---

name: youtube-search description: Search YouTube for videos and channels, search within specific channels, then fetch transcripts. Use when the user asks to "find videos about X", "search YouTube for", "look up a channel", "who makes videos about", "find on youtube", or wants to discover YouTube content on a topic. homepage: https://transcriptapi.com metadata: { "moltbot": { "emoji": "🔍", "requires": { "env": ["TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"] }, "primaryEnv": "TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY", }, }

YouTube Search

Search YouTube and fetch transcripts via TranscriptAPI.com.

Setup

If $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY is not set, help the user create an account (100 free credits, no card):

Step 1 — Register: Ask user for their email, generate a secure password.

node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js register --email USER_EMAIL --password SECURE_PASS --json

→ OTP sent to email. Ask user: "Check your email for a 6-digit verification code." ⚠️ SAVE THE PASSWORD — you need it again in Step 2!

Step 2 — Verify: Once user provides the OTP (use SAME password from Step 1):

node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js verify --email USER_EMAIL --password SECURE_PASS --otp CODE --json

→ Returns api_key (starts with sk_).

Step 3 — Save: Store the key (auto-configures agent + shell):

node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js save-key --key API_KEY --json

→ Ready to use. Agent runtime picks up the key automatically.

Manual option: transcriptapi.com/signup → Dashboard → API Keys.

GET /api/v2/youtube/search — 1 credit

Search YouTube globally for videos or channels.

curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search?q=QUERY&type=video&limit=20" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

Param	Required	Default	Validation
q	yes	—	1-200 chars (trimmed)
type	no	video	video or channel
limit	no	20	1-50

Video search response:

{
  "results": [
    {
      "type": "video",
      "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
      "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up",
      "channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
      "channelTitle": "Rick Astley",
      "channelHandle": "@RickAstley",
      "channelVerified": true,
      "lengthText": "3:33",
      "viewCountText": "1.5B views",
      "publishedTimeText": "14 years ago",
      "hasCaptions": true,
      "thumbnails": [{ "url": "...", "width": 120, "height": 90 }]
    }
  ],
  "result_count": 20
}

Channel search response (type=channel):

{
  "results": [{
    "type": "channel",
    "channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
    "title": "Rick Astley",
    "handle": "@RickAstley",
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@RickAstley",
    "description": "Official channel...",
    "subscriberCount": "4.2M subscribers",
    "verified": true,
    "rssUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UC...",
    "thumbnails": [...]
  }],
  "result_count": 5
}

GET /api/v2/youtube/channel/search — 1 credit

Search videos within a specific channel.

curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/search\
?channel_id=UC_CHANNEL_ID&q=iphone+review&limit=30" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

Param	Required	Validation
channel_id	yes	^UC[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{22}$
q	yes	1-200 chars
limit	no	1-50 (default 30)

Returns up to ~30 results (YouTube limit). Same video response shape as global search.

GET /api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve — FREE

Convert @handle to channel ID for channel/search:

curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve?input=@mkbhd" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

Workflow: Search → Transcript

# 1. Search for videos
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search\
?q=python+web+scraping&type=video&limit=5" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

# 2. Get transcript from result
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\
?video_url=VIDEO_ID&format=text&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

Errors

Code	Action
402	No credits — transcriptapi.com/billing
404	Not found
408	Timeout — retry once
422	Invalid channel_id format

Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min.