---
id: ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills/youtube-full
version: "17a500af"
license: MIT
install: manual
updated: 2026-05-20
---

# youtube-full — YouTube Full gives agents direct access to video transcripts, captions, and metadata through TranscriptAPI. Search videos and channels, browse playlists, fetch latest uploads, and pull full transcripts with timestamps—all via simple API calls that work from any environment.

Publisher: ZeroPointRepo · Stars: 388 · Updated: 2026-05-20

Install (manual): `git clone https://github.com/ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills`

## SKILL.md

# YouTube Full

Complete YouTube toolkit via [TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com). Everything in one skill.

## Setup

If `$TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY` is not set, read [references/auth-setup.md](references/auth-setup.md) and follow the instructions there to get and store the key.

## Required Headers

Every request needs two headers:

- **Authorization:** `Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY`
- **User-Agent:** your agent's name and version if known (e.g. `HermesAgent/0.11.0`, `ClaudeCode/1.0`). Version is optional — agent name alone is fine. Do not omit this header or send a bare default — Cloudflare will return a 403 (error code 1010) and block the request.

## API Reference

Full OpenAPI spec: [transcriptapi.com/openapi.json](https://transcriptapi.com/openapi.json) — consult this for the latest parameters and schemas.

## Transcript — 1 credit

```bash
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" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

| 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`):

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

## Search — 1 credit

```bash
# Videos
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search?q=QUERY&type=video&limit=20" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"

# Channels
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search?q=QUERY&type=channel&limit=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

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

## Channels

All channel endpoints accept `channel` — an `@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` channel ID. No need to resolve first.

### Resolve handle — FREE

```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve?input=@TED" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

Response: `{"channel_id": "UC...", "resolved_from": "@TED"}`

### Latest 15 videos — FREE

```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/latest?channel=@TED" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

Returns exact `viewCount` and ISO `published` timestamps.

### All channel videos — 1 credit/page

```bash
# First page (100 videos)
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/videos?channel=@NASA" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"

# Next pages
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/videos?continuation=TOKEN" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

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

### Search within channel — 1 credit

```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/search\
?channel=@TED&q=QUERY&limit=30" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

## Playlists — 1 credit/page

Accepts `playlist` — a YouTube playlist URL or playlist ID.

```bash
# First page
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/playlist/videos?playlist=PL_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"

# Next pages
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/playlist/videos?continuation=TOKEN" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

Valid ID 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`  | `@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID                   |
| `playlist` | Playlist URL or ID (`PL`/`UU`/`LL`/`FL`/`OL` prefix)   |
| `q`        | 1-200 chars                                             |
| `limit`    | 1-50                                                    |

## Errors

| Code     | Meaning          | Action                                         |
| -------- | ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| 401      | Bad API key      | Check key                                      |
| 402      | No credits       | transcriptapi.com/billing                      |
| 403/1010 | Cloudflare block | Add or fix User-Agent header                   |
| 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

```bash
# 1. Search
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search\
?q=machine+learning+explained&limit=5" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
# 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" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

**Channel monitoring:** latest (free) → transcript

```bash
# 1. Latest uploads (free — pass @handle directly)
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/latest?channel=@TED" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
# 2. 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" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

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


[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills/youtube-full) · [View on GitHub](https://github.com/ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills)