# Import Videos

> Import YouTube video details using yt-dlp, automatically generating Astro Markdown pages with metadata, iframe embeds, and descriptions.

- Skill: `rodydavis/import-videos` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add rodydavis/import-videos`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/rodydavis/import-videos/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Web & Frontend
- Author: rodydavis (https://skillmd.com/u/rodydavis)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/rodydavis/import-videos

---

# Import Videos Skill

This skill lets you automatically import YouTube videos into your Astro documentation site. It parses a list of video URLs, fetches their metadata using `yt-dlp`, and generates dedicated markdown files with rich frontmatter and video embeds.

## Prerequisites

- The command line utility `yt-dlp` must be installed and available in the system path.
- A `videos.txt` file should exist in the root of your workspace, containing one YouTube video URL per line.

## When to Use

Use this skill whenever:
- You want to sync your YouTube video uploads into the local Astro content collections.
- You have updated `videos.txt` with new YouTube URLs that need importing.

## How it Works

The under-the-hood import script:
1. Reads `videos.txt` from the project root.
2. For each URL, executes `yt-dlp --dump-json` to fetch the video's title, description, id, and upload date.
3. Automatically fetches the video transcript from `https://defuddle.md/youtube.com/watch?v=<id>` using `curl`.
4. Handles rate limits dynamically (with automatic sleep/retry backoffs).
5. Generates a clean URL slug.
6. Generates a markdown file under `src/content/docs/videos/<slug>.md` with structured Astro frontmatter (title, summary, date, draft, tags), an embedded `<SocialEmbed />` component, and the full timestamped transcript.

---

## Execution

Ensure `videos.txt` has the target YouTube URLs, then run this command from the project root to import them:

```bash
node .agents/skills/import-videos/scripts/import-videos.mjs
```

### Refresh / Bulk Update Existing Transcripts

To batch-refresh transcripts for existing markdown files in the repository (e.g., if transcripts were missing or failed to download), use the companion `update-transcripts.js` script:

- **Process Everything** (Both podcasts and videos):
  ```bash
  node .agents/skills/import-videos/scripts/update-transcripts.js
  ```

- **Podcasts Only**:
  ```bash
  node .agents/skills/import-videos/scripts/update-transcripts.js --podcasts-only
  ```

- **Videos Only**:
  ```bash
  node .agents/skills/import-videos/scripts/update-transcripts.js --videos-only
  ```