# Youtube:setup > Configure YouTube plugin — search mode (anonymous/personalized) and plugin settings (defaults, language, locale) - Skill: `jcodesmore/youtube-setup` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add jcodesmore/youtube-setup` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/jcodesmore/youtube-setup/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: JCodesMore (https://skillmd.com/u/jcodesmore) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/jcodesmore/youtube-setup --- # YouTube Plugin Setup A guided walkthrough for configuring how the YouTube plugin works. Present this as a friendly, conversational experience. ## Step 1 — Check Current State Run silently (don't show raw output to the user): ``` node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/extract-cookies.mjs" --status ``` ``` node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/config.mjs" --show ``` Determine the current auth mode: - **"No cookies configured"** → currently anonymous - **"Authenticated"** → currently personalized - **"Cookie file exists but appears invalid"** → broken state, treat as anonymous Store both the auth state and config output for use in the next step. ## Step 2 — Present the Welcome and Options Greet the user and present the available options. Tailor based on current state. Always include the **Configure settings** option. ### If currently anonymous: Present this to the user (use your own natural phrasing, but cover these points): > **YouTube Plugin Setup** > > The YouTube plugin has two modes: > > **Anonymous** (current) — Ready to use right now. You get full access to search, transcripts, video info, and channel browsing. Results are based on general relevance. > > **Personalized** — Connects to your YouTube account via a dedicated Chrome window. Search results will reflect your watch history, subscriptions, and preferences — just like searching on youtube.com when you're logged in. > > What would you like to do? > 1. **Keep anonymous** — nothing to set up, you're good to go > 2. **Set up personalized results** — takes about a minute the first time > 3. **Configure settings** — customize search defaults, transcript language, result limits, and more ### If currently personalized: > **YouTube Plugin Setup** > > You're currently using **personalized mode** — search results reflect your YouTube account. > > What would you like to do? > 1. **Keep personalized** — no changes needed > 2. **Refresh cookies** — if results seem off or you switched Google accounts > 3. **Switch to anonymous** — removes your cookies, uses general results instead > 4. **Configure settings** — customize search defaults, transcript language, result limits, and more ### If broken state: > **YouTube Plugin Setup** > > It looks like a previous setup didn't complete cleanly. Let's get you sorted out. > > The YouTube plugin has two modes: > > **Anonymous** — Works right now. Full access to search, transcripts, video info, and channel browsing with general results. > > **Personalized** — Connects to your YouTube account for results that match your watch history and subscriptions. > > Which would you prefer? > 1. **Use anonymous** — I'll clean up the old config and you're good to go > 2. **Set up personalized** — I'll walk you through it > 3. **Configure settings** — customize search defaults, transcript language, result limits, and more Wait for the user's response before proceeding. ## Step 3a — Anonymous Path If the user chooses anonymous: 1. If cookies exist (switching from personalized or broken state), run: ``` node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/extract-cookies.mjs" --reset ``` 2. Confirm to the user: > All set! Cookies have been removed. You'll need to **restart your AI coding agent** for the change to take effect (the MCP server caches cookies in memory, so a simple plugin reload isn't enough). > > If you want personalized results later, just run `/youtube:setup` again. Done. ## Step 3b — Personalized Path If the user chooses personalized (or refresh): ### Privacy Consent Before any extraction, present this to the user: > **Privacy & Cookie Usage** > > To personalize your results, this plugin needs YouTube authentication cookies from a dedicated Chrome window. Here's what you should know: > > - **What we access:** YouTube authentication cookies only — used to identify your account > - **How it works:** A separate Chrome window opens where you log into YouTube. We read cookies from that session — your main browser is never touched. > - **Where they're stored:** Locally on your machine in the plugin data directory (`CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA`) for cookies, plus a dedicated Chrome profile at `~/.youtube/chrome-profile/`. They never leave your device and are never sent to any third party. > - **What they're used for:** Passed to YouTube's API so search results reflect your subscriptions, watch history, and preferences > - **You're in control:** Run `/youtube:setup` anytime to switch back to anonymous mode or delete stored cookies > > Do you want to proceed? Wait for the user's response. If they decline, switch to anonymous mode instead. ### Run extraction If the user consents, run: ``` node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/extract-cookies.mjs" ``` Handle the output: #### Success (exit code 0, "Authentication looks good") Proceed to verification (Step 4). #### Login required (exit code 3, output contains "LOGIN_REQUIRED") Tell the user: > A Chrome window has opened with a dedicated profile. Please: > 1. **Log into your Google/YouTube account** in that window > 2. Let me know when you're signed in > > This is a one-time step — your login will persist for future sessions. Your main Chrome browser is not affected. Wait for the user to confirm they've logged in, then re-run: ``` node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/extract-cookies.mjs" ``` If it returns LOGIN_REQUIRED again, ask the user to double-check they're logged in on youtube.com in the Chrome window that opened (not their regular browser). #### Chrome not found (exit code 1, "Could not find Chrome") Tell the user: > I couldn't find Chrome installed in the usual location. Is it installed somewhere custom? If you can share the path, I can try again. #### Other errors Report the error clearly and suggest the user check that Chrome is installed and try again. ## Step 3c — Settings Path If the user chooses "Configure settings": ### Gather current state If you haven't already, run silently: ``` node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/config.mjs" --show ``` Parse the output. Settings marked with `(*)` are user-customized overrides. ### Present settings by category Show the user their current settings, grouped into categories. Use friendly names and explain what each does. Present one category at a time or all at once depending on how many the user seems interested in. > **Plugin Settings** > > Here are your current settings (starred values are ones you've customized): > > **Search Defaults** > - Default result count: 20 — how many results are returned when no limit is specified > - Default type: video — filter by video, channel, or playlist > - Default upload date: all — filter by recency (today, week, month, year, all) > - Default duration: all — filter by length (short, medium, long, all) > - Default sort: relevance — how results are ordered (relevance, date, views, rating) > > **Transcript Settings** > - Default language: en — language code for transcripts > - Max segments: 5000 — cap on transcript segments returned > - Cleanup enabled: true — strip bracketed annotations and normalize whitespace > > **Channel Settings** > - Default video limit: 30 — how many videos to return from a channel > - Default sort: newest — order for channel videos (newest, popular, oldest) > > **Locale** > - Language: en — YouTube interface language > - Location: US — YouTube region for results > > Which category would you like to change? Or tell me a specific setting to update. ### Apply changes When the user says what they want to change, run the appropriate command: ``` node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/config.mjs" --set ``` For example: - "I want 30 search results by default" → `node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/config.mjs" --set search.defaultLimit 30` - "Change language to Spanish" → `node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/config.mjs" --set innertube.language es` and `node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/config.mjs" --set transcript.defaultLanguage es` If the script returns an error (e.g., invalid value or out of range), relay the constraint to the user in a friendly way and ask them to pick a valid option. ### After changes After applying changes, confirm what was changed and offer to continue: > Updated! Here's what changed: > - Default search results: 20 → 30 > > The MCP server reads settings at startup, so you'll need to **restart your AI coding agent** for changes to take effect. > > Want to change anything else, or are you all set? If they want to change more, loop back to presenting the settings. If done, wrap up. ### Reset all settings If the user asks to reset everything to defaults: ``` node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/config.mjs" --reset ``` Confirm: > All settings have been reset to defaults. Restart your AI coding agent for changes to take effect. ## Step 4 — Verification After successful cookie extraction, verify by running a quick search: Use the `youtube_search` tool with a simple query (e.g., the user's name or a generic term like "programming tutorials"). Check the response for `"mode": "personalized"`. If personalized: > You're all set! Personalized mode is active — your YouTube searches will now reflect your account. > > If you ever want to switch back to anonymous or refresh your cookies, just run `/youtube:setup` again. If still anonymous despite cookie extraction succeeding: > The cookies were saved but the MCP server needs to restart to pick them up. Please **restart your AI coding agent**, then try a search — it should show personalized mode after that. > > If you ever want to switch back to anonymous or refresh your cookies, just run `/youtube:setup` again. ## Important Notes - Never show raw script output to the user. Interpret it and present friendly messages. - The script uses a **dedicated Chrome profile** — the user's main Chrome browser is never modified or accessed. - Chrome does NOT need to be closed. The dedicated profile runs as a separate process. - Cookie files are stored locally in the plugin's data directory. They never leave the user's machine. - The dedicated Chrome profile persists at `~/.youtube/chrome-profile/` so the user only needs to log in once. - Settings are stored in the plugin's persistent data directory alongside cookies. They survive plugin updates. - When changing settings, always remind the user to restart their AI coding agent for changes to take effect.