Agent skill

YouTube Subtitle Fetcher

by ZeroPointRepo in ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills

Fetches timestamped subtitles for any YouTube video through TranscriptAPI, as clean text for reading and translation or timed JSON.

MITAuto-check passedMedia & Creative

Install YouTube Subtitle Fetcher

skills CLI
$ npx skills add ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills --skill subtitles -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills subtitles --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/ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/subtitles .claude/skills/subtitles && 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/

Facts

Skill name
subtitles
GitHub stars
1k
Used in
1 other repo
Token cost
~1.1k tokens
SKILL.md length
217 words
Files
3 (incl. references)
Skills in repo
12
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Fetches timestamped subtitles for any YouTube video through TranscriptAPI, as clean text for reading and translation or timed JSON.

  • Getting the spoken text of a YouTube video from its link
  • SKILL.md covers Setup, Required Headers, GET /api/v2/youtube/transcript and Tips, plus 2 more sections
  • Reaches transcriptapi.com; needs TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
  • Translating a foreign-language video using its subtitles

What it does

This skill calls TranscriptAPI to retrieve the subtitles of a YouTube video from a link or video ID. You can ask for plain text, with or without timestamps, or JSON with timing for each line, and optionally include the title, channel and description. It is aimed at reading along, translating, following foreign-language content, language learning and accessibility.

Every request needs a bearer token from the TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY variable and a User-Agent header naming the agent, because requests without one are blocked with a 403. If the key is missing, a reference file explains how to obtain and store it, and another holds curl examples. Many videos offer auto-generated subtitles in several languages.

It does not upload subtitles or manage accounts, so it is only a way to read existing subtitle text. It needs internet access to transcriptapi.com and, according to its compatibility note, no other runtime or dependencies.

When your agent uses it

  • Getting the spoken text of a YouTube video from its link
  • Translating a foreign-language video using its subtitles
  • Collecting clean transcripts for language learning
  • Pulling timed subtitle lines to read along with a video

Example prompts

  • “Get the subtitles for this YouTube video and translate them into Spanish.”
  • “Pull the transcript with timestamps for video dQw4w9WgXcQ.”
  • “Give me clean text of this conference talk so I can read along.”

Requirements

  • A TranscriptAPI key in TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
  • Internet access to transcriptapi.com
  • Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires internet access to reach transcriptapi.com. No additional runtimes or dependencies needed.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 4f7994b. 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

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are http and json).

    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:

    • transcriptapi.com

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:

    • TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

  • Compatibility

    Requires internet access to reach transcriptapi.com. No additional runtimes or dependencies needed.

    From compatibility in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

Context cost

YouTube Subtitle Fetcher loads about 1.1k tokens when it runs, and up to ~3.2k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 90 tokens; SKILL.md has 217 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~90
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.1k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~3.2k

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 ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills at commit 4f7994b, republished under its MIT licence (© ZeroPointRepo). 217 words, ~1,119 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/subtitles/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 2 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
subtitles
description
Use when subtitles or the spoken text of a YouTube video is needed: pasted video links or IDs, requests to translate a video, read along, follow foreign-language content, or extract what was said. Also use for language learning or accessibility. Fetches timestamped subtitles from any YouTube video. Not for uploading subtitles or account management.
compatibility
Requires internet access to reach transcriptapi.com. No additional runtimes or dependencies needed.
version
1.5.1
user-invocable
true

Subtitles

Fetch YouTube video subtitles via TranscriptAPI.com.

Setup

If $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY is not set, read references/auth-setup.md and follow the instructions there to get and store the key.

Required Headers

Every request needs two headers:

  • Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
  • User-Agent: your agent's name and version if known (e.g. HermesAgent/0.11.0, ClaudeCode/1.0). Version is optional — agent name alone is fine. Do not omit this header or send a bare default — Cloudflare will return a 403 (error code 1010) and block the request.

GET /api/v2/youtube/transcript

http
GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript?video_url=VIDEO_URL&format=text&include_timestamp=false&send_metadata=true
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0
ParamValuesUse case
video_urlYouTube URL or video IDRequired
formatjson, textjson for sync'd subs with timing
include_timestamptrue, falsefalse for clean text for reading/translation
send_metadatatrue, falseInclude title, channel, description

For language learning — clean text without timestamps:

http
GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript?video_url=VIDEO_ID&format=text&include_timestamp=false
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

For translation — structured segments:

http
GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript?video_url=VIDEO_ID&format=json&include_timestamp=true
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

Response (format=json):

json
{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "transcript": [
    { "text": "We're no strangers to love", "start": 18.0, "duration": 3.5 }
  ]
}

Response (format=text, include_timestamp=false):

json
{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en",
  "transcript": "We're no strangers to love\nYou know the rules and so do I..."
}

Tips

  • Many videos have auto-generated subtitles in multiple languages.
  • Use format=json to get timing for each line (great for sync'd reading).
  • Use include_timestamp=false for clean text suitable for translation apps.

Errors

CodeMeaningAction
401Bad API keyCheck key
402No creditstranscriptapi.com/billing
403/1010Cloudflare blockAdd or fix User-Agent header
404No subtitlesNo subtitles available
408TimeoutRetry once after 2s

1 credit per request. Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min.

Copy-paste examples

Every request in this file as a ready-to-run one-liner: references/curl-examples.md

© ZeroPointRepo, 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 2 other files (references) in skills/subtitles of ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • references/auth-setup.md
  • references/curl-examples.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 4f7994b

Used in 1 other repository

We found 2 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

YouTube Subtitle Fetcher 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 Subtitle Fetcher compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
YouTube Subtitle Fetcher this skillZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills1k1 repos~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Youtube CLIItamarZand88/CLI-Anything-WEB231—~764Automated safety check: PassMIT
Multi-Source to NotebookLM Processorjoeseesun/qiaomu-anything-to-notebooklm6.2k—~3.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Podwisehardhackerlabs/podwise-cli413—~1.4kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Video To NotesKIRVO-REPORTING/video-to-notes105—~1.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Baoyu Youtube TranscriptJimLiu/baoyu-skills27k1 repos~2.4kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

Similar skills

  • Youtube CLI

    ItamarZand88/CLI-Anything-WEB

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  • Multi-Source to NotebookLM Processor

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  • Podwise

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  • Video To Notes

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More from ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills

All 12 skills in this repo
  • YouTube Captions Fetcher

    ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills

    Fetches timestamped captions or plain-text transcripts for any YouTube video through the TranscriptAPI service, for reading, quoting, translating or accessibility.

    1k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1.1k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • YouTube Transcript Fetcher

    ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills

    Fetches the transcript of a YouTube video through TranscriptAPI.com so the agent can summarize, quote, translate or fact-check what was said.

    1k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1.1k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • YouTube TranscriptAPI

    ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills

    Pulls YouTube transcripts, searches videos and channels and browses playlists through the TranscriptAPI service with a single API key.

    1k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~3k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • YouTube Video Transcript

    ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills

    Fetches YouTube transcripts through TranscriptAPI.com so an agent can summarize, quote or translate a video from a link or ID.

    1k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1.1k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • YouTube Data via TranscriptAPI

    ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills

    Fetches YouTube transcripts, video metadata, channel info, search results and playlists through the TranscriptAPI.com service, with no Google API quota or OAuth setup.

    1k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~2.3k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • YouTube Channel Tools

    ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills

    Browses YouTube channels through TranscriptAPI: resolves handles to channel IDs, lists recent uploads and pages through a channel's videos.

    1k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~3.3k tokens
    Auto-check passed

Works with

Questions about YouTube Subtitle Fetcher

What does YouTube Subtitle Fetcher do?

Fetches timestamped subtitles for any YouTube video through TranscriptAPI, as clean text for reading and translation or timed JSON. This skill calls TranscriptAPI to retrieve the subtitles of a YouTube video from a link or video ID. You can ask for plain text, with or without timestamps, or JSON with timing for each line, and optionally include the title, channel and description.

When should I use YouTube Subtitle Fetcher?

YouTube Subtitle Fetcher fits situations like: getting the spoken text of a YouTube video from its link; translating a foreign-language video using its subtitles; collecting clean transcripts for language learning; pulling timed subtitle lines to read along with a video.

How do I install YouTube Subtitle Fetcher in Claude Code?

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

How do I install YouTube Subtitle Fetcher in Codex?

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

Can I use YouTube Subtitle Fetcher 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 ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills --skill subtitles -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/subtitles, .gemini/skills/subtitles, .github/skills/subtitles and .opencode/skills/subtitles in your project.

What does YouTube Subtitle Fetcher need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, YouTube Subtitle Fetcher needs credentials named TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY. Our summary lists: A TranscriptAPI key in TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY; Internet access to transcriptapi.com. Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires internet access to reach transcriptapi.com. No additional runtimes or dependencies needed..

Does YouTube Subtitle Fetcher access the network?

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

Is YouTube Subtitle Fetcher 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 Subtitle Fetcher use?

YouTube Subtitle Fetcher 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 Subtitle Fetcher use?

About 1.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.5k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 2.1k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to YouTube Subtitle Fetcher?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with YouTube Subtitle Fetcher: Youtube CLI (ItamarZand88/CLI-Anything-WEB, 231 stars), Multi-Source to NotebookLM Processor (joeseesun/qiaomu-anything-to-notebooklm, 6.2k stars), Podwise (hardhackerlabs/podwise-cli, 413 stars) and Video To Notes (KIRVO-REPORTING/video-to-notes, 105 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains YouTube Subtitle Fetcher?

ZeroPointRepo (a GitHub organization) maintains it in ZeroPointRepo/youtube-skills, which has 1,040 GitHub stars. The repository holds 12 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

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