A Claude Code skill that turns any YouTube URL into a clean, chaptered document with timestamps, speaker labels, and cover images โ no API key needed. Input a link, get a structured Markdown transcript. The secret: it uses YouTubeโs InnerTube API โ an internal but publicly accessible endpoint that returns subtitle data without requiring Google API keys or OAuth.
| *Source: ๅฎ็ xp Weibo announcement | Skill: baoyu-youtube-transcript (installed via baoyu utility skills)* |
What It Does
Input: YouTube URL (any format)
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โ baoyu-youtube-transcript โ
โ โ
โ 1. Fetch subtitles (InnerTube) โ
โ 2. Smart sentence processing โ
โ 3. Chapter detection โ
โ 4. Speaker identification โ
โ 5. Cover image extraction โ
โ 6. Format as Markdown/SRT โ
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Output: Clean chaptered document
with timestamps + speakers
Supported Input Formats
| Format | Example |
|---|---|
| Full URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123 |
| Short link | https://youtu.be/abc123 |
| Embed link | https://www.youtube.com/embed/abc123 |
| Shorts link | https://www.youtube.com/shorts/abc123 |
| Video ID | abc123 |
Smart Sentence Processing
YouTubeโs raw subtitles are fragmented โ word-by-word chunks with misaligned timestamps. This skill fixes that:
| YouTube Raw | This Skill |
|---|---|
| Word-by-word fragments | Complete sentences by punctuation |
| Arbitrary time splits | Time allocated by character length |
| No sentence boundaries | Split at periods, questions, exclamations |
| Generic handling | Special CJK processing for Chinese/Japanese/Korean |
The result: natural readable text, not the choppy fragments you get from YouTubeโs auto-generated captions.
Key Features
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| No API key | Uses InnerTube API โ no Google API Key, no OAuth |
| Caching | First fetch caches raw data; format changes are instant |
| Multi-language | Supports all YouTube subtitle languages |
| Translation | Can specify preferred language or translate to another |
| Markdown output | Timestamps, chapters, speakers (default) |
| SRT export | Standard subtitle file format for video editing |
| Cover image | Extracts video thumbnail automatically |
Caching Mechanism
First run caches four files โ subsequent format/parameter changes are instant:
| Cached File | Content |
|---|---|
meta.json |
Video metadata (title, duration, channel) |
transcript-raw.json |
Raw subtitle segments from YouTube |
transcript-sentences.json |
Processed natural sentences |
cover.jpg |
Video thumbnail |
Add --refresh to force re-fetch from YouTube.
How InnerTube Works
Regular YouTube API:
Google Cloud Console โ Create project โ Enable API โ
Generate key โ Quota limits โ OAuth for some features
= 30 minutes setup
InnerTube API:
HTTP request โ Get subtitle data
= No setup, no key, no quota
InnerTube is YouTubeโs internal API for fetching subtitle/caption data. Itโs publicly accessible (YouTubeโs own player uses it) but has no official documentation. The skill wraps this into a clean interface.
How LearnAI Team Could Use This
- Turn YouTube lectures, conference talks, tutorials, and Chinese/English AI commentary videos into searchable study notes and wiki drafts.
- Build lesson materials from public video sources while preserving timestamps for review and citation.
- Extract transcripts for translation workflows โ English lectures โ Chinese notes for bilingual learners.
Real-World Use Cases
This skill is particularly powerful when combined with other tools:
| Workflow | How |
|---|---|
| /mywiki from YouTube | Extract transcript โ research topic โ create wiki entry |
| Lecture notes | Pull professorโs YouTube lecture โ structured notes with timestamps |
| Translation | Extract English transcript โ translate to Chinese for study |
| Content analysis | Get transcript โ analyze with Claude for key points |
| Voice-Pro pipeline | Extract transcript โ translate โ dub into another language |
Installation
# Install directly
npx skills add jimliu/baoyu-skills --skill baoyu-youtube-transcript
# Or via Claude Code plugin marketplace
/plugin
# Search for baoyu-skills or utility-skills
<!โ REVIEW-TODO: [source_links] Weibo source link is generic (https://weibo.com) โ find specific ๅฎ็ xp post URL and add specific repo/marketplace link โ>