Bulk Media Summarizer

A tool for scanning and summarizing media content across YouTube, podcast RSS feeds, SoundCloud, and other sources supported by yt-dlp. Ideal for podcast research, conference talk digests, tutorial compilations, and topic research.

Prerequisites

Ensure these dependencies are installed:

• bun: curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
• yt-dlp: brew install yt-dlp or pip install yt-dlp
• summarize: See https://summarize.sh (GitHub)

Supported Platforms

Platform	URL Pattern	Notes
YouTube	youtube.com/@channel, playlist URLs	Has built-in transcripts, fastest
RSS Feeds	Direct feed URLs	Works with any podcast RSS feed
SoundCloud	soundcloud.com/user/...	Audio-only, auto-transcribed
Vimeo	vimeo.com/...	Video
Twitch	twitch.tv/videos/...	VODs and clips

Apple Podcasts

Apple Podcasts URLs don't work directly with yt-dlp. Extract the RSS feed URL first:

1. Use WebFetch on the Apple Podcasts URL
2. Find the RSS feed URL in the page (usually in metadata)
3. Use the RSS feed URL in the config

Example:

• Apple URL: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/huberman-lab/id1545953110
• RSS Feed: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/hubermanlab (use this in config)

Core Commands

bun run /path/to/bulk-summarize.ts [command]

Command	Description
init [name]	Create starter config file
scan	Find content matching keywords
summarize	Process pending items
combine	Merge all summaries into one document
status	Check progress for all sources
list	Show configured sources
reset [source]	Clear checkpoint data

Options

Option	Description
-c, --config <file>	Config file (default: bulk-summarize.json)
-s, --source <id>	Target specific source
-n, --limit <n>	Limit items to process
-p, --parallel <n>	Concurrent summarizations (default: 1)
-d, --delay <ms>	Delay between items (default: 1000)

Workflow

Quick Start

# 1. Create config
bun run bulk-summarize.ts init my-research.json

# 2. Edit config to add sources

# 3. Scan and process
bun run bulk-summarize.ts -c my-research.json scan
bun run bulk-summarize.ts -c my-research.json summarize
bun run bulk-summarize.ts -c my-research.json combine --output research.md

YouTube Channels

# Search for channels
yt-dlp "ytsearch10:TOPIC podcast" --flat-playlist \
  --print "%(channel_url)s %(channel)s" 2>/dev/null | sort -u

# Verify channel
yt-dlp --flat-playlist --print "%(playlist_uploader)s" \
  --playlist-end 1 "https://www.youtube.com/@ChannelName/videos"

Podcast RSS Feeds

# Test RSS feed
yt-dlp --flat-playlist --print "%(title)s" \
  "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/hubermanlab" --playlist-end 3

To get RSS feed from Apple Podcasts: use WebFetch on the Apple Podcasts URL and look for the feed URL in the response (typically in page metadata or as a direct link).

Config Structure

{
  "name": "Project Name",
  "keywords": ["keyword1", "keyword2"],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "source-id",
      "name": "Display Name",
      "url": "https://...",
      "type": "channel",
      "enabled": true
    }
  ],
  "settings": {
    "maxVideosPerSource": 50,
    "summaryLength": "xl",
    "summaryPrompt": "Your prompt.\n\nTitle: {title}",
    "outputDir": "summaries"
  }
}

Summary Lengths

Length	Use Case
short	Quick overview (<15 min content)
medium	Standard summary
long	Detailed notes
xl	Comprehensive coverage
xxl	Maximum detail (2+ hour content)

Audio vs Video Processing

YouTube (has transcripts)

• Fast processing using existing captions
• Highest accuracy for transcribed content

Audio Podcasts (RSS, SoundCloud)

• Requires transcription via Whisper
• summarize handles this automatically
• Slightly slower due to transcription step
• Quality depends on audio clarity

Output Structure

summaries/
  source-id/
    .checkpoint.json    # Progress tracking
    episode1.md         # Individual summaries
    episode2.md

Troubleshooting

Source Not Found

# Test URL directly
yt-dlp --flat-playlist --print "%(title)s" "URL" --playlist-end 3

Transcription Fails

• Audio quality too low
• Non-English content (specify language in summarize)
• Try reducing parallel processing

Additional Resources

Reference Files

• references/config-templates.md - Ready-to-use configs for common use cases
• references/prompt-patterns.md - Effective prompts by content type
• references/platform-guide.md - Platform-specific URL formats and tips

Example Files

• examples/podcast-research.json - Multi-source podcast research
• examples/conference-talks.json - Conference playlist digest
• examples/multi-platform.json - Cross-platform research setup