# Video Transcript

> Extract video transcripts: yt-dlp subtitles to clean paragraphs.

- Skill: `notque/video-transcript` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add notque/video-transcript`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/notque/video-transcript/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: notque (https://skillmd.com/u/notque)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/notque/video-transcript

---


# Video Transcript

Pull a video's transcript as readable paragraphs. Two paths, in order:

**Path 1 — uploader subtitles** (accurate, prefer when present):

```bash
yt-dlp --skip-download --write-subs --sub-langs en --sub-format vtt \
  -o '<work-dir>/%(id)s' '<URL>'
```

**Path 2 — auto-generated captions** (fallback when path 1 writes no file):

```bash
yt-dlp --skip-download --write-auto-subs --sub-langs en --sub-format vtt \
  -o '<work-dir>/%(id)s' '<URL>'
```

Then clean the VTT into paragraphs:

```bash
python3 skills/research/video-transcript/scripts/vtt_to_paragraph.py <work-dir>/<id>.en.vtt
```

Default output is plain paragraph text with `[Music]`-style cues stripped and the rolling duplicates of auto-captions deduplicated. Use `--timestamps` for `[mm:ss]` markers, `--keep-brackets` to keep cue tags, `-o FILE` to write to a file.

For other languages, change `--sub-langs` (e.g. `de`, `en.*`). List what a video offers with `yt-dlp --list-subs '<URL>'`.

## Error handling

### Both paths write no .vtt file
Cause: video has no subtitles or captions in the requested language.
Solution: run `yt-dlp --list-subs '<URL>'` and pick an available language; if none exist, report that and offer audio transcription via the `markdown-converter` skill on a downloaded audio file.

### HTTP 429 / "Sign in to confirm"
Cause: platform rate-limiting the host.
Solution: wait and retry with `--sleep-requests 2`; keep request volume low.

### Cleaner output repeats lines
Cause: VTT came from a third path (e.g. translated captions) with cue formats the dedupe misses.
Solution: rerun the cleaner; if repeats remain, file the sample VTT alongside a fix to `vtt_to_paragraph.py`.