MH summarize

Summarize or extract text/transcripts from URLs, podcasts, and local files (great fallback for “transcribe this YouTube/video”).

Security Scan

The skill is internally consistent with a CLI-based summarization tool; it asks for the summarize binary (installable via a Homebrew tap) and optionally uses user-provided model API keys — nothing in the instructions indicates unexpected or unrelated access, but verify the brew tap and provider keys before installing.

Purpose & Capability

Name/description ask for a summarization/transcription CLI and the declared requirement is exactly the 'summarize' binary. The Homebrew formula and the CLI flags described in SKILL.md are coherent with the stated purpose.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md provides concrete CLI usage and flags and does not instruct the agent to read unrelated system files or secrets. It does reference a per-user config (~/.summarize/config.json) and optional API keys (OpenAI/Anthropic/xAI/Gemini, FIRECRAWL/APIFY) which is expected for a tool that forwards content to model providers or extraction services; the agent will need to run the summarize binary and may send data to third-party APIs depending on configured keys.

Install Mechanism

Install is via Homebrew formula steipete/tap/summarize. Homebrew installs are lower-risk than arbitrary downloads, but this is a third-party tap (not an official core formula). Verify the tap/author and the formula's source before installing to ensure the binary does what you expect.

Credentials

The skill declares no required environment variables, but the docs list several optional API keys (OPENAI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, XAI_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, FIRECRAWL_API_KEY, APIFY_API_TOKEN). Those are proportionate to a tool that can call different model/extraction providers — only supply the keys you trust and that are necessary for the provider you intend to use.

Persistence & Privilege

always:false (no forced persistence). The skill is instruction-only and uses an optional CLI binary; it does not request escalation or modifications to other skills or system-wide agent settings.

Assessment

This skill is an instruction-only wrapper around a CLI tool. Before installing or using it: (1) verify the Homebrew tap 'steipete/tap' and inspect the formula/source so you trust the binary you will install; (2) be mindful that summaries/transcripts may be sent to whichever model provider you configure — only provide API keys you trust and consider using limited-scope or expendable keys for testing; (3) the tool may read a per-user config file (~/.summarize/config.json) and optional tokens (FIRECRAWL/APIFY) — review that file after installation; (4) if you need stronger assurance, run the binary in a restricted environment (container or sandbox) and audit network traffic to see which endpoints it contacts before using it with sensitive content.

Summarize

Fast CLI to summarize URLs, local files, and YouTube links.

When to use (trigger phrases)

Use this skill immediately when the user asks any of:

• “use summarize.sh”
• “what’s this link/video about?”
• “summarize this URL/article”
• “transcribe this YouTube/video” (best-effort transcript extraction; no yt-dlp needed)

Quick start

summarize "https://example.com" --model google/gemini-3-flash-preview
summarize "/path/to/file.pdf" --model google/gemini-3-flash-preview
summarize "https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ" --youtube auto

YouTube: summary vs transcript

Best-effort transcript (URLs only):

summarize "https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ" --youtube auto --extract-only

If the user asked for a transcript but it’s huge, return a tight summary first, then ask which section/time range to expand.

Model + keys

Set the API key for your chosen provider:

• OpenAI: OPENAI_API_KEY
• Anthropic: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
• xAI: XAI_API_KEY
• Google: GEMINI_API_KEY (aliases: GOOGLE_GENERATIVE_AI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY)

Default model is google/gemini-3-flash-preview if none is set.

Useful flags

• --length short|medium|long|xl|xxl|<chars>
• --max-output-tokens <count>
• --extract-only (URLs only)
• --json (machine readable)
• --firecrawl auto|off|always (fallback extraction)
• --youtube auto (Apify fallback if APIFY_API_TOKEN set)

Config

Optional config file: ~/.summarize/config.json

{ "model": "openai/gpt-5.2" }

Optional services:

• FIRECRAWL_API_KEY for blocked sites
• APIFY_API_TOKEN for YouTube fallback