How do I install the Youtube Transcript Generator skill?

Run npx skillmds add modbender/youtube-transcript-generator 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 Transcript Generator safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: executes scripts, makes network calls. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Youtube Transcript Generator?

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 Transcript Generator free to use?

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

Who published Youtube Transcript Generator?

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

Youtube Transcript Generator by modbender

Name: Youtube Transcript Generator
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
Author: modbender

Youtube Transcript Generator

Download and generate clean, readable transcripts from any YouTube video. Extracts subtitles (auto-generated or manual), removes timestamps and formatting, and outputs a clean paragraph-style transcript. Use when asked to transcribe, get transcript, or extract text from a YouTube video.

modbender 8781a82 2 files · 7.8 KB Updated Sep 9, 2026 12 repo stars

File contents

YouTube Transcript Generator

Download clean transcripts from any YouTube video URL.

Requirements

yt-dlp must be installed (brew install yt-dlp or pip install yt-dlp)

Usage

Run the bundled script with a YouTube URL:

bash scripts/get_transcript.sh "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

The script will:

Try to download English manual subtitles first
Fall back to auto-generated English subtitles
Try all available languages if English is unavailable
Clean the raw subtitle file into readable paragraphs
Output the transcript to stdout and save to transcript_VIDEO_ID.txt

Options

# Save to a specific file
bash scripts/get_transcript.sh "URL" output.txt

# Get transcript WITH timestamps (default: without)
bash scripts/get_transcript.sh "URL" output.txt en timestamps

# Get transcript in a specific language
bash scripts/get_transcript.sh "URL" output.txt fr

How It Works

yt-dlp downloads the subtitle track (VTT/SRT format)
The script strips HTML tags and duplicate lines
Without timestamps (default): merges into clean, readable paragraphs
With timestamps: preserves [HH:MM:SS] markers before each line for easy reference

Example Output

Input: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMTxOecbyPg

Output:

How OpenClaw Runs My Entire Business. I record a podcast episode and that is
literally the only thing I do. Everything else is handled by 13 AI agents
running on a Mac Mini in my office...

Troubleshooting

No subtitles found: Not all videos have subtitles. The script will report which languages are available.
yt-dlp not found: Install with brew install yt-dlp (macOS) or pip install yt-dlp.
Rate limited: Wait a moment and retry. YouTube occasionally throttles subtitle requests.

Links

Full guides and templates: OpenClaw Lab
Free OpenClaw installer: installopenclawnow.com
Community: OpenClaw Lab on Skool

---name: youtube-transcript-generatordescription: Download and generate clean, readable transcripts from any YouTube video. Extracts subtitles (auto-generated or manual), removes timestamps and formatting, and outputs a clean paragraph-style transcript. Use when asked to transcribe, get transcript, or extract text from a YouTube video.--- # YouTube Transcript Generator Download clean transcripts from any YouTube video URL. ## Requirements - `yt-dlp` must be installed (`brew install yt-dlp` or `pip install yt-dlp`) ## Usage Run the bundled script with a YouTube URL: ```bash bash scripts/get_transcript.sh "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID" ``` The script will: 1. Try to download English manual subtitles first 2. Fall back to auto-generated English subtitles 3. Try all available languages if English is unavailable 4. Clean the raw subtitle file into readable paragraphs 5. Output the transcript to stdout and save to `transcript_VIDEO_ID.txt` ## Options ```bash # Save to a specific file bash scripts/get_transcript.sh "URL" output.txt # Get transcript WITH timestamps (default: without) bash scripts/get_transcript.sh "URL" output.txt en timestamps # Get transcript in a specific language bash scripts/get_transcript.sh "URL" output.txt fr ``` ## How It Works 1. `yt-dlp` downloads the subtitle track (VTT/SRT format) 2. The script strips HTML tags and duplicate lines 3. **Without timestamps (default):** merges into clean, readable paragraphs 4. **With timestamps:** preserves `[HH:MM:SS]` markers before each line for easy reference ## Example Output Input: `https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMTxOecbyPg` Output: ``` How OpenClaw Runs My Entire Business. I record a podcast episode and that is literally the only thing I do. Everything else is handled by 13 AI agents running on a Mac Mini in my office... ``` ## Troubleshooting - **No subtitles found**: Not all videos have subtitles. The script will report which languages are available. - **yt-dlp not found**: Install with `brew install yt-dlp` (macOS) or `pip install yt-dlp`. - **Rate limited**: Wait a moment and retry. YouTube occasionally throttles subtitle requests. ## Links - Full guides and templates: [OpenClaw Lab](https://openclawlab.xyz) - Free OpenClaw installer: [installopenclawnow.com](https://installopenclawnow.com) - Community: [OpenClaw Lab on Skool](https://www.skool.com/openclaw-lab)

Frequently asked questions