# Youtube Transcript

> Extracts YouTube video transcripts and saves them as structured markdown files with metadata and timestamped content. When a user shares a YouTube URL, IMMEDIATELY runs the extraction script, creates a local folder, and saves the transcript. Handles both manual and auto-generated captions.

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

---


# YouTube Transcript

<purpose>
Extract transcripts from YouTube videos and save them as structured, searchable
markdown files. Used for research, interview prep, company analysis, and building
reference material from video content.
</purpose>

## When To Activate

<triggers>
- User shares a YouTube URL (youtube.com/watch, youtu.be, youtube.com/embed)
- User says "transcript", "youtube transcript", or "pull transcript"
- User asks to research a video or extract content from YouTube
</triggers>

## Instructions

### Step 1: Check yt-dlp

<check_dep>
yt-dlp must exist at `/tmp/yt-dlp` or on PATH.

If missing, install it:
```bash
curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_macos -o /tmp/yt-dlp && chmod +x /tmp/yt-dlp
```
</check_dep>

### Step 2: Extract Transcript

Run the extraction script:
```bash
node <skill-path>/scripts/fetch-transcript.mjs "<youtube-url>"
```

The script outputs JSON with:
- `title`, `channel`, `url`, `duration`, `uploadDate`, `description`
- `segments` — individual timestamped lines
- `paragraphs` — segments merged into ~30-second blocks for readability

### Step 3: Save Output

<output_format>
Create a folder and markdown file:

**Folder:** `transcripts/` in the current working directory (create if needed)
**Filename:** `YYYY-MM-DD-kebab-case-title.md`

```markdown
---
type: transcript
source: youtube
video_id: <id>
channel: <channel>
duration: <duration>
date_published: <upload-date>
date_extracted: <today>
url: <url>
---

# <Title>

**Channel:** <channel>
**Duration:** <duration>
**Published:** <upload-date>
**URL:** <url>

---

## Summary

<2-3 sentence overview of what this video covers and why it matters>

---

## Key Takeaways

### 1. <First key theme>
- Bullet points summarising the core argument
- Include specific claims, frameworks, or advice given
- Attribute to the speaker where relevant

### 2. <Second key theme>
...repeat for each major theme (typically 3-7 themes for a 30-60 min video)

---

## Full Transcript

[0:00] <Brief topic label>. First paragraph of merged text...

[4:30] <Brief topic label>. Second paragraph continues...
```

The transcript section should be the full paragraph-merged output from the script,
with each timestamp block prefixed by a short topic label (2-5 words) for scannability.
</output_format>

### Step 4: Summarise

<summarisation>
IMPORTANT: Do NOT just dump raw transcript. The primary value is the AI-generated
summary and key takeaways. Read the full transcript and produce:

1. **Summary** — 2-3 sentences on what the video covers
2. **Key Takeaways** — grouped by theme, with specific claims and quotes
3. **Full Transcript** — paragraph-merged with topic labels (kept as reference/source)

The summary and takeaways should be written in clean, scannable prose. Extract the
actual insights — not just "they discussed X" but what they specifically said about X.
If the video is relevant to a specific context (e.g., interview prep), add a relevance
table mapping insights to actions.
</summarisation>

## Integration with Boulot Vault

When used inside the Boulot vault for job research:
- Save to `{user}/active/{company}/research/transcripts/` if the video relates to an active application
- Add a link to the transcript in the company's `research.md`
- Tag with relevant company/role context in frontmatter

## NEVER

- Download the video itself — subtitles only
- Fabricate or hallucinate transcript content
- Skip saving to file — always persist the transcript
- Run without checking yt-dlp exists first

## ALWAYS

- Use kebab-case lowercase filenames
- Include full YAML frontmatter
- Use the paragraph-merged format for readability (not raw segments)
- Include timestamps at paragraph boundaries
- Provide a content summary after extraction