youtube-transcript

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# YouTube Transcript Downloader

This skill helps download transcripts (subtitles/captions) from YouTube videos using yt-dlp.

## When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when the user:
- Provides a YouTube URL and wants the transcript
- Asks to "download transcript from YouTube"
- Wants to "get captions" or "get subtitles" from a video
- Asks to "transcribe a YouTube video"
- Needs text content from a YouTube video

## How It Works

### Priority Order:
1. **Check if yt-dlp is installed** - install if needed
2. **List available subtitles** - see what's actually available
3. **Try manual subtitles first** (`--write-sub`) - highest quality
4. **Fallback to auto-generated** (`--write-auto-sub`) - usually available
5. **Last resort: Whisper transcription** - if no subtitles exist (requires user confirmation)
6. **Confirm the download** and show the user where the file is saved
7. **Optionally clean up** the VTT format if the user wants plain text

## Installation Check

**IMPORTANT**: Always check if yt-dlp is installed first:

```bash
which yt-dlp || command -v yt-dlp
```

### If Not Installed

Attempt automatic installation based on the system:

**macOS (Homebrew)**:
```bash
brew install yt-dlp
```

**Linux (apt/Debian/Ubuntu)**:
```bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y yt-dlp
```

**Alternative (pip - works on all systems)**:
```bash
pip3 install yt-dlp
# or
python3 -m pip install yt-dlp
```

**If installation fails**: Inform the user they need to install yt-dlp manually and provide them with installation instructions from https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp#installation

## Check Available Subtitles

**ALWAYS do this first** before attempting to download:

```bash
yt-dlp --list-subs "YOUTUBE_URL"
```

This shows what subtitle types are available without downloading anything. Look for:
- Manual subtitles (better quality)
- Auto-generated subtitles (usually available)
- Available languages

## Download Strategy

### Option 1: Manual Subtitles (Preferred)

Try this first - highest quality, human-created:

```bash
yt-dlp --write-sub --skip-download --output "OUTPUT_NAME" "YOUTUBE_URL"
```

### Option 2: Auto-Generated Subtitles (Fallback)

If manual subtitles aren't available:

```bash
yt-dlp --write-auto-sub --skip-download --output "OUTPUT_NAME" "YOUTUBE_URL"
```

Both commands create a `.vtt` file (WebVTT subtitle format).

## Option 3: Whisper Transcription (Last Resort)

**ONLY use this if both manual and auto-generated subtitles are unavailable.**

### Step 1: Show File Size and Ask for Confirmation

```bash
# Get audio file size estimate
yt-dlp --print "%(filesize,filesize_approx)s" -f "bestaudio" "YOUTUBE_URL"

# Or get duration to estimate
yt-dlp --print "%(duration)s %(title)s" "YOUTUBE_URL"
```

**IMPORTANT**: Display the file size to the user and ask: "No subtitles are available. I can download the audio (approximately X MB) and transcribe it using Whisper. Would you like to proceed?"

**Wait for user confirmation before continuing.**

### Step 2: Check for Whisper Installation

```bash
command -v whisper
```

If not installed, ask user: "Whisper is not installed. Install it with `pip install openai-whisper` (requires ~1-3GB for models)? This is a one-time installation."

**Wait for user confirmation before installing.**

Install if approved:
```bash
pip3 install openai-whisper

From michalparkola/tapestry-skills, MIT.

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