Youtube API

What it does

When your agent uses it

• The user wants to: upload a local video file to YouTube
• Change a YouTube videos thumbnail from a local image file
• Batch-set thumbnails across multiple videos
• Update video titles

Example prompts

• “upload to youtube”
• “upload video”
• “set thumbnail”
• “/youtube-api”

Requirements

• Python 3
• Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires Python 3.8+ with google-api-python-client, google-auth-oauthlib, and google-auth. Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows. Requires a Google Cloud project with YouTube Data API v3 enabled and OAuth 2.0 Desktop credentials. One-time browser-based OAuth consent required on the user's local machine before headless/Cowork use.

Workflow steps

7 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

1. 1Create/select a Google Cloud Project
2. 2Enable the YouTube Data API v3
3. 3Configure the OAuth consent screen
4. 4Add the user as a test user (critical — the app stays in Testing mode)
5. 5Create OAuth 2.0 credentials
6. 6Store the credentials
7. 7Run the first-time OAuth flow (must happen on the user's local machine — a browser opens)

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 038ef34. 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

  Ships 6 files in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.

  Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

  • python
  • pip

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  Links to these hosts (documentation or services it may open):

  • console.cloud.google.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.

• Compatibility

  Requires Python 3.8+ with google-api-python-client, google-auth-oauthlib, and google-auth. Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows. Requires a Google Cloud project with YouTube Data API v3 enabled and OAuth 2.0 Desktop credentials. One-time browser-based OAuth consent required on the user's local machine before headless/Cowork use.

  From compatibility in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

Context cost

Youtube API loads about 2.2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 236 tokens; SKILL.md has 755 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~236

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~2.2k

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

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); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from swyxio/skills at commit 038ef34, republished under its MIT licence (© swyxio). 755 words, ~2,174 tokens.

name

youtube-api

description

Manage YouTube videos programmatically via the YouTube Data API v3 — upload video files, upload custom thumbnails, update video metadata (titles, descriptions, tags), and query video/channel info without touching YouTube Studio's browser UI. Use this skill whenever the user wants to: upload a local video file to YouTube; set, update, or change a YouTube video's thumbnail from a local image file; batch-set thumbnails across multiple videos; update video titles, descriptions, or tags programmatically; query their channel's video list; or do anything involving the YouTube Data API. Triggers: "upload to youtube", "upload video", "set thumbnail", "upload thumbnail", "change thumbnail", "YouTube API", "batch thumbnails", "update video title", "update video description", "youtube metadata", or any reference to programmatically managing YouTube videos. Also use when the browser-based YouTube Studio upload is unreliable or slow.

compatibility

Requires Python 3.8+ with google-api-python-client, google-auth-oauthlib, and google-auth. Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows. Requires a Google Cloud project with YouTube Data API v3 enabled and OAuth 2.0 Desktop credentials. One-time browser-based OAuth consent required on the user's local machine before headless/Cowork use.

license

MIT

metadata.author

swyxio

metadata.version

1.0

metadata.last-updated

2026-03-28

metadata.primary-tools

YouTube Data API v3, Python, Google OAuth 2.0

pip install google-api-python-client google-auth-oauthlib google-auth --break-system-packages

python <skill-path>/scripts/set_thumbnail.py --video-id VIDEO_ID --thumbnail /path/to/image.jpg

python <skill-path>/scripts/set_thumbnail.py \
  --batch VIDEO_ID_1:/path/to/thumb1.jpg VIDEO_ID_2:/path/to/thumb2.jpg

python <skill-path>/scripts/upload_video.py --file /path/to/video.mp4 --privacy unlisted

python <skill-path>/scripts/upload_video.py \
  --file /path/to/video.mp4 \
  --privacy unlisted \
  --title "Video Title" \
  --description "Optional description" \
  --tags "tag1,tag2"

python <skill-path>/scripts/update_metadata.py --video-id VIDEO_ID \
  --title "New Title" \
  --description "New description" \
  --tags "tag1,tag2,tag3"

python <skill-path>/scripts/update_metadata.py --batch updates.json

[
  {"video_id": "abc123", "title": "New Title", "description": "New desc"},
  {"video_id": "def456", "tags": ["tag1", "tag2"]}
]

python <skill-path>/scripts/list_videos.py [--max-results 50]

# Generate thumbnails, then upload them
python <skill-path>/scripts/set_thumbnail.py \
  --batch \
  xUy0vno25k0:~/Downloads/thumb_feb4.jpg \
  LJFL6bYyGHg:~/Downloads/thumb_feb13.jpg \
  s5bTZfYUcac:~/Downloads/thumb_feb18.jpg

© swyxio, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 7 other files (scripts) in youtube-api of swyxio/skills.

• SKILL.md
• README.md
• scripts/list_videos.py
• scripts/set_thumbnail.py
• scripts/setup_auth.py
• scripts/update_metadata.py
• scripts/upload_video.py
• scripts/yt_auth.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 038ef34