Baoyu Youtube Transcript

A solid YouTube transcript extractor that actually works reliably. Pulls subtitles and captions directly from YouTube's API with automatic fallback to yt-dlp when blocked. Handles multiple languages, auto-generated and manual captions, and caches everything locally in organized folders. Outputs clean markdown with timestamps, SRT files for video editors, or raw data for further processing. The chapter parsing from video descriptions and speaker identification setup are nice touches. Smart caching means you can reformat the same video multiple times without hitting YouTube again. Does exactly what it says without unnecessary complexity.

skills.sh installs: 22.5K
GitHub stars: 27.4K
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

View on GitHub

Install

$ npx -y skills add jimliu/baoyu-skills --skill baoyu-youtube-transcript --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

YouTube Transcript

Works with manual and auto-generated transcripts. No API key or browser: uses YouTube's InnerTube API, falling back to yt-dlp when YouTube blocks the direct path. First run also fetches metadata and cover image and caches raw data for fast re-formatting.

Script Directory

{baseDir} = this SKILL.md's directory. ${BUN_X} = bun if installed; else npx -y bun if npx available; else suggest installing bun. Replace {baseDir} and ${BUN_X} with actual values.

Script	Purpose
`scripts/main.ts`	Transcript download CLI

Usage

${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <youtube-url-or-id>          # markdown with timestamps (English)
${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <url> --languages zh,en,ja   # language priority
${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <url> --chapters --speakers
${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <url> --format srt
${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <url> --translate zh-Hans
${BUN_X} {baseDir}/scripts/main.ts <url> --list

SKILL.md on GitHub