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ask-extract-youtube

Extract YouTube transcripts over HTTP with language selection, proxies, and formatters.

74|11|Updated Jul 4, 2024
Search Tags:#typescript#transcript#subtitles#youtube#proxy#srt#extract
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/OpenSourceAGI/qwksearch-research-agent --skill ask-extract-youtube-opensourceagi
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: ask-extract-youtube
Source: https://github.com/OpenSourceAGI/qwksearch-research-agent/tree/main/skills/ask-extract-youtube
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/OpenSourceAGI/qwksearch-research-agent --skill ask-extract-youtube-opensourceagi

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Fetching YouTube captions programmatically often fails in production: datacenter IPs get blocked, language selection returns the wrong track, and output formats vary across consumers. This Skill guides you through the extract-youtube package, a browserless transcript extractor that runs on serverless and edge platforms without an API key. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Transcript Fetching & Language Control: Use YouTubeTranscriptApi with ordered language preferences, manual-vs-auto track selection, and machine translation between tracks. - Proxy & Error Handling: Configure Webshare or generic HTTP proxies to bypass IP blocks, and diagnose typed errors like RequestBlocked, TranscriptsDisabled, NoTranscriptFound, and PoTokenRequired. - Output Formats & Tooling: Render transcripts as JSON, text, SRT, WebVTT, or article HTML, compute reading-speed encodings, embed the React modal, or run the CLI for one-off extractions. - Use Case: A serverless function needs German subtitles for a video URL. Extract the video id with extractVideoId, call fetchTranscript with languages ["de", "en"], and format the result as SRT — falling back to a Webshare proxy if YouTube blocks the datacenter IP. ## Quick Start Ask the assistant to fetch the English transcript for a given YouTube URL using extract-youtube and format it as SRT, configuring a Webshare proxy if the request gets blocked.

Frequently Asked Questions about ask-extract-youtube

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I fetch a YouTube transcript in JavaScript without an API key?▼

Use the extract-youtube package: create a YouTubeTranscriptApi instance and call fetchTranscript with a video id and language list. It fetches caption tracks over plain HTTP, so it runs on serverless and edge platforms without a browser or API key.

How to fix RequestBlocked or IpBlocked errors when fetching YouTube transcripts?▼

These errors mean YouTube blocked your IP, which is common for datacenter ranges. Configure a WebshareProxyConfig with your credentials or a GenericProxyConfig with HTTP/HTTPS proxy URLs when constructing YouTubeTranscriptApi, or pass --proxy to the CLI.

Why does fetchTranscript throw InvalidVideoId on a valid YouTube URL?▼

fetchTranscript accepts only the bare 11-character video id, not a URL. Run the URL through the extractVideoId helper first, which handles any YouTube URL form, then pass the result to fetchTranscript.

Does extract-youtube support languages other than English?▼

Yes. Pass an ordered languages array like ["de", "en"] to fetchTranscript; it prefers manually created tracks over auto-generated ones. You can also call translate on a Transcript to get a machine translation into a supported target language.

What output formats can YouTube transcripts be converted to?▼

The package includes JSON, Text, PrettyPrint, Article, SRT, and WebVTT formatters, loadable by name via FormatterLoader. The CLI exposes the same choices through the -f flag, plus a speeds format for reading-speed encoding.

Can I use extract-youtube in a React application?▼

Yes, import YouTubeTranscriptModal from the extract-youtube/react subpath, which requires react, react-dom, and lucide-react as peers. Import from that subpath rather than the root entry to avoid pulling Node-specific code into the browser bundle.

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