---

name: pm7y-youtube-transcript description: Download YouTube video transcripts and create structured summaries 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. allowed-tools: Bash,Read,Write

YouTube Transcript Summary Generator

This skill downloads transcripts from YouTube videos and creates a structured TRANSCRIPT.md summary with key points (including time codes) and a detailed description. It does NOT include the full transcript text.

Cross-platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux using Python.

When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when the user:

• Provides a YouTube URL and wants the transcript
• Asks to "download transcript from YouTube"
• Wants to "get captions" or "get subtitles" from a video
• Asks to "transcribe a YouTube video"
• Needs text content from a YouTube video

Output Format

The skill produces a TRANSCRIPT.md file containing:

1. Video metadata - title, URL
2. Summary - brief overview of the video content
3. Key Points - main takeaways with time codes (e.g., [02:34])
4. Detailed Description - expanded explanation of the content

Note: The full transcript text is NOT included in the output.

How It Works

Priority Order:

1. Check if youtube-transcript-api is installed - install if needed
2. Extract video ID from the YouTube URL
3. Fetch transcript with timestamps using the API
4. Get video title from YouTube
5. Save timestamped transcript to temporary file
6. Analyze and summarize - identify key points and generate summary
7. Write TRANSCRIPT.md - create structured markdown file
8. Clean up temporary files

Installation Check

IMPORTANT: Always check if youtube-transcript-api is installed first:

Copypython -c "import youtube_transcript_api" 2>/dev/null || python3 -c "import youtube_transcript_api" 2>/dev/null

If Not Installed

Install the package (works on all platforms):

Copypip install youtube-transcript-api

Or with python3:

Copypip3 install youtube-transcript-api

Extract Video ID

YouTube URLs come in various formats. Extract the video ID:

Fetch Transcript with Timestamps

Use this Python script to fetch the transcript. It works cross-platform (Windows/macOS/Linux):

Copyimport sys
import json
import re
import urllib.request
from youtube_transcript_api import YouTubeTranscriptApi

def get_video_id(url):
    """Extract video ID from various YouTube URL formats."""
    patterns = [
        r'(?:v=|/v/|youtu\.be/|/embed/)([a-zA-Z0-9_-]{11})',
        r'^([a-zA-Z0-9_-]{11})$'  # Just the ID
    ]
    for pattern in patterns:
        match = re.search(pattern, url)
        if match:
            return match.group(1)
    return None

def get_video_title(video_id):
    """Fetch video title from YouTube page."""
    try:
        url = f"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v={video_id}"
        req = urllib.request.Request(url, headers={'User-Agent': 'Mozilla/5.0'})
        with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=10) as response:
            html = response.read().decode('utf-8')
            match = re.search(r'<title>([^<]+)</title>', html)
            if match:
                title = match.group(1).replace(' - YouTube', '').strip()
                return title
    except:
        pass
    return f"YouTube Video {video_id}"

def format_timestamp(seconds):
    """Convert seconds to MM:SS or HH:MM:SS format."""
    seconds = int(seconds)
    if seconds >= 3600:
        hours = seconds // 3600
        minutes = (seconds % 3600) // 60
        secs = seconds % 60
        return f"{hours}:{minutes:02d}:{secs:02d}"
    else:
        minutes = seconds // 60
        secs = seconds % 60
        return f"{minutes:02d}:{secs:02d}"

def main(url_or_id):
    video_id = get_video_id(url_or_id)
    if not video_id:
        print(f"Error: Could not extract video ID from: {url_or_id}", file=sys.stderr)
        sys.exit(1)

    # Get video title
    title = get_video_title(video_id)
    print(f"TITLE: {title}")
    print(f"URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v={video_id}")
    print("---TRANSCRIPT---")

    # Fetch transcript (API v1.2+ requires instance)
    api = YouTubeTranscriptApi()
    try:
        transcript = api.fetch(video_id)
    except Exception as e:
        # Try with auto-generated
        try:
            transcript_list = api.list(video_id)
            transcript = transcript_list.find_generated_transcript(['en']).fetch()
        except Exception as e2:
            print(f"Error: Could not fetch transcript: {e2}", file=sys.stderr)
            sys.exit(1)

    # Output timestamped transcript (entries are objects with .start/.text attributes)
    for entry in transcript:
        timestamp = format_timestamp(entry.start)
        text = entry.text.replace('\n', ' ').strip()
        print(f"[{timestamp}] {text}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    if len(sys.argv) < 2:
        print("Usage: python script.py <youtube_url_or_id>", file=sys.stderr)
        sys.exit(1)
    main(sys.argv[1])

Complete Workflow

Step 1: Check/Install youtube-transcript-api

On macOS/Linux:

Copypython3 -c "import youtube_transcript_api" 2>/dev/null || pip3 install youtube-transcript-api

On Windows (PowerShell):

Copypython -c "import youtube_transcript_api" 2>$null; if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { pip install youtube-transcript-api }

Step 2: Fetch Transcript

Save the Python script above to a temporary file and run it:

Cross-platform approach - Write and execute inline Python:

Copypython3 << 'PYEOF' > transcript_with_timestamps.txt
import sys
import re
import urllib.request
from youtube_transcript_api import YouTubeTranscriptApi

VIDEO_URL = "REPLACE_WITH_URL"

def get_video_id(url):
    patterns = [r'(?:v=|/v/|youtu\.be/|/embed/)([a-zA-Z0-9_-]{11})', r'^([a-zA-Z0-9_-]{11})$']
    for pattern in patterns:
        match = re.search(pattern, url)
        if match:
            return match.group(1)
    return None

def get_video_title(video_id):
    try:
        url = f"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v={video_id}"
        req = urllib.request.Request(url, headers={'User-Agent': 'Mozilla/5.0'})
        with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=10) as response:
            html = response.read().decode('utf-8')
            match = re.search(r'<title>([^<]+)</title>', html)
            if match:
                return match.group(1).replace(' - YouTube', '').strip()
    except:
        pass
    return f"YouTube Video {video_id}"

def format_timestamp(seconds):
    seconds = int(seconds)
    if seconds >= 3600:
        return f"{seconds // 3600}:{(seconds % 3600) // 60:02d}:{seconds % 60:02d}"
    return f"{seconds // 60:02d}:{seconds % 60:02d}"

video_id = get_video_id(VIDEO_URL)
title = get_video_title(video_id)
print(f"TITLE: {title}")
print(f"URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v={video_id}")
print("---TRANSCRIPT---")

# API v1.2+ requires instance
api = YouTubeTranscriptApi()
try:
    transcript = api.fetch(video_id)
except:
    transcript_list = api.list(video_id)
    transcript = transcript_list.find_generated_transcript(['en']).fetch()

# Entries are objects with .start/.text attributes
for entry in transcript:
    ts = format_timestamp(entry.start)
    text = entry.text.replace('\n', ' ').strip()
    print(f"[{ts}] {text}")
PYEOF

On Windows (PowerShell) - Use a temporary .py file:

Copy$script = @'
import sys, re, urllib.request
from youtube_transcript_api import YouTubeTranscriptApi

VIDEO_URL = "REPLACE_WITH_URL"

# ... (same Python code as above)
'@
$script | Out-File -Encoding utf8 temp_transcript.py
python temp_transcript.py > transcript_with_timestamps.txt
Remove-Item temp_transcript.py

Step 3: Analyze and Create TRANSCRIPT.md

After running the above, you MUST:

1. Read the transcript_with_timestamps.txt file
2. Extract the TITLE and URL from the first lines
3. Analyze the transcript content to identify:
   • Main topics covered
   • Key points with their time codes
   • Overall theme and purpose
4. Write a TRANSCRIPT.md file with this structure:

Copy# [Video Title]

**Source:** [YouTube URL]

## Summary

[2-3 paragraph overview of what the video covers]

## Key Points

- **[Key Point 1]** `[MM:SS]` - Brief description of this point
- **[Key Point 2]** `[MM:SS]` - Brief description of this point
- **[Key Point 3]** `[MM:SS]` - Brief description of this point
[... more key points as appropriate]

## Detailed Description

[Expanded explanation of the video content, organized by topic or chronologically. Reference time codes where helpful for specific topics, e.g., "The speaker discusses X starting at `[05:23]`..."]

Step 4: Clean Up

Delete temporary files:

macOS/Linux:

Copyrm transcript_with_timestamps.txt

Windows (PowerShell):

CopyRemove-Item transcript_with_timestamps.txt

Important Guidelines for TRANSCRIPT.md

• Identify 5-15 key points depending on video length
• Each key point MUST include a time code in [MM:SS] format
• Time codes should link to significant moments (topic changes, important statements, demonstrations)
• The detailed description should synthesize the content, not just repeat the key points
• Do NOT include the raw transcript text

Error Handling

Common Issues and Solutions:

1. youtube-transcript-api not installed

• Run: pip install youtube-transcript-api or pip3 install youtube-transcript-api
• If pip not found, ensure Python is installed and in PATH

2. No transcript available

• Some videos have captions disabled
• Try listing available transcripts: YouTubeTranscriptApi.list_transcripts(video_id)
• May need to try different language codes

3. Video is private or age-restricted

• The API cannot access private videos
• Age-restricted videos may require authentication

4. Invalid URL format

• Ensure URL is a valid YouTube URL
• Supported formats: youtube.com/watch?v=ID, youtu.be/ID, youtube.com/embed/ID

5. Python not found

• On Windows, ensure Python is installed and added to PATH
• Try both python and python3 commands