youtube-transcript

Name: youtube-transcript
Author: michalparkola

498stars65forks

How to install youtube-transcript?

michalparkola/tapestry-skills/youtube-transcript

$npx -y skills add michalparkola/tapestry-skills --skill youtube-transcript

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Download YouTube video transcripts when user provides a YouTube URL or asks to download/get/fetch a transcript from YouTube. Also use when user wants to transcribe or get captions/subtitles from a YouTube video.

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	# YouTube Transcript Downloader
2
3	This skill helps download transcripts (subtitles/captions) from YouTube videos using yt-dlp.
4
5	## When to Use This Skill
6
7	Activate this skill when the user:
8	- Provides a YouTube URL and wants the transcript
9	- Asks to "download transcript from YouTube"
10	- Wants to "get captions" or "get subtitles" from a video
11	- Asks to "transcribe a YouTube video"
12	- Needs text content from a YouTube video
13
14	## How It Works
15
16	### Priority Order:
17	1. Check if yt-dlp is installed - install if needed
18	2. List available subtitles - see what's actually available
19	3. Try manual subtitles first (`--write-sub`) - highest quality
20	4. Fallback to auto-generated (`--write-auto-sub`) - usually available
21	5. Last resort: Whisper transcription - if no subtitles exist (requires user confirmation)
22	6. Confirm the download and show the user where the file is saved
23	7. Optionally clean up the VTT format if the user wants plain text
24
25	## Installation Check
26
27	IMPORTANT: Always check if yt-dlp is installed first:
28
29	```bash
30	which yt-dlp \|\| command -v yt-dlp
31	```
32
33	### If Not Installed
34
35	Attempt automatic installation based on the system:
36
37	macOS (Homebrew):
38	```bash
39	brew install yt-dlp
40	```
41
42	Linux (apt/Debian/Ubuntu):
43	```bash
44	sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y yt-dlp
45	```
46
47	Alternative (pip - works on all systems):
48	```bash
49	pip3 install yt-dlp
50	# or
51	python3 -m pip install yt-dlp
52	```
53
54	If installation fails: Inform the user they need to install yt-dlp manually and provide them with installation instructions from https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp#installation
55
56	## Check Available Subtitles
57
58	ALWAYS do this first before attempting to download:
59
60	```bash
61	yt-dlp --list-subs "YOUTUBE_URL"
62	```
63
64	This shows what subtitle types are available without downloading anything. Look for:
65	- Manual subtitles (better quality)
66	- Auto-generated subtitles (usually available)
67	- Available languages
68
69	## Download Strategy
70
71	### Option 1: Manual Subtitles (Preferred)
72
73	Try this first - highest quality, human-created:
74
75	```bash
76	yt-dlp --write-sub --skip-download --output "OUTPUT_NAME" "YOUTUBE_URL"
77	```
78
79	### Option 2: Auto-Generated Subtitles (Fallback)
80
81	If manual subtitles aren't available:
82
83	```bash
84	yt-dlp --write-auto-sub --skip-download --output "OUTPUT_NAME" "YOUTUBE_URL"
85	```
86
87	Both commands create a `.vtt` file (WebVTT subtitle format).
88
89	## Option 3: Whisper Transcription (Last Resort)
90
91	ONLY use this if both manual and auto-generated subtitles are unavailable.
92
93	### Step 1: Show File Size and Ask for Confirmation
94
95	```bash
96	# Get audio file size estimate
97	yt-dlp --print "%(filesize,filesize_approx)s" -f "bestaudio" "YOUTUBE_URL"
98
99	# Or get duration to estimate
100	yt-dlp --print "%(duration)s %(title)s" "YOUTUBE_URL"
101	```
102
103	IMPORTANT: Display the file size to the user and ask: "No subtitles are available. I can download the audio (approximately X MB) and transcribe it using Whisper. Would you like to proceed?"
104
105	Wait for user confirmation before continuing.
106
107	### Step 2: Check for Whisper Installation
108
109	```bash
110	command -v whisper
111	```
112
113	If not installed, ask user: "Whisper is not installed. Install it with `pip install openai-whisper` (requires ~1-3GB for models)? This is a one-time installation."
114
115	Wait for user confirmation before installing.
116
117	Install if approved:
118	```bash
119	pip3 install openai-whisper
120	```
121
122	### Step 3: Download Audio Only
123
124	```bash
125	yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --output "audio_%(id)s.%(ext)s" "YOUTUBE_URL"
126	```
127
128	### Step 4: Transcribe with Whisper
129
130	```bash
131	# Auto-detect language (recommended)
132	whisper audio_VIDEO_ID.mp3 --model base --output_format vtt
133
134	# Or specify language if known
135	whisper audio_VIDEO_ID.mp3 --model base --language en --output_format vtt
136	```
137
138	Model Options (stick to `base` for now):
139	- `tiny` - fastest, least accurate (~1GB)
140	- `base` - good balance (~1GB) ← USE THIS
141	- `small` - better accuracy (~2GB)
142	- `medium` - very good (~5GB)
143	- `large` - best accuracy (~10GB)
144
145	### Step 5: Cleanup
146
147	After transcription completes, ask user: "Transcription complete! Would you like me to delete the audio file to save space?"
148
149	If yes:
150	```bash
151	rm audio_VIDEO_ID.mp3
152	```
153
154	## Getting Video Information
155
156	### Extract Video Title (for filename)
157
158	```bash
159	yt-dlp --print "%(title)s" "YOUTUBE_URL"
160	```
161
162	Use this to create meaningful filenames based on the video title. Clean the title for filesystem compatibility:
163	- Replace `/` with `-`
164	- Replace special characters that might cause issues
165	- Consider using sanitized version: `$(yt-dlp --print "%(title)s" "URL" \| tr '/' '-' \| tr ':' '-')`
166
167	## Post-Processing
168
169	### Convert to Plain Text (Recommended)
170
171	YouTube's auto-generated VTT files contain duplicate lines because captions a

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6 picks

Type

youtube-transcript

498stars65forks

View on GitHub

How to install youtube-transcript?

michalparkola/tapestry-skills/youtube-transcript

$npx -y skills add michalparkola/tapestry-skills --skill youtube-transcript

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	# YouTube Transcript Downloader
2
3	This skill helps download transcripts (subtitles/captions) from YouTube videos using yt-dlp.
4
5	## When to Use This Skill
6
7	Activate this skill when the user:
8	- Provides a YouTube URL and wants the transcript
9	- Asks to "download transcript from YouTube"
10	- Wants to "get captions" or "get subtitles" from a video
11	- Asks to "transcribe a YouTube video"
12	- Needs text content from a YouTube video
13
14	## How It Works
15
16	### Priority Order:
17	1. Check if yt-dlp is installed - install if needed
18	2. List available subtitles - see what's actually available
19	3. Try manual subtitles first (`--write-sub`) - highest quality
20	4. Fallback to auto-generated (`--write-auto-sub`) - usually available
21	5. Last resort: Whisper transcription - if no subtitles exist (requires user confirmation)
22	6. Confirm the download and show the user where the file is saved
23	7. Optionally clean up the VTT format if the user wants plain text
24
25	## Installation Check
26
27	IMPORTANT: Always check if yt-dlp is installed first:
28
29	```bash
30	which yt-dlp \|\| command -v yt-dlp
31	```
32
33	### If Not Installed
34
35	Attempt automatic installation based on the system:
36
37	macOS (Homebrew):
38	```bash
39	brew install yt-dlp
40	```
41
42	Linux (apt/Debian/Ubuntu):
43	```bash
44	sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y yt-dlp
45	```
46
47	Alternative (pip - works on all systems):
48	```bash
49	pip3 install yt-dlp
50	# or
51	python3 -m pip install yt-dlp
52	```
53
54	If installation fails: Inform the user they need to install yt-dlp manually and provide them with installation instructions from https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp#installation
55
56	## Check Available Subtitles
57
58	ALWAYS do this first before attempting to download:
59
60	```bash
61	yt-dlp --list-subs "YOUTUBE_URL"
62	```
63
64	This shows what subtitle types are available without downloading anything. Look for:
65	- Manual subtitles (better quality)
66	- Auto-generated subtitles (usually available)
67	- Available languages
68
69	## Download Strategy
70
71	### Option 1: Manual Subtitles (Preferred)
72
73	Try this first - highest quality, human-created:
74
75	```bash
76	yt-dlp --write-sub --skip-download --output "OUTPUT_NAME" "YOUTUBE_URL"
77	```
78
79	### Option 2: Auto-Generated Subtitles (Fallback)
80
81	If manual subtitles aren't available:
82
83	```bash
84	yt-dlp --write-auto-sub --skip-download --output "OUTPUT_NAME" "YOUTUBE_URL"
85	```
86
87	Both commands create a `.vtt` file (WebVTT subtitle format).
88
89	## Option 3: Whisper Transcription (Last Resort)
90
91	ONLY use this if both manual and auto-generated subtitles are unavailable.
92
93	### Step 1: Show File Size and Ask for Confirmation
94
95	```bash
96	# Get audio file size estimate
97	yt-dlp --print "%(filesize,filesize_approx)s" -f "bestaudio" "YOUTUBE_URL"
98
99	# Or get duration to estimate
100	yt-dlp --print "%(duration)s %(title)s" "YOUTUBE_URL"
101	```
102
103	IMPORTANT: Display the file size to the user and ask: "No subtitles are available. I can download the audio (approximately X MB) and transcribe it using Whisper. Would you like to proceed?"
104
105	Wait for user confirmation before continuing.
106
107	### Step 2: Check for Whisper Installation
108
109	```bash
110	command -v whisper
111	```
112
113	If not installed, ask user: "Whisper is not installed. Install it with `pip install openai-whisper` (requires ~1-3GB for models)? This is a one-time installation."
114
115	Wait for user confirmation before installing.
116
117	Install if approved:
118	```bash
119	pip3 install openai-whisper
120	```
121
122	### Step 3: Download Audio Only
123
124	```bash
125	yt-dlp -x --audio-format mp3 --output "audio_%(id)s.%(ext)s" "YOUTUBE_URL"
126	```
127
128	### Step 4: Transcribe with Whisper
129
130	```bash
131	# Auto-detect language (recommended)
132	whisper audio_VIDEO_ID.mp3 --model base --output_format vtt
133
134	# Or specify language if known
135	whisper audio_VIDEO_ID.mp3 --model base --language en --output_format vtt
136	```
137
138	Model Options (stick to `base` for now):
139	- `tiny` - fastest, least accurate (~1GB)
140	- `base` - good balance (~1GB) ← USE THIS
141	- `small` - better accuracy (~2GB)
142	- `medium` - very good (~5GB)
143	- `large` - best accuracy (~10GB)
144
145	### Step 5: Cleanup
146
147	After transcription completes, ask user: "Transcription complete! Would you like me to delete the audio file to save space?"
148
149	If yes:
150	```bash
151	rm audio_VIDEO_ID.mp3
152	```
153
154	## Getting Video Information
155
156	### Extract Video Title (for filename)
157
158	```bash
159	yt-dlp --print "%(title)s" "YOUTUBE_URL"
160	```
161
162	Use this to create meaningful filenames based on the video title. Clean the title for filesystem compatibility:
163	- Replace `/` with `-`
164	- Replace special characters that might cause issues
165	- Consider using sanitized version: `$(yt-dlp --print "%(title)s" "URL" \| tr '/' '-' \| tr ':' '-')`
166
167	## Post-Processing
168
169	### Convert to Plain Text (Recommended)
170
171	YouTube's auto-generated VTT files contain duplicate lines because captions a

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6 picks

Type