youtube copy of yt

Fetch YouTube video transcripts via APIFY API using residential proxies to bypass bot detection, supporting text and JSON output formats.

Security Scan

The skill's code and docs fetch YouTube transcripts via APIFY and legitimately require an APIFY API token, but the registry metadata does not declare the required credential and the package name/description are inconsistent — this mismatch warrants caution before installing.

Purpose & Capability

The SKILL.md, README, and the included Python script all implement a YouTube-transcript fetcher that calls apify.com (actor karamelo~youtube-transcripts). That aligns with the apparent purpose. However the published skill name ('youtube copy of yt') and lack of a description are odd and the registry metadata does not declare the APIFY_API_TOKEN requirement even though both SKILL.md and the script require it.

Instruction Scope

Runtime instructions are narrowly scoped to calling APIFY: setting APIFY_API_TOKEN, running the Python script, and passing a YouTube URL/ID. The SKILL.md does not instruct reading unrelated files, scanning system paths, or exfiltrating other credentials.

Install Mechanism

No install spec is provided (instruction-only plus a Python script). The only dependency is the widely used 'requests' Python library, which the script checks for and instructs installing. There are no downloads from unknown URLs or archives.

Credentials

The script and SKILL.md clearly require APIFY_API_TOKEN (an API credential) and a python3/runtime with requests; that is proportionate to the stated functionality. The concern is that the registry metadata lists no required environment variables or primary credential — an inconsistency that could lead users to install without realizing they must provide a token. No other unrelated credentials are requested.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill does not request persistent/always-on inclusion, does not modify other skills, and has no elevated privileges. It simply performs outbound API calls to apify.com when executed.

What to consider before installing

This skill appears to do what it says (use APIFY to fetch YouTube transcripts), but the published metadata omits the APIFY_API_TOKEN requirement that the docs and script clearly need. Before installing or using it: (1) confirm you trust the publisher — the listed name/description are inconsistent; (2) do not commit your APIFY_API_TOKEN to source control and consider using a least-privilege token if APIFY supports it; (3) verify you accept outbound network calls to api.apify.com (the script posts to and polls APIFY actor runs) and the associated costs (~$0.007 per video); (4) run the script in an isolated environment (virtualenv, container) and inspect the code yourself — the included script is short and readable; (5) ask the publisher to update registry metadata to declare the required env var (APIFY_API_TOKEN) and provide a clear description. The mismatch in declared requirements is the primary reason to be cautious; the code itself contains no obvious exfiltration beyond contacting apify.com for expected data.

youtube-apify-transcript

Fetch YouTube transcripts via APIFY API (works from cloud IPs, bypasses YouTube bot detection).

Why APIFY?

YouTube blocks transcript requests from cloud IPs (AWS, GCP, etc.). APIFY runs the request through residential proxies, bypassing bot detection reliably.

Free Tier

• $5/month free credits (~714 videos)
• No credit card required
• Perfect for personal use

Cost

• $0.007 per video (less than 1 cent!)
• Track usage at: https://console.apify.com/billing

Links

• 🔗 APIFY Pricing
• 🔑 Get API Key
• 🎬 YouTube Transcripts Actor

Setup

1. Create free APIFY account: https://apify.com/
2. Get your API token: https://console.apify.com/account/integrations
3. Set environment variable:

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
export APIFY_API_TOKEN="apify_api_YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"

# Or use .env file (never commit this!)
echo 'APIFY_API_TOKEN=apify_api_YOUR_TOKEN_HERE' >> .env

Usage

Basic Usage

# Get transcript as text
python3 scripts/fetch_transcript.py "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

# Short URL also works
python3 scripts/fetch_transcript.py "https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID"

Options

# Output to file
python3 scripts/fetch_transcript.py "URL" --output transcript.txt

# JSON format (includes timestamps)
python3 scripts/fetch_transcript.py "URL" --json

# Both: JSON to file
python3 scripts/fetch_transcript.py "URL" --json --output transcript.json

# Specify language preference
python3 scripts/fetch_transcript.py "URL" --lang de

Output Formats

Text (default):

Hello and welcome to this video.
Today we're going to talk about...

JSON (--json):

{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "title": "Video Title",
  "transcript": [
    {"start": 0.0, "duration": 2.5, "text": "Hello and welcome"},
    {"start": 2.5, "duration": 3.0, "text": "to this video"}
  ],
  "full_text": "Hello and welcome to this video..."
}

Error Handling

The script handles common errors:

• Invalid YouTube URL
• Video has no transcript
• API quota exceeded
• Network errors

Metadata

metadata:
  clawdbot:
    emoji: "📹"
    requires:
      env: ["APIFY_API_TOKEN"]
      bins: ["python3"]