How do I start using Video Transcript?

Register for a TranscriptAPI key and call the /api/v2/youtube/transcript endpoint with a video URL.

What formats can I get the transcript in?

You can request json for structured data or text for a readable transcript; you can also enable timestamps and metadata.

What about costs or limits?

1 credit per successful request; free tier includes 100 credits; 300 requests per minute; errors do not consume credits.

video-transcript

Scanned

npx machina-cli add skill ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills/video-transcript --openclaw

Files (1)

SKILL.md

3.5 KB

Video Transcript

Extract transcripts from videos 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.

node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js register --email USER_EMAIL

→ OTP sent to email. Ask user: "Check your email for a 6-digit verification code."

Step 2 — Verify: Once user provides the OTP:

node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js verify --token TOKEN_FROM_STEP_1 --otp CODE

API key saved to your shell profile and agent config. Ready to use.

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

GET /api/v2/youtube/transcript

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` (structured), `text` (readable)
`include_timestamp`	no	`true`	`true`, `false`
`send_metadata`	no	`false`	`true`, `false`

Accepted URL formats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID
https://youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID
Bare video ID: dQw4w9WgXcQ

Response (format=text&send_metadata=true):

{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "transcript": "[00:00:18] We're no strangers to love\n[00:00:21] You know the rules...",
  "metadata": {
    "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up",
    "author_name": "Rick Astley",
    "author_url": "https://www.youtube.com/@RickAstley",
    "thumbnail_url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg"
  }
}

Response (format=json):

{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "transcript": [
    { "text": "We're no strangers to love", "start": 18.0, "duration": 3.5 },
    { "text": "You know the rules and so do I", "start": 21.5, "duration": 2.8 }
  ]
}

Tips

Summarize long transcripts into key points first, offer full text on request.
Use format=json when you need precise timestamps for quoting specific moments.
Use send_metadata=true to get video title and channel for context.
Works with YouTube Shorts too.

Errors

Code	Meaning	Action
401	Bad API key	Check key or re-setup
402	No credits	Top up at transcriptapi.com/billing
404	No transcript	Video may not have captions enabled
408	Timeout	Retry once after 2s

1 credit per successful request. Errors don't consume credits. Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min.

Source

git clone https://github.com/ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills/blob/main/skills/video-transcript/SKILL.mdView on GitHub

Overview

Video Transcript retrieves full transcripts from YouTube videos via TranscriptAPI.com. It supports text and JSON outputs, can include timestamps and metadata, and is ideal for analysis, summarization, or note-taking.

How This Skill Works

Provide a YouTube URL or video ID and choose a format (json or text) with options for include_timestamp and send_metadata. The API call to GET /api/v2/youtube/transcript returns either a structured transcript with start times or a readable text block, plus optional metadata such as title and author. Accepts common YouTube URL formats or a bare video ID to locate the video.

When to Use It

Transcribing lectures, talks, or tutorials for study notes
Quoting specific moments with timestamps for papers or blogs
Citing video sources with title and author metadata in reports
Analyzing webinars or product demos for insights and summaries
Converting long videos into structured transcripts for archiving

Quick Start

Step 1: Register for a TranscriptAPI key and retrieve your API key
Step 2: Call GET /api/v2/youtube/transcript with video_url, format, include_timestamp, and send_metadata, including Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY
Step 3: Use the transcript data from the response, either as text or JSON with timestamps and metadata

Best Practices

Provide the exact video URL or ID to ensure correct retrieval
Use format=json when you need precise timestamps for quoting moments
Set include_timestamp to true and send_metadata to true for context
Be mindful of API credits; 1 credit per successful request; manage your quota
If the video lacks captions, expect a no transcript response and verify availability

Example Use Cases

A student transcribes a university lecture to create organized study notes
A researcher pulls timestamped quotes from a conference talk for a literature review
A content team logs a product demo transcript with metadata for a knowledge base
An accessibility specialist generates readable transcripts to improve inclusivity and SEO
An archivist stores video transcripts with metadata for long-term retrieval

Frequently Asked Questions

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