How do I install the Youtube Transcribe skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add eyadsibai/youtube-transcribe 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 Youtube Transcribe safe to use?

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Which AI agents work with Youtube Transcribe?

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 Youtube Transcribe free to use?

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

Who published Youtube Transcribe?

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

Youtube Transcribe by eyadsibai — Agent Skill

Name: Youtube Transcribe
Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Author: eyadsibai

File contents

YouTube Transcript Extraction

Extract subtitles and transcripts from YouTube videos.

Methods

Method	Tool	When to Use
CLI	yt-dlp	Fast, reliable, preferred
Browser	Chrome automation	Fallback when CLI fails
API	youtube-transcript-api	Python programmatic access

yt-dlp Method (Preferred)

Basic Command

yt-dlp --write-auto-sub --write-sub --sub-lang en --skip-download -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL"

Key Flags

Flag	Purpose
`--write-sub`	Download manual subtitles
`--write-auto-sub`	Download auto-generated subtitles
`--sub-lang LANG`	Specify language (en, zh-Hans, etc.)
`--skip-download`	Don't download video
`--cookies-from-browser chrome`	Use browser cookies for restricted videos

Common Issues

Issue	Solution
Sign-in required	Add `--cookies-from-browser chrome`
No subtitles found	Video has no captions available
Age-restricted	Use cookies from logged-in browser

Browser Automation Fallback

When CLI fails, use browser automation:

Open video page - Navigate to YouTube URL
Expand description - Click "...more" button
Open transcript - Click "Show transcript" button
Extract text - Query DOM for transcript segments

DOM Selectors

Element	Selector
Transcript segments	`ytd-transcript-segment-renderer`
Timestamp	`.segment-timestamp`
Text	`.segment-text`

Output Formats

Format	Extension	Use Case
VTT	.vtt	Web standard, includes timing
SRT	.srt	Video editing, media players
TXT	.txt	Plain text, no timing

Convert VTT to Plain Text

# Strip timing and formatting
sed '/^[0-9]/d; /^$/d; /WEBVTT/d; /-->/d' video.vtt > video.txt

Language Codes

Language	Code
English	`en`
Chinese (Simplified)	`zh-Hans`
Chinese (Traditional)	`zh-Hant`
Spanish	`es`
Multiple	`en,es,zh-Hans`

Best Practices

Practice	Why
Try manual subs first	Higher quality than auto-generated
Use cookies for restricted	Avoids sign-in errors
Check multiple languages	Some videos have better subs in other languages
Verify transcript exists	Not all videos have captions

---name: youtube-transcribedescription: Use when "youtube transcript", "extract subtitles", "video captions", "get transcript", "video to text"--- # YouTube Transcript Extraction Extract subtitles and transcripts from YouTube videos. --- ## Methods | Method | Tool | When to Use | |--------|------|-------------| | **CLI** | yt-dlp | Fast, reliable, preferred | | **Browser** | Chrome automation | Fallback when CLI fails | | **API** | youtube-transcript-api | Python programmatic access | --- ## yt-dlp Method (Preferred) ### Basic Command ```bash yt-dlp --write-auto-sub --write-sub --sub-lang en --skip-download -o "%(title)s.%(ext)s" "VIDEO_URL" ``` ### Key Flags | Flag | Purpose | |------|---------| | `--write-sub` | Download manual subtitles | | `--write-auto-sub` | Download auto-generated subtitles | | `--sub-lang LANG` | Specify language (en, zh-Hans, etc.) | | `--skip-download` | Don't download video | | `--cookies-from-browser chrome` | Use browser cookies for restricted videos | ### Common Issues | Issue | Solution | |-------|----------| | Sign-in required | Add `--cookies-from-browser chrome` | | No subtitles found | Video has no captions available | | Age-restricted | Use cookies from logged-in browser | --- ## Browser Automation Fallback When CLI fails, use browser automation: 1. **Open video page** - Navigate to YouTube URL 2. **Expand description** - Click "...more" button 3. **Open transcript** - Click "Show transcript" button 4. **Extract text** - Query DOM for transcript segments ### DOM Selectors | Element | Selector | |---------|----------| | Transcript segments | `ytd-transcript-segment-renderer` | | Timestamp | `.segment-timestamp` | | Text | `.segment-text` | --- ## Output Formats | Format | Extension | Use Case | |--------|-----------|----------| | **VTT** | .vtt | Web standard, includes timing | | **SRT** | .srt | Video editing, media players | | **TXT** | .txt | Plain text, no timing | ### Convert VTT to Plain Text ```bash # Strip timing and formatting sed '/^[0-9]/d; /^$/d; /WEBVTT/d; /-->/d' video.vtt > video.txt ``` --- ## Language Codes | Language | Code | |----------|------| | English | `en` | | Chinese (Simplified) | `zh-Hans` | | Chinese (Traditional) | `zh-Hant` | | Spanish | `es` | | Multiple | `en,es,zh-Hans` | --- ## Best Practices | Practice | Why | |----------|-----| | Try manual subs first | Higher quality than auto-generated | | Use cookies for restricted | Avoids sign-in errors | | Check multiple languages | Some videos have better subs in other languages | | Verify transcript exists | Not all videos have captions |

Frequently asked questions

Youtube Transcribe