/youtube-api

name: youtube-api
description: "Use when YouTube data is needed without Google API quotas or OAuth setup: transcripts, video metadata, channel info, search results, playlists. Triggers on pasted YouTube links, creator names, @handles, topic research, video summaries, channel browsing, or any request where YouTube content would help — even if not mentioned explicitly. Not for uploads, account management, or written-source-only research."
version: "1.6.2"
user-invocable: true
compatibility: Requires internet access to reach transcriptapi.com. No additional runtimes or dependencies needed.
required_environment_variables:
  - name: TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
    prompt: Your TranscriptAPI key (starts with sk_)
    help: Free account at https://transcriptapi.com — 100 credits, no card required. Or let the agent create one for you.
    required_for: all API requests
metadata: {"openclaw":{"emoji":"▶️","requires":{"env":["TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"]},"primaryEnv":"TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY","homepage":"https://transcriptapi.com"},"hermes":{"tags":["youtube","transcripts","video","search","channels","playlists","api","no-quota"],"category":"media"}}

YouTube API

YouTube data access via [TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com) — no Google API quota needed.

Setup

If `$TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY` is not set, read [references/auth-setup.md](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.

API Reference

Full OpenAPI spec: [transcriptapi.com/openapi.json](https://transcriptapi.com/openapi.json) — consult this for the latest parameters and schemas.

Endpoint Reference

All endpoints: `https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/...`

Channel endpoints accept `channel` — an `@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID. Playlist endpoints accept `playlist` — a playlist URL or ID.

| Endpoint | Method | Cost | | -------------------------------------- | ------ | -------- | | `/info?video_url=ID` | GET | **free** | | `/video/metadata?video_url=ID` | GET | 1 | | `/transcript?video_url=ID` | GET | 1 | | `/search?q=QUERY&type=video` | GET | 1 | | `/channel/resolve?input=@handle` | GET | **free** | | `/channel/info?channel=@handle` | GET | 1 | | `/channel/latest?channel=@handle` | GET | **free** | | `/channel/videos?channel=@handle` | GET | 1/page | | `/channel/search?channel=@handle&q=Q` | GET | 1 | | `/channel/playlists?channel=@handle` | GET | 1/page | | `/channel/posts?channel=@handle` | GET | 1/page | | `/channel/sections?channel=@handle` | GET | 1 | | `/playlist/videos?playlist=PL_ID` | GET | 1/page |

`search` also takes `type=playlist` or `type=movie`, plus first-page-only filters `sort` (`relevance`/`views`), `upload_date`, `duration`, and `features`. `channel/videos` takes `tab=videos` (default), `shorts`, or `streams`, plus an optional `sort` (`latest`/`popular`/`oldest`).

> **Naming:** `/video/metadata` was previously `/video/info`. The old path still works but is deprecated — use `/video/metadata`.

Quick Examples

**Search videos:**

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search?q=python+tutorial&type=video&limit=10
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

**Get transcript:**

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript?video_url=dQw4w9WgXcQ&format=text&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

**Check video info & transcript languages (free, before spending a credit):**

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/info?video_url=dQw4w9WgXcQ
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

**Get rich video metadata (views, likes, description, tags):**

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/video/metadata?video_url=dQw4w9WgXcQ&include=details
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

**Get a channel's profile (subscriber count, tags, tabs):**

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/info?channel=@TED
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

Also available with the same `channel` parameter: `/channel/playlists` (a channel's playlists), `/channel/posts` (community tab), and `/channel/sections` (its curated Home-page shelves).

**Resolve channel handle (free):**

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve?input=@TED
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

**Latest videos (free):**

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/latest?channel=@TED
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

**Browse channel uploads (paginated):**

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/videos?channel=@NASA
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

# Most-viewed first (channel Videos tab, ~30 per page)
GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/videos?channel=@NASA&sort=popular
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

# Use continuation token from response for next pages, repeating the same tab and sort

**Sorting.** Add sort=latest, popular, or oldest to channel/videos to get a channel's videos in the order you want, for example its most-popular uploads first. A sorted page returns about 30 videos (an unsorted page returns about 100), and every page costs t