# yt-script-downloader

> Download YouTube video transcripts using yt-dlp

- Author: Ryan Kwong
- Repository: rhkwong/high-powered-engineer
- Version: 20260122172418
- Stars: 0
- Forks: 0
- Last Updated: 2026-02-06
- Source: https://github.com/rhkwong/high-powered-engineer
- Web: https://mule.run/skillshub/@@rhkwong/high-powered-engineer~yt-script-downloader:20260122172418

---

---
name: yt-script-downloader
description: Download YouTube video transcripts using yt-dlp
disable-model-invocation: true
argument-hint: <youtube-url> [output-name]
---

# YouTube Transcript Downloader

Download YouTube video transcripts using yt-dlp.

## Usage

```
/yt-script-downloader <youtube-url> [output-name]
```

## Instructions

When this skill is invoked:

1. **Parse the arguments**: Extract the YouTube URL from the args. If a second argument is provided, use it as the output filename (without extension).

2. **Validate the URL**: Ensure it's a valid YouTube URL (youtube.com or youtu.be).

3. **Download the transcript** using yt-dlp:
   ```bash
   yt-dlp --write-auto-sub --write-sub --sub-lang en --skip-download --sub-format vtt -o "/tmp/yt-transcript" "URL"
   ```

   This will try to get:
   - Manual subtitles first (`--write-sub`)
   - Auto-generated subtitles as fallback (`--write-auto-sub`)

4. **Convert to readable format**: The VTT file contains timestamps. Convert it to clean text:
   ```bash
   sed -e '/^WEBVTT/d' -e '/^Kind:/d' -e '/^Language:/d' -e '/^$/d' -e '/^[0-9][0-9]:[0-9][0-9]/d' -e 's/<[^>]*>//g' /tmp/yt-transcript.en.vtt | awk '!seen[$0]++' > /tmp/yt-transcript.txt
   ```

5. **Save to video-transcripts folder**:
   - Default location: `career/high-powered-engineer/video-transcripts/`
   - Create a markdown file with the transcript content
   - Include metadata at the top:
     ```markdown
     # [Video Title or Output Name]

     **Source:** [URL]
     **Downloaded:** [Date]

     ---

     [Transcript content]
     ```

6. **Clean up**: Remove the intermediate VTT and temp files.

7. **Report results**: Tell the user where the transcript was saved and show a preview of the first few lines.

## Example

```
/yt-script-downloader https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123 system-design-basics
```

This downloads the transcript and saves it to:
`career/high-powered-engineer/video-transcripts/system-design-basics.md`

## Requirements

- yt-dlp must be installed (`brew install yt-dlp`)

## Error Handling

- If yt-dlp is not installed, inform the user how to install it
- If no subtitles are available, inform the user and suggest alternatives
- If the URL is invalid, ask for a valid YouTube URL