Automatically fetch YouTube video transcripts, generate structured summaries, and send full transcripts to messaging platforms. Detects YouTube URLs and provides metadata, key insights, and downloadable transcripts.

YouTube Summarizer Skill Automatically fetch transcripts from YouTube videos, generate structured summaries, and deliver full transcripts to messaging platforms. Mode Detect from context or ask: "Quick TL;DR, full summary, or full summary with content angles?" Mode What you get Best for quick 3 bullet TL;DR + single key takeaway Fast consumption, sharing a clip standard Full structured summary: thesis, insights, takeaway Learning, note taking, research deep Full summary + chapter breakdown + content repurposing opportunities Turning a video into a content asset Default: standard — use quick if they just want the gist. Use deep if they want to extract the video into usable content. Why This vs ChatGPT? Problem with ChatGPT: It can't access YouTube transcripts directly. You have to manually copy/paste captions or use a third party tool first, then feed the text to ChatGPT. Multi step, clunky, loses video metadata. This skill provides: 1. One step transcript extraction Drop a YouTube URL, get the full transcript automatically 2. Structured summarization Consistent format (thesis → insights → takeaway) every time, not random bullet points 3. Video metadata included Title, channel, views, publish date embedded in summary 4. Full transcript delivery Saves timestamped transcript to file and sends to Telegram/chat platforms 5. Works from VPS/cloud Uses Android client emulation to bypass YouTube's cloud IP blocking (where yt dlp fails) 6. Multi language support Auto fetches in requested language with English fallback You can replicate this by manually enabling captions, copying text, pasting to ChatGPT, reformatting the output, saving to a file, and uploading. Takes 5 10 minutes. This skill does it in 15 20 seconds. When to Use Activate this skill when: User shares a YouTube URL (youtube.com/watch, youtu.be, youtube.com/shorts) User asks to summarize or transcribe a YouTube video User requests information about a YouTube video's content You need to analyze video content for research or content creation Dependencies Required: MCP YouTube Transcript server must be installed at: /root/clawd/mcp server youtube transcript If not present, install it: Workflow 1. Detect YouTube URL Extract video ID from these patterns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO ID https://youtu.be/VIDEO ID https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO ID Direct video ID: VIDEO ID (11 characters) 2. Fetch Transcript Run this command to get the transcript: Replace VIDEO ID with the extracted ID. Read the output from /tmp/yt transcript.json . 3. Process the Data Parse the JSON to extract: result.metadata.title Video title result.metadata.author Channel name result.metadata.viewCount Formatted view count result.metadata.publishDate Publication date result.actualLang Language used result.lines Array of transcript segments Full text: result.lines.map(l = l.text).join(' ') 4. Generate Summary Create a structured summary using this template: Aim for: Main thesis: 1 2 sentences maximum Key insights: 3 5 bullets, each 1 2 sentences Notable points: 2 4 supporting details Takeaway: Actionable conclusion 5. Save Full Transcript Save the complete transcript to a timestamped file: Include in the file: Video metadata header (title, channel, URL, date) Full transcript text URL reference for easy lookup 6. Platform Specific Delivery If channel is Telegram: If channel is other/webchat: Just reply with the summary (no file attachment). 7. Reply with Summary Send the structured summary as your response to the user. Real Case Study User: Content creator researching competitor YouTube strategies Challenge: Needed to analyze 20+ competitor videos per week to identify trending topics, messaging patterns, and content gaps. Manual process: watch video, take notes, transcribe key quotes. Time: 30 45 min per video. Solution with youtube summarizer: 1. Drop YouTube URL in chat 2. Get structured summary in 20 seconds 3. Full transcript saved for reference 4. Copy key insights for content planning doc Workflow example: Results after 8 weeks: Time saved: 25 hours/week (from 600 min to 60 min for 20 videos) Content output: 3 videos/week (up from 1/week) Better insights: Full transcripts searchable, found patterns missed when just watching Competitive intel: Built database of 160+ competitor video summaries with key quotes ROI quote: "This skill turned competitor research from a chore into an assembly line." Why This Beats Manual Methods Method Time Gets Metadata Structured Output Searchable Archive Cloud Friendly Watch + take notes 30 45 min No No Manual only N/A YouTube transcript feature 5 min No No No Yes yt dlp 2 5 min Yes No Yes ❌ Blocked on VPS Copy to ChatGPT 10 min No Sometimes No Yes This skill 20 sec Yes Yes Yes ✅ Works on VPS Error Handling If transcript fetch fails: Check if video has captions enabled Try with lang: 'en' fallback if requested language unavailable Inform user that transcript is not available and suggest alternatives: Manual YouTube transcript feature (Settings → Show transcript) Video may not have captions Try a different video If MCP server not installed: Provide installation instructions Offer to install it automatically if in appropriate context If video ID extraction fails: Ask user to provide the full YouTube URL or video ID If video is age restricted or private: Inform user that transcript cannot be accessed due to restrictions Suggest checking video privacy settings Examples Example 1: Tech Tutorial Input: https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ Output: Example 2: Business Strategy Video Input: https://youtu.be/abc123xyz Output: Quality Guidelines Be concise: Summary should be scannable in 30 seconds Be accurate: Don't add information not in the transcript Be structured: Use consistent formatting for easy reading Be contextual: Adjust detail level based on video length Short videos (<5 min): Brief summary (3 key insights) Medium videos (5 30 min): Standard format (5 key insights) Long videos ( 30 min): Detailed breakdown (7+ insights, split into sections if needed) Extract value: Focus on actionable insights, data points, and contrarian takes (not generic advice) Pro Tips For Better Summaries: 1. Prioritize data points Numbers, percentages, study citations stand out 2. Extract quotes Memorable one liners make summaries shareable 3. Identify frameworks If video presents a method/process, extract the steps 4. Spot contrarian takes Unconventional wisdom is more valuable than common advice 5. Note proof Examples, case studies, before/after results add credibility For Research Workflows: 1. Build a transcript library Organize by topic/niche for pattern spotting 2. Search across transcripts Use grep or text search to find mentions of specific topics 3. Track trends Same topic across multiple videos = rising trend 4. Extract prompts Save useful frameworks/methods as reusable prompts For Content Creation: 1. Find content gaps What questions are asked but not fully answered? 2. Analyze top performers What structure/pacing do high view videos use? 3. Extract hooks First 30 seconds of transcript = proven hook patterns 4. Repurpose insights Turn video insights into Twitter threads, blog posts, newsletters Configuration Standard Mode (default) Fetches transcript in English Generates structured summary Saves transcript to file Sends to messaging platform if applicable Quick Mode Thesis + 3 key insights only No transcript file saved Faster processing for rapid research Deep Dive Mode Extended summary with timestamps Section by section breakdown for long videos Includes all notable quotes Language Specific Fetches transcript in specified language Falls back to English if unavailable Installation & Setup Common Issues Issue: "Transcript not available" Cause: Video has no captions/subtitles enabled Fix: Ask video creator to enable captions, or try a different video Issue: "Failed to fetch transcript" (on VPS) Cause: YouTube may have updated their API Fix: Update MCP server: cd /root/clawd/mcp server youtube transcript && git pull && npm install && npm run build Issue: "Video ID not recognized" Cause: Malformed URL or unsupported format Fix: Copy URL directly from YouTube address bar Future Enhancements (Roadmap) [ ] Multi video batch processing (analyze playlists) [ ] Sentiment analysis on transcript (positive/negative/neutral tone) [ ] Speaker diarization (identify different speakers in interviews/panels) [ ] Automatic chapter detection (split long videos into logical sections) [ ] Cross video pattern analysis (find common themes across multiple videos) Support Issues or suggestions? Provide: YouTube URL that failed Error message (if any) Expected vs actual behavior MCP server version: cd /root/clawd/mcp server youtube transcript && git rev parse HEAD Built on MCP YouTube Transcript server (Android emulation for cloud reliability). Turn any YouTube video into structured, searchable knowledge in 20 seconds.

youtube-summarizer