YouTube Transcript Pipeline
Overview
This skill turns a YouTube link into a complete transcript package:
- speaker-labeled, timestamped transcript
- cleaned/interviewer-vs-main speaker correction passes
- optional Chinese translation preserving line format
- optional image/download + workspace packaging
Use this when user asks for: transcript production, diarization fixes, interview cleanup, Chinese translation of transcript, or reusable handoff folders.
Quick Start
Inputs
- YouTube URL
- Deepgram API key (Nova-3 for best results)
- preferred speakers (main/interviewer defaults if known)
Outputs
Place all outputs in a structured folder:
transcripts/(raw / cleaned / translated)artifacts/(audio + thumbnails)scripts/(workflow helpers)snippets/(small JSONs, helper files)MANIFEST.txt
Workflow
1) Prepare assets
- download audio from YouTube
- split into manageable chunks (e.g., 180s)
- run Deepgram chunked transcription with
nova-3, word-level output if possible
Suggested command (adapt paths):
python3 resilient_dg_transcribe_resume.py \
--audio-dir /tmp/dg_chunks_work2 \
--max 0 --chunk-sec 180 --model nova-3 --timeout 240
2) Produce base transcripts
- keep all baseline artifacts (
transcript_*.json,transcript_speakers_*.txt) - do not delete intermediates; they are useful for audit
3) Fix speaker attribution
- apply conservative correction pass first (prefering main speaker default)
- review and accept swaps only for clear interviewer-style short questions/interjections
- keep line/timestamp count unchanged
4) Translate (optional)
- preserve format:
[$TS] Speaker: text - keep timestamps + speaker tags unchanged
- keep technical terms unless explicitly requested otherwise
5) Package for delivery
- create workbench folder with clear naming and manifest
- add short summary files (e.g.,
summary_30s_zh.txt,summary_1min_zh.txt) - optional git init + commit for reproducibility
Quality Rules (important)
- Preserve structure exactly unless user asks otherwise.
- Keep format and timestamps consistent across all versions.
- Use conservative speaker reassignment to avoid over-attributing interviewer lines.
- Append changes in memory logs for durable state (per workspace conventions).
Resource Mapping
scripts/
create_youtube_transcript_workbench.sh: creates standardized output folders and manifest, optionally copies key filestranslate_transcript_google.py: batch-translates timestamped transcript while preserving formatrebuild_from_words.py: optional word-level rebuild/reconciliation utility for diarization consistency
references/
workflow.md: detailed decision points for conservative speaker fixes and translation fallback handling