kbarbel640-del YouTube Search
Search YouTube and fetch transcripts via TranscriptAPI.com.
Setup
If $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY is not set, help the user create an account (100 free credits, no card):
Step 1 — Register: Ask user for their email, generate a secure password.
node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js register --email USER_EMAIL --password SECURE_PASS --json
→ OTP sent to email. Ask user: "Check your email for a 6-digit verification code." ⚠️ SAVE THE PASSWORD — you need it again in Step 2!
Step 2 — Verify: Once user provides the OTP (use SAME password from Step 1):
node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js verify --email USER_EMAIL --password SECURE_PASS --otp CODE --json
→ Returns api_key (starts with sk_).
Step 3 — Save: Store the key (auto-configures agent + shell):
node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js save-key --key API_KEY --json
→ Ready to use. Agent runtime picks up the key automatically.
Manual option: transcriptapi.com/signup → Dashboard → API Keys.
GET /api/v2/youtube/search — 1 credit
Search YouTube globally for videos or channels.
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search?q=QUERY&type=video&limit=20" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"
| Param | Required | Default | Validation |
|---|---|---|---|
q |
yes | — | 1-200 chars (trimmed) |
type |
no | video |
video or channel |
limit |
no | 20 |
1-50 |
Video search response:
{
"results": [
{
"type": "video",
"videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up",
"channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
"channelTitle": "Rick Astley",
"channelHandle": "@RickAstley",
"channelVerified": true,
"lengthText": "3:33",
"viewCountText": "1.5B views",
"publishedTimeText": "14 years ago",
"hasCaptions": true,
"thumbnails": [{ "url": "...", "width": 120, "height": 90 }]
}
],
"result_count": 20
}
Channel search response (type=channel):
{
"results": [{
"type": "channel",
"channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
"title": "Rick Astley",
"handle": "@RickAstley",
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/@RickAstley",
"description": "Official channel...",
"subscriberCount": "4.2M subscribers",
"verified": true,
"rssUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UC...",
"thumbnails": [...]
}],
"result_count": 5
}
GET /api/v2/youtube/channel/search — 1 credit
Search videos within a specific channel.
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/search\
?channel_id=UC_CHANNEL_ID&q=iphone+review&limit=30" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"
| Param | Required | Validation |
|---|---|---|
channel_id |
yes | ^UC[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{22}$ |
q |
yes | 1-200 chars |
limit |
no | 1-50 (default 30) |
Returns up to ~30 results (YouTube limit). Same video response shape as global search.
GET /api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve — FREE
Convert @handle to channel ID for channel/search:
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve?input=@mkbhd" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"
Workflow: Search → Transcript
# 1. Search for videos
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search\
?q=python+web+scraping&type=video&limit=5" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"
# 2. Get transcript from result
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\
?video_url=VIDEO_ID&format=text&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"
Errors
| Code | Action |
|---|---|
| 402 | No credits — transcriptapi.com/billing |
| 404 | Not found |
| 408 | Timeout — retry once |
| 422 | Invalid channel_id format |
Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min.