Youtube Analysis

YouTube Video Transcript Analysis

Analyze YouTube video transcripts to generate structured reports with summaries, key takeaways, notable quotes, and action items.

When to Use

Activate this skill when the user:

• Mentions "YouTube", "video", "transcript", or "video analysis"
• Provides a YouTube URL to analyze
• Wants to analyze a text file containing a video transcript
• Asks for a summary of a video they watched
• Provides a file path to a transcript

Input Detection

The user can provide either:

1. YouTube URL - Contains youtube.com/watch, youtu.be/, or youtube.com/shorts/
2. File path - Path to a transcript file (e.g., inbox/video.txt)

Instructions

Step 0: Identify Input Type

Determine if the user provided a YouTube URL or file path.

Step 1A: Fetch Transcript (URL Input)

If the user provided a YouTube URL:

1. Run yt-dlp to download the transcript:

   yt-dlp --write-auto-sub --write-sub --sub-lang en --skip-download --convert-subs srt -o "inbox/%(title)s" "<URL>"
   

2. Look for the output file in inbox/ (format: <video-title>.en.srt)
3. If successful, proceed with the transcript file
4. Store the original YouTube URL for the report's Source field

Error handling:

• If yt-dlp not found: Tell user "yt-dlp not installed. Install with: pip install yt-dlp"
• If no captions available: Tell user "No English captions found for this video"
• If network error: Tell user "Failed to fetch transcript. Check URL and connection."

Step 1B: Read Transcript (File Path Input)

If the user provided a file path:

1. Ask the user for the file path if not provided
2. Read the transcript file at the path provided
3. If file not found: Tell user and suggest checking the path

Step 2: Read Analysis Prompt

Read the analysis prompt from prompts/yt.md

Step 3: Extract Video Title

• From SRT file: Parse the filename (remove .en.srt suffix)
• From transcript content: Look for video title in first few lines
• If unclear: Ask user for the title

Step 4: Generate Analysis

Generate analysis following the prompt structure exactly

Step 5: Save the Report

Save to reports/youtube/YYYY-MM-DD_sanitized-title.md where:

• YYYY-MM-DD is today's date
• sanitized-title is the title in lowercase, spaces replaced with hyphens, special chars removed

Step 6: Update Activity Log

Update the activity log at logs/YYYY-MM-DD.md:

• Create file if it doesn't exist
• Add entry under "## Videos Watched" section
• Format: - [Title](../reports/youtube/filename.md) - HH:MM

Step 7: Confirm to User

Tell user what was saved and where

Report Format

Include this header in the report:

# [Video Title]

**Source**: [YouTube URL or file path]
**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Type**: YouTube Video

---

[Analysis content following prompts/yt.md structure]

---

## My Notes

[Empty space for user notes]

Error Handling

• If yt-dlp not installed: Tell user how to install it
• If no captions available: Inform user and suggest alternatives
• If file not found: Tell user and suggest checking the path
• If file is empty: Inform user and ask if they want to proceed
• If prompts/yt.md missing: Use a basic summary structure

Related

• Slash command equivalent: /yt <url-or-filepath>
• Prompt file: prompts/yt.md
• Output location: reports/youtube/
• Transcript location: inbox/ (for downloaded transcripts)