YouTube Summarizer Skill

Automatically fetch transcripts from YouTube videos, generate structured summaries, and deliver full transcripts to messaging platforms.

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

Dependencies

Required: MCP YouTube Transcript server must be installed at:
/root/clawd/mcp-server-youtube-transcript

If not present, install it:

cd /root/clawd
git clone 
cd mcp-server-youtube-transcript
npm install && npm run build

Workflow

1. Detect YouTube URL

Extract video ID from these patterns:

• -
• - Direct video ID: VIDEO_ID (11 characters) ### 2. Fetch Transcript Run this command to get the transcript: __CODE_BLOCK_1__ 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: __CODE_BLOCK_2__ 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: __CODE_BLOCK_3__ Include in the file: - Video metadata header - Full transcript text - URL reference ### 6. Platform-Specific Delivery **If channel is Telegram:** __CODE_BLOCK_4__ **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. ## 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 - 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 ## Examples See examples/` directory for sample outputs.

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 - Long videos (>30 min): More detailed breakdown

Notes

• MCP server uses Android client emulation to bypass YouTube's cloud IP blocking
• Works reliably from VPS/cloud environments where yt-dlp often fails
• Supports multiple languages with automatic fallback to English
• Transcript quality depends on YouTube's auto-generated captions or manual captions