captions
Use when captions, subtitles, or the spoken text of a YouTube video is needed — even if not explicitly requested: pasted video links or IDs, requests to read, quote, or translate a video, accessibility needs, deaf/HoH use cases, content review, or language learning. Fetches timestamped caption data from any YouTube video. Not for uploading subtitles or account management.
- Installs
- 730
- Last 24h
- —
- Trending rank
- —
- Security
- Not audited
Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/zeropointrepo/youtube-skills --skill captions- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads captions automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Captions
Extract closed captions from YouTube videos 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
GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript?video_url=VIDEO_URL&format=json&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0
| Param | Required | Default | Values |
|---|---|---|---|
video_url | yes | — | YouTube URL or video ID |
format | no | json | json (structured), text (plain) |
include_timestamp | no | true | true, false |
send_metadata | no | false | true, false |
Response (format=json — best for accessibility/timing):
{
"video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"language": "en",
"transcript": [
{ "text": "We're no strangers to love", "start": 18.0, "duration": 3.5 },
{ "text": "You know the rules and so do I", "start": 21.5, "duration": 2.8 }
],
"metadata": { "title": "...", "author_name": "...", "thumbnail_url": "..." }
}
start: seconds from video startduration: how long caption is displayed
Response (format=text — readable):
{
"video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"language": "en",
"transcript": "[00:00:18] We're no strangers to love\n[00:00:21] You know the rules..."
}
Tips
- Use
format=jsonfor sync'd captions (accessibility tools, timing analysis). - Use
format=textwithinclude_timestamp=falsefor clean reading. - Auto-generated captions are available for most videos; manual CC is higher quality.
Errors
| Code | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 401 | Bad API key | Check key |
| 402 | No credits | transcriptapi.com/billing |
| 403/1010 | Cloudflare block | Add or fix User-Agent header |
| 404 | No captions | Video doesn't have CC enabled |
| 408 | Timeout | Retry 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
FAQ
What does the captions skill do?
Use when captions, subtitles, or the spoken text of a YouTube video is needed — even if not explicitly requested: pasted video links or IDs, requests to read, quote, or translate a video, accessibility needs, deaf/HoH use cases, content review, or language learning. Fetches timestamped caption data from any YouTube video. Not for uploading subtitles or account management.
How do I install captions?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/zeropointrepo/youtube-skills --skill captions in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/captions/ (personal) or .claude/skills/captions/ (project).
Which AI agents can use captions?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is captions safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains captions?
It is published by zeropointrepo in zeropointrepo/youtube-skills. It has 730 recorded installs.
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Use when YouTube is or could be relevant — even if not mentioned: pasted video/channel/playlist links, video IDs, @handles, creator lookups, video summaries, quotes, translations, topic research, tutorials, talks, lectures, expert discussions, product reviews, how-to guides, new product announcements, first looks, or anything where video content is fresher or richer than text search. Covers transcripts, video/channel search, channel browsing, playlists, and within-channel search. Not for uploads, account management, or written-source-only research.
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Use when the spoken content of a YouTube video is needed — even if not explicitly requested: pasted video links or IDs, requests to summarize, quote, transcribe, translate, fact-check, or extract anything from a video. Also use for research or learning when a video is the source. Not for uploads or account management.
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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.
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