---

name: youtube-full description: Complete YouTube toolkit — transcripts, search, channels, playlists, and metadata all in one skill. Use when you need comprehensive YouTube access, want to search and then get transcripts, browse channel content, work with playlists, or need the full suite of YouTube data endpoints. The all-in-one YouTube skill for agents. homepage: https://transcriptapi.com metadata: { "moltbot": { "emoji": "🎯", "requires": { "env": ["TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"] }, "primaryEnv": "TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY", }, }

YouTube Full

Complete YouTube toolkit via TranscriptAPI.com. Everything in one skill.

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.

Transcript — 1 credit

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

Param	Required	Default	Values
video_url	yes	—	YouTube URL or 11-char video ID
format	no	json	json, text
include_timestamp	no	true	true, false
send_metadata	no	false	true, false

Response (format=json):

{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "transcript": [{ "text": "...", "start": 18.0, "duration": 3.5 }],
  "metadata": { "title": "...", "author_name": "...", "author_url": "..." }
}

Search — 1 credit

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

# Channels
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search?q=QUERY&type=channel&limit=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

Param	Required	Default	Validation
q	yes	—	1-200 chars
type	no	video	video, channel
limit	no	20	1-50

Channels

Resolve handle — FREE

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

Response: {"channel_id": "UC...", "resolved_from": "@mkbhd"}

Latest 15 videos — FREE

curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/latest?channel_id=UC_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

Requires channel_id matching ^UC[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{22}$. Returns exact viewCount and ISO published timestamps.

All channel videos — 1 credit/page

# First page (100 videos)
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/videos?channel_id=UC_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

# Next pages
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/videos?continuation=TOKEN" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

Provide exactly one of channel_id or continuation. Response includes continuation_token and has_more.

Search within channel — 1 credit

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

Playlists — 1 credit/page

# First page
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/playlist/videos?playlist_id=PL_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

# Next pages
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/playlist/videos?continuation=TOKEN" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"

Valid prefixes: PL, UU, LL, FL, OL. Response includes playlist_info, results, continuation_token, has_more.

Credit Costs

Endpoint	Cost
transcript	1
search	1
channel/resolve	free
channel/latest	free
channel/videos	1/page
channel/search	1
playlist/videos	1/page

Validation Rules

Field	Rule
channel_id	^UC[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{22}$
playlist_id	starts with PL/UU/LL/FL/OL
q	1-200 chars
limit	1-50

Errors

Code	Meaning	Action
401	Bad API key	Check key
402	No credits	transcriptapi.com/billing
404	Not found	Resource doesn't exist or no captions
408	Timeout	Retry once after 2s
422	Validation error	Check param format
429	Rate limited	Wait, respect Retry-After

Typical Workflows

Research workflow: search → pick videos → fetch transcripts

# 1. Search
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search\
?q=machine+learning+explained&limit=5" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"
# 2. Transcript
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"

Channel monitoring: resolve → latest (free) → transcript

# 1. Resolve handle (free)
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve?input=@mkbhd" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"
# 2. Latest uploads (free)
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/latest\
?channel_id=UCBcRF18a7Qf58cCRy5xuWwQ" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"
# 3. Transcript of latest
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"

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