transcript, and script were saved - If `talking-script.md` should be previewed, first verify it with the Buda send-file script, then include the returned `[send:...]` marker in the reply - Verify the downloaded MP3 with the Buda send-file script and include the returned `[send:...]` marker in the reply so the frontend UI shows a file card for the audio Do not write `[send:...]` manually without verifying the file exists first. Do not paste the entire transcript unless the user asks. ## Failure handling ### Audio download fails Try in this order: 1. Bundled helper (handles cookies + no-cookies retry automatically) 2. Direct YouTube with `--cookies-from-browser chrome` 3. Direct YouTube without cookies 4. List formats with `yt-dlp -F URL` (or `download-audio.sh --list URL`) 5. Download best audio fallback or, only if needed, a video fallback and extract audio with ffmpeg ### Video download fails If video was optional for the task, skip it and continue as long as audio/transcript generation succeeded. If the video is private, members-only, age-restricted, geo-restricted, or unavailable, explain clearly and ask the user for access/cookies or another URL. ### Whisper fails Check: - Audio file exists - File is not zero bytes - Audio format is supported If needed, convert audio to a clean MP3: ```bash ffmpeg -y -i "$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`