youtube-api

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 4c50c37e7438 · 26 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publisherzeropointrepo GitHub organizationOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source folderzeropointrepo/youtube-skills/clawhub/youtube-apiThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceMITAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict4c50c37e7438A new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 5 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Use when YouTube data is needed without Google API quotas or OAuth setup: transcripts, video metadata, channel info, search results, playlists. Triggers on pasted YouTube links, creator names, @handles, topic research,…

---
name: youtube-api
description: "Use when YouTube data is needed without Google API quotas or OAuth setup: transcripts, video metadata, channel info, search results, playlists. Triggers on pasted YouTube links, creator names, @handles, topic research, video summaries, channel browsing, or any request where YouTube content would help — even if not mentioned explicitly. Not for uploads, account management, or written-source-only research."
version: "1.6.2"
user-invocable: true
compatibility: Requires internet access to reach transcriptapi.com. No additional runtimes or dependencies needed.
required_environment_variables:
  - name: TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
    prompt: Your TranscriptAPI key (starts with sk_)
    help: Free account at https://transcriptapi.com — 100 credits, no card required. Or let the agent create one for you.
    required_for: all API requests
metadata: {"openclaw":{"emoji":"⚡","requires":{"env":["TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"]},"primaryEnv":"TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY","homepage":"https://transcriptapi.com"},"hermes":{"tags":["youtube","transcripts","video","search","channels","playlists","api","no-quota"],"category":"media"}}
---

# YouTube API

YouTube data access via [TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com) — no Google API quota needed.

## 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.

## Endpoint Reference

All endpoints: `https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/...`

Channel endpoints accept `channel` — an `@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID. Playlist endpoints accept `playlist` — a playlist URL or ID.

| Endpoint                              | Method | Cost     |
| -------------------------------------- | ------ | -------- |
| `/info?video_url=ID`                   | GET    | **free** |
| `/video/metadata?video_url=ID`         | GET    | 1        |
| `/transcript?video_url=ID`             | GET    | 1        |
| `/search?q=QUERY&type=video`           | GET    | 1        |
| `/channel/resolve?input=@handle`       | GET    | **free** |
| `/channel/info?channel=@handle`        | GET    | 1        |
| `/channel/latest?channel=@handle`      | GET    | **free** |
| `/channel/videos?channel=@handle`      | GET    | 1/page   |
| `/channel/search?channel=@handle&q=Q`  | GET    | 1        |
| `/channel/playlists?channel=@handle`   | GET    | 1/page   |
| `/channel/posts?channel=@handle`       | GET    | 1/page   |
| `/channel/sections?channel=@handle`    | GET    | 1        |
| `/playlist/videos?playlist=PL_ID`      | GET    | 1/page   |

`search` also takes `type=playlist` or `type=movie`, plus first-page-only filters `sort` (`relevance`/`views`), `upload_date`, `duration`, and `features`. `channel/videos` takes `tab=videos` (default), `shorts`, or `streams`, plus an optional `sort` (`latest`/`popular`/`oldest`).

> **Naming:** `/video/metadata` was previously `/video/info`. The old path still works but is deprecated — use `/video/metadata`.

## Quick Examples

**Search videos:**

```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search\
?q=python+tutorial&type=video&limit=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

**Get transcript:**

```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\
?video_url=dQw4w9WgXcQ&format=text&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

**Check video info & transcript languages (free, before spending a credit):**

```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/info?video_url=dQw4w9WgXcQ" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

**Get rich video metadata (views, likes, description, tags):**

```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/video/metadata?video_url=dQw4w9WgXcQ&include=details" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```

**Get a channel's profile (subscriber count, tags, tabs):**

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

Also available with the same `channel` parameter: `/channel/playlists` (a channel's playlists), `/channel/posts` (community tab), and `/channel/sections` (its curated Home-page shelves).

**Resolve channel 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"
```

**Latest 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"
```

**Browse channel uploads (paginated):**

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

# Most-viewed first (channel Videos tab, ~30 per page)
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/videos?channel=@NASA&sort=popular" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
# Use continuation token from response for next pages, repeating the same tab and sort
```

**Sorting.** Add sort=latest, popular, o

Excerpt, first 6,000 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

1. 2026-10-26
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 4c50c37e7438

Questions about youtube-api

• github.com/zeropointrepo/youtube-skills/tree/main/clawhub/youtub — the audited source at commit 4c50c37e7438 and every finding aboveObserved · 26 Oct 2026

Spotted something wrong? Report a correction · Methodology