youtube-api

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.

Audits

Pass

ClawScanPass

Agentic behavior and permission review.

Static analysisPass

Pattern checks against bundled files.

VirusTotalPass

Multi-engine malware detections and file reputation.

Install

openclaw skills install youtube-api

YouTube API

YouTube data access via TranscriptAPI.com — no Google API quota needed.

Setup

If $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY is not set, read 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 — 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
`/transcript?video_url=ID`	GET	1
`/search?q=QUERY&type=video`	GET	1
`/channel/resolve?input=@handle`	GET	free
`/channel/latest?channel=@handle`	GET	free
`/channel/videos?channel=@handle`	GET	1/page
`/channel/search?channel=@handle&q=Q`	GET	1
`/playlist/videos?playlist=PL_ID`	GET	1/page

Quick Examples

Search videos:

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

Get transcript:

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

Resolve channel handle (free):

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

Latest videos (free):

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

Browse channel uploads (paginated):

curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/videos?channel=@NASA" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
# Use continuation token from response for next pages

Browse playlist (paginated):

curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/playlist/videos?playlist=PL_PLAYLIST_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
  -H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"

Parameter Validation

Field	Rule
`channel`	`@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID
`playlist`	Playlist URL or ID (`PL`/`UU`/`LL`/`FL`/`OL` prefix)
`q` (search)	1-200 chars
`limit`	1-50
`continuation`	non-empty string

Why Not Google's API?

	Google YouTube Data API	TranscriptAPI
Quota	10,000 units/day (100 searches)	Credit-based, no daily cap
Setup	OAuth + API key + project	Single API key
Transcripts	Not available	Core feature
Pricing	$0.0015/unit overage	$5/1000 credits

Errors

Code	Meaning	Action
401	Bad API key	Check key
402	No credits	transcriptapi.com/billing
403/1010	Cloudflare block	Add or fix User-Agent header
404	Not found	Resource doesn't exist
408	Timeout/retryable	Retry once after 2s
422	Validation error	Check param format
429	Rate limited	Wait, respect Retry-After

Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min. Starter ($5/mo): 1,000 credits.