How do I install the Youtube API skill?

Run npx skillmds add zeropointrepo/youtube-api 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 API safe to use?

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

Which AI agents work with Youtube API?

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 API free to use?

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

Who published Youtube API?

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

Youtube API by zeropointrepo — Agent Skill

Name: Youtube API
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: zeropointrepo

Youtube API

Use when YouTube data is needed without Google API quotas or OAuth setup: transcripts, video metadata, channel info, search results, playlists. Triggers on pasted YouTube links, creator names, @handles, topic research, video summaries, channel browsing, or any request where YouTube content would help — even if not mentioned explicitly. Not for uploads, account management, or written-source-only research.

zeropointrepo 3e5dfe7 3 files · 14.0 KB Updated Sep 9, 2026

File contents

YouTube API

YouTube data access via TranscriptAPI.com — no Google API quota needed.

Setup

If $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY is not set, read references/auth-setup.md and follow the instructions there to get and store the key.

Required Headers

Every request needs two headers:

Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: your agent's name and version if known (e.g. HermesAgent/0.11.0, ClaudeCode/1.0). Version is optional — agent name alone is fine. Do not omit this header or send a bare default — Cloudflare will return a 403 (error code 1010) and block the request.

API Reference

Full OpenAPI spec: transcriptapi.com/openapi.json — consult this for the latest parameters and schemas.

Endpoint Reference

All endpoints: https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/...

Channel endpoints accept channel — an @handle, channel URL, or UC... ID. Playlist endpoints accept playlist — a playlist URL or ID.

Endpoint	Method	Cost
`/transcript?video_url=ID`	GET	1
`/search?q=QUERY&type=video`	GET	1
`/channel/resolve?input=@handle`	GET	free
`/channel/latest?channel=@handle`	GET	free
`/channel/videos?channel=@handle`	GET	1/page
`/channel/search?channel=@handle&q=Q`	GET	1
`/playlist/videos?playlist=PL_ID`	GET	1/page

Quick Examples

Search videos:

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search?q=python+tutorial&type=video&limit=10
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

Get transcript:

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript?video_url=dQw4w9WgXcQ&format=text&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

Resolve channel handle (free):

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve?input=@TED
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

Latest videos (free):

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/latest?channel=@TED
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

Browse channel uploads (paginated):

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/videos?channel=@NASA
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

# Use continuation token from response for next pages

Browse playlist (paginated):

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/playlist/videos?playlist=PL_PLAYLIST_ID
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

Parameter Validation

Field	Rule
`channel`	`@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID
`playlist`	Playlist URL or ID (`PL`/`UU`/`LL`/`FL`/`OL` prefix)
`q` (search)	1-200 chars
`limit`	1-50
`continuation`	non-empty string

Why Not Google's API?

	Google YouTube Data API	TranscriptAPI
Quota	10,000 units/day (100 searches)	Credit-based, no daily cap
Setup	OAuth + API key + project	Single API key
Transcripts	Not available	Core feature
Pricing	$0.0015/unit overage	$5/1000 credits

Errors

Code	Meaning	Action
401	Bad API key	Check key
402	No credits	transcriptapi.com/billing
403/1010	Cloudflare block	Add or fix User-Agent header
404	Not found	Resource doesn't exist
408	Timeout/retryable	Retry once after 2s
422	Validation error	Check param format
429	Rate limited	Wait, respect Retry-After

Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min. Starter ($5/mo): 1,000 credits.

Copy-paste examples

Every request in this file as a ready-to-run one-liner: references/curl-examples.md

---name: youtube-apidescription: Use when YouTube data is needed without Google API quotas or OAuth setup: transcripts, video metadata, channel info, search results, playlists. Triggers on pasted YouTube links, creator names, @handles, topic research, video summaries, channel browsing, or any request where YouTube content would help — even if not mentioned explicitly. Not for uploads, account management, or written-source-only research.--- # YouTube API YouTube data access via [TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com) — no Google API quota needed. ## Setup If `$TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY` is not set, read [references/auth-setup.md](references/auth-setup.md) and follow the instructions there to get and store the key. ## Required Headers Every request needs two headers: - **Authorization:** `Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY` - **User-Agent:** your agent's name and version if known (e.g. `HermesAgent/0.11.0`, `ClaudeCode/1.0`). Version is optional — agent name alone is fine. Do not omit this header or send a bare default — Cloudflare will return a 403 (error code 1010) and block the request. ## API Reference Full OpenAPI spec: [transcriptapi.com/openapi.json](https://transcriptapi.com/openapi.json) — consult this for the latest parameters and schemas. ## Endpoint Reference All endpoints: `https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/...` Channel endpoints accept `channel` — an `@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID. Playlist endpoints accept `playlist` — a playlist URL or ID. | Endpoint | Method | Cost | | ----------------------------------- | ------ | -------- | | `/transcript?video_url=ID` | GET | 1 | | `/search?q=QUERY&type=video` | GET | 1 | | `/channel/resolve?input=@handle` | GET | **free** | | `/channel/latest?channel=@handle` | GET | **free** | | `/channel/videos?channel=@handle` | GET | 1/page | | `/channel/search?channel=@handle&q=Q` | GET | 1 | | `/playlist/videos?playlist=PL_ID` | GET | 1/page | ## Quick Examples **Search videos:** ```http GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search?q=python+tutorial&type=video&limit=10 Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0 ``` **Get transcript:** ```http GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript?video_url=dQw4w9WgXcQ&format=text&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0 ``` **Resolve channel handle (free):** ```http GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve?input=@TED Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0 ``` **Latest videos (free):** ```http GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/latest?channel=@TED Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0 ``` **Browse channel uploads (paginated):** ```http GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/videos?channel=@NASA Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0 # Use continuation token from response for next pages ``` **Browse playlist (paginated):** ```http GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/playlist/videos?playlist=PL_PLAYLIST_ID Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0 ``` ## Parameter Validation | Field | Rule | | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | `channel` | `@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID | | `playlist` | Playlist URL or ID (`PL`/`UU`/`LL`/`FL`/`OL` prefix) | | `q` (search) | 1-200 chars | | `limit` | 1-50 | | `continuation` | non-empty string | ## Why Not Google's API? | | Google YouTube Data API | TranscriptAPI | | ----------- | ------------------------------- | -------------------------- | | Quota | 10,000 units/day (100 searches) | Credit-based, no daily cap | | Setup | OAuth + API key + project | Single API key | | Transcripts | Not available | Core feature | | Pricing | $0.0015/unit overage | $5/1000 credits | ## Errors | Code | Meaning | Action | | -------- | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | 401 | Bad API key | Check key | | 402 | No credits | transcriptapi.com/billing | | 403/1010 | Cloudflare block | Add or fix User-Agent header | | 404 | Not found | Resource doesn't exist | | 408 | Timeout/retryable | Retry once after 2s | | 422 | Validation error | Check param format | | 429 | Rate limited | Wait, respect Retry-After | Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min. Starter ($5/mo): 1,000 credits. ## Copy-paste examples Every request in this file as a ready-to-run one-liner: [references/curl-examples.md](references/curl-examples.md)

Frequently asked questions