Agent skill
Give your AI agent access to YouTube transcripts
One file, installed once, teaches your agent the whole YouTube transcript API — no MCP server to configure and no account to create.
Install the skillInstall in one command
For Claude Code: mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/youtube-transcripts && curl -fsSL https://bulktranscripts.co/skill.md -o ~/.claude/skills/youtube-transcripts/SKILL.md — for Codex, use ~/.codex/skills/ instead; any agent that reads the standard SKILL.md format works the same way. The raw file lives at /skill.md if you want to read it first (you should — it is short), and the source, examples, and issues live on GitHub: pratie/youtube-transcript-skill.
What your agent can do with it
Fetch any video's transcript as clean text with timestamps and metadata. Search YouTube for videos, channels, or playlists. Search inside one channel's uploads. List a channel's videos (up to 1,000) or a playlist in order. Track a channel's newest uploads for free. Every capability is a documented curl call, so it works in any agent with shell access.
Why a skill instead of an MCP server
Skills are plain instructions — no process to run, no client-specific config, no protocol version to negotiate. Agent Skills are now a standardized, portable format across Claude Code, Codex, and a growing list of agents: install once, carried in a folder, versioned in git if you like. If you prefer MCP, the same engine is a hosted server — see the YouTube MCP server page.
Zero-setup authentication
The skill works immediately with no key: anonymous callers get 50 free transcript extractions per IP. When you buy a one-time credit pack, set BULKTRANSCRIPTS_API_KEY in your environment and the skill sends it as a Bearer token automatically. Credits never expire, cached transcripts are always free, and the skill checks the balance in every response.
Example prompts that just work
"Summarize this video and pull the key quotes." · "What has @TED published about AI? Fetch the three most relevant transcripts." · "Check if this channel posted anything this week and brief me." · "Get every transcript in this course playlist and turn it into study notes." The skill includes these playbooks, so the agent knows to list before fetching and to use the free latest-uploads endpoint for monitoring.
Questions
Which agents support this skill?
Anything that reads the standard SKILL.md format: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, and compatible agents — plus any agent with shell access can simply follow the documented curl calls.
Is it free?
The skill file is free and redistributable. Usage rides the same allowance as everything else: 50 free transcript extractions, then one-time credit packs from $4.99. The new-uploads tracker is free forever.
How is this different from the MCP server?
Same engine, same credits, different transport. MCP suits clients with built-in server support (Claude connectors, Cursor, ChatGPT). The skill suits terminal agents and anywhere you'd rather have zero configuration.
Can I inspect or modify the skill?
Yes — it is a single markdown file at bulktranscripts.co/skill.md. Save it, edit the playbooks, commit it to your dotfiles. It is MIT-licensed.