youtube-search

# YouTube Search Search YouTube and fetch transcripts via [TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com). ## Setup If `$TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY` is not set, help the user create an account (100 free credits, no card): **Step 1 — Register:** Ask user for their email. ```bash node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js register --email USER_EMAIL ``` → OTP sent to email. Ask user: _"Check your email for a 6-digit verification code."_ **Step 2 — Verify:** Once user provides the OTP: ```bash node ./scripts/tapi-auth.js verify --token TOKEN_FROM_STEP_1 --otp CODE ``` > API key saved to `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`. See **File Writes** below for details. Existing file is backed up before modification. Manual option: [transcriptapi.com/signup](https://transcriptapi.com/signup) → Dashboard → API Keys. ## File Writes The verify and save-key commands save the API key to `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json` (sets `skills.entries.transcriptapi.apiKey` and `enabled: true`). **Existing file is backed up to `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.bak` before modification.** To use the API key in terminal/CLI outside the agent, add to your shell profile manually: `export TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY=<your-key>` ## API Reference Full OpenAPI spec: [transcriptapi.com/openapi.json](https://transcriptapi.com/openapi.json) — consult this for the latest parameters and schemas. ## GET /api/v2/youtube/search — 1 credit Search YouTube globally for videos or channels. ```bash curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search?q=QUERY&type=video&limit=20" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" ``` | Param | Required | Default | Validation | | ------- | -------- | ------- | --------------------- | | `q` | yes | — | 1-200 chars (trimmed) | | `type` | no | `video` | `video` or `channel` | | `limit` | no | `20` | 1-50 | **Video search response:** ```json { "results": [ { "type": "video", "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up", "channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw", "channelTitle": "Rick Astley", "channelHandle": "@RickAstley", "channelVerified": true, "lengthText": "3:33", "viewCountText": "1.5B views", "publishedTimeText": "14 years ago", "hasCaptions": true, "thumbnails": [{ "url": "...", "width": 120, "height": 90 }] } ], "result_count": 20 } ``` **Channel search response** (`type=channel`): ```json { "results": [{ "type": "channel", "channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw", "title": "Rick Astley", "handle": "@RickAstley", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@RickAstley", "description": "Official channel...", "subscriberCount": "4.2M subscribers", "verified": true, "rssUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UC...", "thumbnails": [...] }], "result_count": 5 } ``` ## GET /api/v2/youtube/channel/search — 1 credit Search videos within a specific channel. Accepts `channel` — an `@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID. ```bash curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/search\ ?channel=@TED&q=climate+change&limit=30" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" ``` | Param | Required | Validation | | --------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------- | | `channel` | yes | `@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID | | `q` | yes | 1-200 chars | | `limit` | no | 1-50 (default 30) | Returns up to ~30 results (YouTube limit). Same video response shape as global search. ## GET /api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve — FREE Convert @handle to channel ID: ```bash curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve?input=@TED" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" ``` ## Workflow: Search → Transcript ```bash # 1. Search for videos curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search\ ?q=python+web+scraping&type=video&limit=5" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" # 2. Get transcript from result curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\ ?video_url=VIDEO_ID&format=text&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" ``` ## Errors | Code | Action | | ---- | -------------------------------------- | | 402 | No credits — transcriptapi.com/billing | | 404 | Not found | | 408 | Timeout — retry once | | 422 | Invalid channel identifier | Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min.