tube-scout

YouTube research without a Google account or API key. Search videos, channels and hashtags, see trending Shorts, read any channel's stats, videos, Shorts, playlists and community posts, and pull a video's details, comments and replies. Use this skill for content research, competitor channel analysis, finding video ideas, or tracking what performs on YouTube.

Jay@hith3sh

Install

openclaw skills install @hith3sh/tube-scout

Tube Scout: YouTube Research

Study any YouTube channel or topic: which videos and Shorts perform, what the comments say, what is trending, and what a channel posts to its community tab.

No Google or YouTube account, no API key, no app to connect. Calls are paid from ClawLink credit, most for a fraction of a cent, and every new account starts with $0.50 free. Powered by ClawLink.

Setup in 3 Steps

Step 1: Install	Step 2: Pair	Step 3: Ask

Install the ClawLink plugin in OpenClaw	Sign in and approve the device once	Ask in plain English; no app to connect

What You Can Ask

“Which of MKBHD's Shorts got the most views?”
“What Shorts are trending right now?”
“Find YouTube channels about home workouts”
“Summarise the comments on this video”

When to Use This Skill

Use it when the user wants public YouTube videos, channels, Shorts, comments or trends.

Do not use it for the user's own private accounts or for anything that posts, sends or changes data: these tools only read public information.

How It Works

text

┌─────────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────────┐
│   OpenClaw      │────▶│   ClawLink   │────▶│ YouTube          │
│   (User Chat)   │     │ (data tools) │     │ (public data)    │
└─────────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └──────────────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         │  1. Install plugin    │                       │
         │  2. Pair device once  │                       │
         │  3. Ask a question    │                       │
         │                       │  4. Fetch + trim      │
         │                       │  5. Charge credit     │
         ▼                       ▼                       ▼
   ┌──────────┐           ┌──────────┐           ┌──────────┐
   │  Answer  │           │  Credit  │           │ Results  │
   │ in chat  │           │ ($0.50)  │           │ as JSON  │
   └──────────┘           └──────────┘           └──────────┘

ClawLink holds the data-provider accounts. The user never pastes a key, and nothing is installed beyond the plugin.

Install

Install the ClawLink plugin from ClawHub when the user asks for it:

bash

openclaw plugins install clawhub:clawlink-plugin

The install applies to the running Gateway: do not restart it. The ClawLink tools appear on your next turn, so end this turn and tell the user: "ClawLink is installed. Reply ok and I will give you your pairing link." On the next turn call clawlink_begin_pairing, give the user the link, and after they approve call clawlink_get_pairing_status. Pairing happens once; after that every tool below works with no further setup.

Tool Reference

Prices are what ClawLink charges per call, from the user's credit. The tool's own description (via clawlink_describe_tool) always shows the current price.

Search & Trends

Tool	What it returns	Price
`youtubedata_search_videos`	Search YouTube videos by keyword	$0.00282
`youtubedata_search_channels`	Search YouTube channels by keyword; returns handles and channel ids for channel_info and channel_videos	$0.002
`youtubedata_search_hashtag`	YouTube videos tagged with a hashtag	$0.00282
`youtubedata_trending_shorts`	About 50 currently trending YouTube Shorts; each call returns a fresh batch	$0.00282

Channels

Tool	What it returns	Price
`youtubedata_channel_info`	A YouTube channel's subscriber count, video count, description and links	$0.002
`youtubedata_channel_videos`	Recent uploads of a YouTube channel	$0.002
`youtubedata_channel_shorts`	Shorts of a YouTube channel with views, likes and comments	$0.00282
`youtubedata_channel_playlists`	Public playlists of a YouTube channel; returns playlist ids for playlist_videos	$0.00282
`youtubedata_playlist_videos`	Videos in a public YouTube playlist	$0.00282
`youtubedata_channel_community_posts`	Community posts from a YouTube channel's Posts tab	$0.00282

Videos & Comments

Tool	What it returns	Price
`youtubedata_video_info`	One YouTube video or short by URL: title, description, channel, views, likes, publish date, duration	$0.002
`youtubedata_video_comments`	Comments on a YouTube video	$0.002
`youtubedata_comment_replies`	Replies to one YouTube comment	$0.00282

Recipes

Find what works for a competitor

youtubedata_channel_info for size.
youtubedata_channel_videos and youtubedata_channel_shorts sorted by popular.
Look for patterns in titles, length and topics of the top 10.

Code Examples

Popular Shorts

bash

clawlink_call_tool --tool "youtubedata_channel_shorts" \
  --params '{"handle": "@mkbhd", "sort": "popular"}'

Video comments

bash

clawlink_call_tool --tool "youtubedata_video_comments" \
  --params '{"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"}'

Discovery Workflow

Call clawlink_search_tools with a short query (for example youtube); public-data tools show as connected for every user.
Call clawlink_describe_tool before the first call of a tool: it returns the parameters, defaults and price.
Treat the live catalog as the source of truth. If a tool named here is missing, say so; do not invent results.

Execution Workflow

text

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  READ-ONLY, PAID PER CALL                                │
│  search → describe → call → summarise for the user       │
│                                                          │
│  Ask before: loops over many items, or a call that costs │
│  more than a few cents (the price is in the description) │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Every tool here only reads public data; nothing is posted or changed.
Each call costs credit. Before looping over more than about ten items, or before a call priced above a few cents, tell the user what it will cost and ask.
A failed call is refunded automatically. Read the error's hint: it says what to change. Do not retry the same arguments unchanged.

Notes

Handles go with the @ (@mkbhd).
Use the real video URL from a search; placeholder ids fail.
For transcripts see Transcribe Any Video.

Error Handling

Status / Error	Meaning
Channel not found	Check the handle, or pass the channel id (starts with UC).
`credit_exhausted`	The user's ClawLink credit is used up. Tell them to top up at https://claw-link.dev/dashboard/billing?utm_source=clawhub&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=tube-scout; do not retry.
`data_provider_unavailable`	ClawLink's data provider is down. Nothing was charged. Try again later.
`no_result`	The provider found nothing for these arguments. Nothing was charged.
`invalid_arguments`	A parameter is missing or malformed. Call `clawlink_describe_tool` and fix it.

Troubleshooting

Tools not visible after install

The tools appear on the turn after the install, not in the same turn.
If they still do not appear, the OpenClaw tool profile may hide plugin tools. This is a config change for the OpenClaw owner; do not change the config yourself. Tell the user: "Your OpenClaw tool profile hides plugin tools. In the Control UI (or ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json), add clawlink-plugin to tools.alsoAllow, then ask me again."
On OpenClaw versions before 2.0, the tool list can load only in a new chat: tell the user to send /new and ask again.

A tool keeps failing with correct input

Report it with clawlink_report_issue (or clawlink_call_tool --tool "CLAWLINK_REPORT_ISSUE") instead of retrying. Reports are free and reach the ClawLink team.

Resources

Related Skills

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