youtube
Work with video and audio links. Activate when user shares a YouTube link, video URL, or any media link - regardless of the task (download, info, convert, extract, list, or explore). Uses yt-dlp for all operations.
When & Why to Use This Skill
This Claude skill leverages the powerful yt-dlp command-line utility to automate the processing of video and audio content from YouTube and thousands of other supported websites. It enables users to download, convert, and extract metadata or media streams directly through the chat interface, streamlining complex media management tasks with automated documentation lookup and error handling.
Use Cases
- Video Archiving: Download high-quality videos or entire playlists for offline viewing, archival, or educational purposes.
- Audio Extraction: Convert video links into high-quality audio files (like MP3 or WAV) for podcasts, music, or voice-over references.
- Metadata & Research: Extract detailed video information, including descriptions, tags, view counts, and upload dates for content analysis and SEO research.
- Format & Resolution Conversion: Automatically handle media transcoding to ensure compatibility with specific devices or software requirements.
- Content Exploration: List available formats, subtitles, and chapters from a media link to selectively download only the necessary components.
| name | youtube |
|---|---|
| description | Work with video and audio links. Activate when user shares a YouTube link, video URL, or any media link - regardless of the task (download, info, convert, extract, list, or explore). Uses yt-dlp for all operations. |
| allowed-tools | Bash, Read, Task, Glob, Grep |
yt-dlp Video Downloader Skill
Expert at using yt-dlp CLI for downloading and processing videos from YouTube and other platforms.
Availability
Before any operation, verify yt-dlp is installed: yt-dlp --version
If not installed, just quit, user will handle the installation manually.
Documentation Access
The full yt-dlp documentation is extensive. When you need to look up specific options or features:
Fetch the docs:
curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/refs/heads/master/README.md -o /tmp/yt-dlp-docs.mdUse a subagent to search the docs (preserves context window):
Task tool with subagent_type="general-purpose": "Read /tmp/yt-dlp-docs.md and find information about [SPECIFIC TOPIC]. Return only the relevant options and examples."
Workflow
- Simple requests → Execute directly with known options
- Complex/unfamiliar requests → Fetch docs → Subagent search → Execute
Guidelines
- Check installation first - verify yt-dlp is available
- Delegate doc searches - use subagent for extensive docs
- Show the command - always display the command being run
- Handle errors - explain common issues (geo-restrictions, age-gates, etc.)