Agent skill

Youtube Search

Search YouTube by keyword and return structured video metadata (title, URL, channel, views, duration, date) via yt-dlp.

MITAuto-check passed

Install Youtube Search

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill youtube-search -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory youtube-search --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/youtube-search .claude/skills/youtube-search && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "youtube-search" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/youtube-search into .claude/skills/youtube-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "youtube-search", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/youtube-search

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill youtube-search -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory youtube-search --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/youtube-search .agents/skills/youtube-search && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "youtube-search" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/youtube-search into .agents/skills/youtube-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "youtube-search", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill youtube-search -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory youtube-search --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/youtube-search .cursor/skills/youtube-search && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "youtube-search" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/youtube-search into .cursor/skills/youtube-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "youtube-search", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git --path skills/youtube-search

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill youtube-search -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory youtube-search --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/youtube-search .gemini/skills/youtube-search && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "youtube-search" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/youtube-search into .gemini/skills/youtube-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "youtube-search", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory youtube-search

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill youtube-search -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/youtube-search .github/skills/youtube-search && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "youtube-search" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/youtube-search into .github/skills/youtube-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "youtube-search", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill youtube-search -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Mathews-Tom/armory youtube-search --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/youtube-search .opencode/skills/youtube-search && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "youtube-search" agent skill from https://github.com/Mathews-Tom/armory/tree/main/skills/youtube-search into .opencode/skills/youtube-search/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "youtube-search", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: youtube-search
GitHub stars: 329
Token cost: ~2k tokens
SKILL.md length: 462 words
Files: 2
Skills in repo: 80
Repo updated: Oct 6, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Search YouTube by keyword and return structured video metadata (title, URL, channel, views, duration, date) via yt-dlp.

Works in 3 steps: Execute Search → Parse and Format → Present Results
: search youtube
SKILL.md covers Prerequisites, Usage, Workflow and Advanced Patterns, plus 3 more sections
Calls yt-dlp, jq and uv; reaches youtube.com

What it does

Youtube Search is an agent skill from Mathews-Tom/armory. Search YouTube by keyword and return structured video metadata (title, URL, channel, views, duration, date) via yt-dlp. No API keys. Triggers on: "search youtube", "find youtube videos", "top youtube videos on", "trending videos on", "youtube results for", "yt search", "/yt-search".

Its SKILL.md is about 2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files (for example `evals/cases.yaml`).

It works with YouTube. The repository describes itself as: Curated, production-grade skills for AI coding agents. Battle-tested workflows for developers who use AI seriously. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

: search youtube
Find youtube videos
Top youtube videos on
Trending videos on

Example prompts

“search youtube”
“find youtube videos”
“top youtube videos on”
“/youtube-search”

Workflow steps

3 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

Execute Search
Parse and Format
Present Results

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 4594fb7. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- yt-dlp
- jq
- uv
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:
- youtube.com
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Youtube Search loads about 2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 75 tokens; SKILL.md has 462 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~75
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~2k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from Mathews-Tom/armory at commit 4594fb7, republished under its MIT licence (© Mathews-Tom). 462 words, ~1,978 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/youtube-search/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.

name: youtube-search
description: Search YouTube by keyword and return structured video metadata (title, URL, channel, views, duration, date) via yt-dlp. No API keys. Triggers on: "search youtube", "find youtube videos", "top youtube videos on", "trending videos on", "youtube results for", "yt search", "/yt-search".
metadata.version: 1.1.1
metadata.category: research
metadata.tags: youtube, search, skill
metadata.difficulty: beginner

YouTube Search

Search YouTube by keyword and return structured video metadata — title, URL, channel, views, duration, upload date. Uses yt-dlp for scraping with no API keys or OAuth required.

Prerequisites

bash

uv tool install yt-dlp

Verify:

bash

yt-dlp --version

Usage

Basic Search

bash

yt-dlp "ytsearch10:claude code skills" --dump-json --flat-playlist --no-warnings 2>/dev/null \
  | jq -r '[.title, .url, .channel, .view_count, .duration_string, .upload_date] | @tsv'

ytsearch10: — search YouTube, return 10 results (adjust number as needed)
--dump-json — output metadata as JSON
--flat-playlist — don't download, just list
--no-warnings — suppress non-error output

Structured JSON Output

bash

yt-dlp "ytsearch5:claude code mcp servers" \
  --dump-json --flat-playlist --no-warnings 2>/dev/null \
  | jq '{
    title: .title,
    url: .url,
    channel: .channel,
    views: .view_count,
    duration: .duration_string,
    upload_date: .upload_date,
    description: (.description // "" | .[0:200])
  }'

Search with Sorting

yt-dlp does not support server-side sort. To sort by views or date, capture all results and sort client-side:

bash

# Sort by view count (descending)
yt-dlp "ytsearch20:AI agents 2026" \
  --dump-json --flat-playlist --no-warnings 2>/dev/null \
  | jq -s 'sort_by(-.view_count) | .[:10][] | {title, url, channel, views: .view_count}'

bash

# Sort by upload date (newest first)
yt-dlp "ytsearch20:claude code tutorial" \
  --dump-json --flat-playlist --no-warnings 2>/dev/null \
  | jq -s 'sort_by(-.upload_date) | .[:10][] | {title, url, channel, upload_date}'

Search Result Count

The number after ytsearch controls how many results to fetch:

Pattern	Results
`ytsearch5:query`	5 results
`ytsearch10:query`	10 results (default recommendation)
`ytsearch20:query`	20 results
`ytsearch50:query`	50 results (slow, may hit rate limits)

Recommendation: Fetch 15-20 results, then filter/sort client-side to the top N the user wants. This provides enough data for meaningful sorting without being excessive.

Workflow

text

User provides search query
        |
        v
+---------------------+
|  Step 0: Deps check |
+----------+----------+
           v
+---------------------+
|  Step 1: Search     |
|  (yt-dlp ytsearch)  |
+----------+----------+
           v
+---------------------+
|  Step 2: Parse JSON |
|  (jq formatting)    |
+----------+----------+
           v
+---------------------+
|  Step 3: Present    |
|  results to user    |
+---------------------+

Step 1: Execute Search

bash

yt-dlp "ytsearch${COUNT}:${QUERY}" \
  --dump-json --flat-playlist --no-warnings 2>/dev/null

Step 2: Parse and Format

Extract relevant fields with jq. The full metadata object from yt-dlp contains many fields; the useful subset for search results:

Field	Description
`.title`	Video title
`.url`	Full YouTube URL
`.channel`	Channel name
`.view_count`	Total views (integer)
`.duration_string`	Duration as `H:MM:SS` or `MM:SS`
`.upload_date`	Upload date as `YYYYMMDD`
`.description`	Video description (can be long — truncate)
`.like_count`	Likes (may be null)
`.comment_count`	Comments (may be null)

Step 3: Present Results

Format as a markdown table for the user:

bash

yt-dlp "ytsearch10:${QUERY}" \
  --dump-json --flat-playlist --no-warnings 2>/dev/null \
  | jq -s 'sort_by(-.view_count) | .[] | "| \(.title[:60]) | \(.channel) | \(.view_count) | \(.duration_string) | \(.upload_date) |"' -r

Prefix with a header row:

text

| Title | Channel | Views | Duration | Date |
|-------|---------|-------|----------|------|

Advanced Patterns

Filter by Duration

bash

# Only videos longer than 10 minutes (600 seconds)
yt-dlp "ytsearch20:deep dive AI agents" \
  --dump-json --flat-playlist --no-warnings 2>/dev/null \
  | jq -s '[.[] | select(.duration >= 600)] | sort_by(-.view_count) | .[:10][]'

Filter by Recency

bash

# Only videos from the last 30 days
CUTOFF=$(date -v-30d +%Y%m%d 2>/dev/null || date -d "30 days ago" +%Y%m%d)
yt-dlp "ytsearch20:claude code" \
  --dump-json --flat-playlist --no-warnings 2>/dev/null \
  | jq -s --arg cutoff "$CUTOFF" '[.[] | select(.upload_date >= $cutoff)] | sort_by(-.view_count) | .[]'

Channel-Specific Search

bash

# Search within a specific channel
yt-dlp "ytsearch10:skills site:youtube.com/c/ChannelName" \
  --dump-json --flat-playlist --no-warnings 2>/dev/null

Or use the channel URL directly:

bash

yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/@ChannelName/search?query=skills" \
  --dump-json --flat-playlist --no-warnings 2>/dev/null

Extract URLs Only (for Piping)

bash

# Get just URLs for feeding into other tools (watch, notebooklm)
yt-dlp "ytsearch10:claude code MCP" \
  --dump-json --flat-playlist --no-warnings 2>/dev/null \
  | jq -r '.url'

Show full SKILL.md (210 more words)Show less

Composability

This skill produces URLs and metadata that feed into other skills:

watch: Pass URLs for transcript concepts, timestamped visual evidence, and question-driven video analysis
notebooklm: Pass URLs as sources via notebooklm source add "URL"

Example pipeline (manual steps, not automated):

/yt-search — discover 10 relevant videos
User reviews and selects videos
Feed selected URLs into notebooklm source add or watch

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Resolution
No results	Query too specific or misspelled	Broaden the search terms
Empty JSON	yt-dlp rate limited by YouTube	Wait a few minutes, retry
`yt-dlp: command not found`	Not installed	`uv tool install yt-dlp`
Partial results	Some videos geo-blocked or private	Normal behavior; results are best-effort
Timeout	Network or YouTube slowness	Reduce result count or retry

Limitations

No server-side sorting: YouTube search results come in relevance order. Sorting by views or date requires fetching extra results and sorting client-side.
Rate limiting: Aggressive scraping (50+ results, rapid repeated searches) may trigger YouTube rate limits. Space requests apart.
Metadata completeness: Some fields (.like_count, .comment_count) may be null for certain videos. Always handle nulls in jq filters.
No authentication: Uses public YouTube data only. Age-restricted or private videos are excluded from results.
Search relevance: YouTube's search algorithm determines initial ordering. Results may not match exact expectations.

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file in skills/youtube-search of Mathews-Tom/armory.

SKILL.md
evals/cases.yaml

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 4594fb7

Compare with similar skills

Youtube Search next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Youtube Search compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Youtube Search this skillMathews-Tom/armory	329	—	~2k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	5 days ago
MarkitdownImCa0/just-laws	781	14 repos	~3.2k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	3 days ago
Banner Design Systemnextlevelbuilder/ui-ux-pro-max-skill	135k	1 repos	~1.8k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
Agent ReachPanniantong/Agent-Reach	95k	—	~1.4k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	3 days ago
Last30daysmvanhorn/last30days-skill	64k	—	~7.9k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	yesterday
Baoyu URL To Markdownsdyckjq-lab/llm-wiki-skill	2.5k	2 repos	~3.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	None	2 mo ago

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Questions about Youtube Search

What does Youtube Search do?

Search YouTube by keyword and return structured video metadata (title, URL, channel, views, duration, date) via yt-dlp. Youtube Search is an agent skill from Mathews-Tom/armory. Search YouTube by keyword and return structured video metadata (title, URL, channel, views, duration, date) via yt-dlp.

When should I use Youtube Search?

Youtube Search fits situations like: : search youtube; find youtube videos; top youtube videos on; trending videos on.

How do I install Youtube Search in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill youtube-search -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/youtube-search in Mathews-Tom/armory) into .claude/skills/youtube-search in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Youtube Search in Codex?

Run `npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill youtube-search -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/youtube-search in Mathews-Tom/armory) into .agents/skills/youtube-search in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Youtube Search in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add Mathews-Tom/armory --skill youtube-search -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/youtube-search, .gemini/skills/youtube-search, .github/skills/youtube-search and .opencode/skills/youtube-search in your project.

What does Youtube Search need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Youtube Search needs the command-line tools its instructions call (yt-dlp, jq and uv).

Does Youtube Search access the network?

SKILL.md names 1 domain. In commands or code: youtube.com; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Youtube Search safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Youtube Search use?

Youtube Search is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Youtube Search use?

About 2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 7.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Youtube Search?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Youtube Search: Markitdown (ImCa0/just-laws, 781 stars), Banner Design System (nextlevelbuilder/ui-ux-pro-max-skill, 135k stars), Agent Reach (Panniantong/Agent-Reach, 95k stars) and Last30days (mvanhorn/last30days-skill, 64k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Youtube Search?

Mathews-Tom (a GitHub user) maintains it in Mathews-Tom/armory, which has 329 GitHub stars. The repository holds 80 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

Source: Mathews-Tom/armory on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Youtube Search

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

YouTube Search

Prerequisites

Usage

Basic Search

Structured JSON Output

Search with Sorting

Search Result Count

Workflow

Step 1: Execute Search

Step 2: Parse and Format

Step 3: Present Results

Advanced Patterns

Filter by Duration

Filter by Recency

Channel-Specific Search

Extract URLs Only (for Piping)

Composability

Error Handling

Limitations

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from Mathews-Tom/armory

Related

Questions about Youtube Search