YouTube Marketing Skills for Claude Code and Codex

Part of the linkedin-skills family (400+ stars). Same voice engine and approve-before-publish flow, now for YouTube. Also available for Instagram · X · TikTok · Threads · Facebook.

9 skills that turn Claude Code and Codex into your YouTube packaging team. They write high-CTR titles and SEO descriptions, script retention hooks for long-form and Shorts, brief thumbnails, draft community posts, and audit your channel page. You supply the video; the skills write the packaging, strip the AI tells, and wait for your approval.

Once installed, just ask Claude Code or Codex things like:

• "Write 5 high-CTR titles for a video about [topic]"
• "Script the first 30 seconds to keep viewers watching"
• "Answer this comment as a community post"
• "What's working in my niche on YouTube? (reads real data)"

The right skill activates automatically. Then you review and approve.

Install

Pick whichever way you use Claude Code or Codex:

Codex CLI

codex plugin marketplace add sergebulaev/youtube-skills
codex plugin add youtube-skills@youtube-skills

To test a local clone before publishing changes:

git clone https://github.com/sergebulaev/youtube-skills.git
cd youtube-skills
codex plugin marketplace add .
codex plugin add youtube-skills@youtube-skills

claude.ai (web)

1. Open https://claude.ai/code
2. Go to Skills in the sidebar
3. Click Add from GitHub
4. Paste: sergebulaev/youtube-skills
5. Done. The skills activate automatically when you ask about YouTube or Shorts.

Claude Desktop (Mac / Windows)

1. Open Claude Desktop
2. Open Settings (gear icon)
3. Go to Skills
4. Click Add from GitHub
5. Paste: sergebulaev/youtube-skills
6. Done. Start a new conversation and ask Claude to title your next video.

Claude Code (CLI / VS Code / JetBrains)

/plugin marketplace add sergebulaev/youtube-skills
/plugin install youtube-skills@youtube-skills

Or clone the repo and open it as your working directory:

git clone https://github.com/sergebulaev/youtube-skills.git
cd youtube-skills

OpenClaw

1. Open your OpenClaw working directory
2. Clone the skills into it:

   git clone https://github.com/sergebulaev/youtube-skills.git
   

3. In OpenClaw settings, add this to your system prompt:

   You have YouTube marketing skills in ./youtube-skills/.
   For any YouTube task, read the relevant skills/*/SKILL.md first.
   Use lib/url_parser.py for URL parsing and lib/publora_client.py for publishing.
   

4. Done. Ask OpenClaw to write a YouTube post.

Hermes Agent

Hermes Agent (Nous Research) follows the agentskills.io open standard and loads skills/*/SKILL.md directly. Clone the bundle into your Hermes skills folder:

git clone https://github.com/sergebulaev/youtube-skills.git ~/.hermes/skills/youtube-skills

Coming from OpenClaw? hermes claw migrate imports these skills automatically. Then call /<skill-name> from any of your Hermes chat surfaces.

Any agent (skills CLI)

One command that works across Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and any other agent that reads SKILL.md files:

npx skills add sergebulaev/youtube-skills

What you can do

Once installed, just ask Claude Code or Codex for help with YouTube. The right skill activates automatically.

Title a video:

"Give me 5 high-CTR titles for a video on cutting my render time in half."

Write the description:

"Write the description with chapters and keywords for this video: [paste the outline]"

Script the opening:

"Script the first 30 seconds so people don't click away. The title is 'How I shipped in 5 days'."

Hook a Short:

"Write the first 3 seconds for a Short about one editing setting that doubles views."

Brief a thumbnail:

"Give me 3 thumbnail concepts a designer can build for this video."

Plan your week:

"Plan a week of YouTube content. I'm building an AI app in public and can do 1 long-form plus 3 Shorts."

Every skill shows you a draft first and waits for your OK. Nothing gets published without your approval.

The 9 skills

Skill	What it does
Title Optimizer	Writes high-CTR titles under 100 chars using 2026 formulas (curiosity, number, how-I, mistake, transformation, versus, success-story). Front-loads the words that decide the click and returns 3 to 5 A/B variants tagged by goal
Description Writer	Writes the full description under 5,000 chars: a first-150-char hook (the only part visible before "Show more"), timestamped chapters, natural keywords, links, and a real CTA
Hook Scripter	Scripts the spoken opening that decides retention: the first 30 seconds of a long-form video, or the first 3 seconds of a Short, with no intro and a designed loop
Thumbnail Brief	Turns a video into a designer-ready brief (focal subject, face/emotion, 4-word text overlay, contrast, composition) plus 2 to 3 A/B concepts and the upload flow
Community Post Writer	Writes community-tab text posts, polls, and questions that keep the channel warm between uploads. Returns a copy-paste block (community posts have no API)
Content Planner	Builds a weekly plan: long-form vs Shorts mix, cadence, per-slot title and thumbnail pairing, hook angle, community posts, and a CTR / retention / subscribe goal balance
Repurposer	Adapts off-platform content (a blog post, X thread, LinkedIn post, or newsletter) into a native YouTube surface: a community-tab post or poll, or a video brief (title, spoken hook, description with chapters). Leads with the payoff and strips off-platform artifacts
Channel Optimizer	Audits and rewrites the channel page end-to-end: name and @handle, banner (2560x1440 with the 1235x338 safe area), profile picture, About with keywords, the trailer for non-subscribers vs the featured video for subscribers, playlist sections and section order, watermark, and links. Turns a viewer into a subscriber with a scorecard and before/after
Audience Insights	Reads your audience from the comments via the free YouTube Data API: commenters, top comments, recurring questions (content ideas), superfans, and what is trending in your niche. YouTube keeps likers private, so this reads commenters

How publishing works on YouTube

YouTube is a video-only platform: every published post needs a single video, which you supply. The skills write the title, description, hook script, and thumbnail brief; you bring the .mp4. Uploading to YouTube on the native Data API means a Google OAuth flow, the resumable-upload protocol, and quota tracking.

This bundle hands that chain to Publora. On approval, it creates a draft, uploads your video to S3, sets the title and metadata, and schedules the post, all over a few REST calls. A custom thumbnail can be attached too, but the thumbnail image upload is out of band (Publora dashboard or a dedicated endpoint); the bundle automates the attach step, not the image upload. The writer skills use this on approval.

Optional: auto-upload with Publora

By default, the skills draft everything for you to paste into YouTube Studio. If you want Claude Code or Codex to upload and schedule the video you supply, connect Publora. It takes about 2 minutes.

What is Publora?

Publora is a publishing API that turns one flow (create-post, get-upload-url, update-post) into a scheduled YouTube upload, and can cross-post the same content to other platforms.

Setup (2 minutes)

Step 1. Sign up at https://app.publora.com/signup (free)

Step 2. Connect YouTube: click Channels in the left sidebar, then Add Channel, pick YouTube, authorize with Google.

Step 3. Find your Platform ID: go to Channels, click your YouTube channel. The ID looks like youtube-UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Copy the whole thing including youtube-.

Step 4. Get your API key: click Settings (gear icon, bottom-left), then API, then Create Key. Copy the sk_... string.

Step 5. Create a file called .env in the youtube-skills folder:

PUBLORA_API_KEY=sk_paste_your_key_here
YOUTUBE_PLATFORM_ID=youtube-paste_your_channel_id_here

If you cloned the repo, copy the template instead:

cp .env.example .env

Then open .env and replace the placeholders with your real values.

Step 6. Install two small Python packages:

pip install requests python-dotenv

Step 7. Test it. Ask Claude Code or Codex:

"Schedule a test video as unlisted via Publora 24 hours from now using [path to a short .mp4], title 'API connection test'."

If Publora returns a postGroupId, you're set. Cancel the post in the Publora dashboard before the scheduled time. If you get HTTP 401, your API key is wrong. If you get Invalid platform ID format, your YOUTUBE_PLATFORM_ID is wrong. See Troubleshooting.

Note on community posts: YouTube community-tab posts and polls have no publishing API, so the Community Post Writer always returns its draft as a copy-paste block for you to post yourself. Videos and Shorts auto-upload.

Voice rules

Every skill follows these rules automatically:

1. No em dashes. Biggest AI tell in 2026.
2. Capitalize names. Always. Lowercase a brand reads as careless.
3. No AI vocabulary: "leverage", "fundamentally", "streamline", "harness", "delve", "unlock", "foster".
4. Specific numbers beat adjectives. "in 28 days" beats "fast".
5. The title is a promise, not a summary. Curiosity plus a concrete payoff.
6. Title and thumbnail are a pair. They never repeat the same words.
7. The first 30 seconds (or 3 on a Short) is the real algorithm. No intro.
8. Title caps at 100 chars (sweet spot 40 to 60). Description caps at 5,000, first 150 visible.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
Skills don't activate when I ask about YouTube	Make sure you installed via the Skills panel, /plugin install, or codex plugin add. Try a new conversation.
"PUBLORA_API_KEY not set"	Your .env file is missing or in the wrong folder. It should be in the youtube-skills/ root.
"401 Invalid API key" from Publora	Your API key is wrong or revoked. Go to Publora Settings > API > Create a new key.
"Invalid platform ID format"	Your YOUTUBE_PLATFORM_ID is wrong. Go to Publora Channels and copy the full youtube-... string.
My video failed with VIDEO_REQUIRED	YouTube needs a video on every post. Point the skill at your local .mp4; a text-only YouTube post cannot publish.
My custom thumbnail didn't apply	The channel must be verified, and the image must be JPEG/PNG under 2 MB. Applying is best-effort: the video still publishes without it.
My upload is over 512 MB	Publora caps uploads at 512 MB. Compress the video, or upload the large file via YouTube Studio.
pip install fails	Use a virtual environment: python -m venv venv && source venv/bin/activate && pip install requests python-dotenv

Cross-cutting references

• references/hook-formulas.md - the 11 YouTube title and hook formulas with skeletons and goal tags
• references/algorithm-heuristics.md - 2026 YouTube ranking (CTR x retention), timing, and limits
• references/thumbnail-principles.md - the thumbnail design language and the upload flow
• references/voice-rules.md - the canonical voice rules every skill inherits

---

Runtime compatibility

youtube-skills/
  skills/             SKILL.md frontmatter; native to Claude Code and Codex, others read as markdown
  .codex-marketplace/ generated nested Codex package (run scripts/sync_codex_marketplace.py)
  lib/                pure Python, works in any agent runtime
  references/         pure markdown, works anywhere
  scripts/            pure Python CLI, works anywhere

Runtime	Auto-discovers skills?	Setup
Claude Code (CLI, Desktop, Web, IDE)	Yes	Install via plugin or clone. Skills activate on matching prompts.
Codex CLI	Yes	codex plugin marketplace add sergebulaev/youtube-skills and codex plugin add youtube-skills@youtube-skills.
Anthropic Managed Agents (/v1/agents)	Yes	Pass skill files in the agent context.
Cursor / Cline / Aider	Manual	Read SKILL.md files as prompt context; import lib/ as Python.
LangChain / AutoGen	No	Use lib/ as a package; feed references/ as prompt context.

Generic Python agent quickstart

import sys; sys.path.insert(0, "path/to/youtube-skills")
from lib import parse_youtube_url, PubloraClient, publish

parsed = parse_youtube_url("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&t=10s")
print(parsed["video_id"], parsed["url_type"])  # dQw4w9WgXcQ video

# Write side (Publora) - the full media-required YouTube flow in one call
client = PubloraClient()  # reads PUBLORA_API_KEY from env
client.publish_video(
    content="Full description here.. first 150 chars are the hook.",
    platforms=["youtube-UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"],
    video_path="./episode-12.mp4",
    title="How I shipped in 5 days",
    privacy="public",
    scheduled_time="2026-07-01T16:00:00.000Z",
)

# Or the high-level wrapper that handles manual / Publora / diy routing
publish("video", draft_text="<description>", target_url="https://studio.youtube.com",
        video_path="./episode-12.mp4", title="How I shipped in 5 days",
        platforms=["youtube-UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"])

URL handling

lib/url_parser.py parses YouTube video, Short, and channel URLs:

URL fragment	Parsed
youtube.com/watch?v=ID	{video_id, url_type: "video"}
youtu.be/ID	{video_id, url_type: "video"}
youtube.com/shorts/ID	{video_id, is_short: true, url_type: "short"}
youtube.com/@handle	{handle, url_type: "channel"}
youtube.com/channel/UC...	{channel_id, url_type: "channel"}

python lib/url_parser.py "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/abc123XYZ_-"

The media-required upload flow

YouTube requires a video on every post, so a text-only post fails at publish with VIDEO_REQUIRED. The client runs the documented order:

1. create-post with no scheduledTime -> a draft, returns postGroupId
2. get-upload-url -> a pre-signed S3 URL
3. PUT the video to S3
4. update-post/:postGroupId -> set scheduledTime and any youtube settings

A custom thumbnail is attached in step 4 (it needs the postGroupId), never on create-post. PubloraClient.publish_video() runs all four steps; set_thumbnail() wraps the update-post attach call. Note the thumbnail image upload is out of band: Publora requires a tracked media asset from its dedicated YouTube thumbnail endpoint, which is not wired into this bundle. Upload the image in the Publora dashboard (or the dedicated endpoint once available) to get the {mediaId, url}, then attach. Without it, ship the video and set the thumbnail in YouTube Studio.

Why community posts are copy-paste

YouTube community-tab posts and polls have no Publora endpoint and no public publishing API. yt-community-post-writer therefore drafts the post and returns it as a copy-paste block via lib/backend_selector.py. Videos and Shorts auto-upload normally.

References

• Publora API docs - endpoint reference for the publishing layer
• YouTube Creator Insider - YouTube's own signals on ranking and packaging

License

MIT. Powered by Publora.

Related open-source skill bundles

Part of a family of AI social-media marketing skill bundles for Claude Code and Codex:

• linkedin-skills - LinkedIn
• x-skills - X (Twitter)
• instagram-skills - Instagram
• youtube-skills - YouTube (this repo)
• threads-skills - Threads
• tiktok-skills - TikTok
• facebook-skills - Facebook Pages

Also: Anthropic Skills repo, the awesome-claude-skills directory.