Workflow · Education

YouTube playlist → study notes

A 20-lecture course is ten hours of video and about ninety minutes of reading. This workflow turns the playlist into structured notes, one set per lecture, in the order the course intended.

Runs on the MCP server (one sign-in, 30 free credits) or the REST API · repeat reads from your library are free.

How it works

1. Give your assistant the playlist URL.
2. It lists the playlist with get_playlist_videos — order preserved, so lesson 3 stays lesson 3.
3. It fetches transcripts in batches with get_transcripts (up to 20 per call).
4. It writes one notes block per video: summary, key concepts, definitions, and open questions.

Why order matters here

Course playlists build on themselves — the definition in lecture 2 is assumed by lecture 9. BulkTranscripts returns playlist videos in playlist order, so notes generated from it read as a course, not a pile. Each transcript carries the video title and link, so every note traces back to its lecture.

Agent prompt — paste into Claude, ChatGPT, or any assistant connected to the BulkTranscripts MCP server:

Get every transcript from this playlist, in order: [PLAYLIST URL]
For each video write: a 5-bullet summary, key terms with one-line definitions,
and one exam-style question. Format as Markdown with the video title and link
as the heading. Keep each video's notes under 250 words.

Or script it against the REST API:

# 1. list the playlist (1 credit)
curl "https://bulktranscripts.co/api/v1/playlist/videos?playlist=PLAYLIST_ID"
# 2. fetch each transcript (1 credit first time, repeats free)
curl "https://bulktranscripts.co/api/v1/transcript?video=VIDEO_ID&segments=0"

What you’ll need

An MCP-capable assistant (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor) connected to https://bulktranscripts.co/mcp — one sign-in includes 30 free credits — or a license key for the REST API. Transcripts already in your library are re-read free, so iterating on the same videos costs nothing after the first pass.

Common questions

How long a playlist can this handle?

get_playlist_videos lists up to 1,000 videos; the assistant then batches transcripts 20 at a time. A 30-lecture course is a few minutes of work.

What about lectures without captions?

They are reported and skipped without failing the batch, and nothing is charged for them.

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