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Install in OpenClaw
/install youtube-channels
Description
Use when a YouTube channel is the focus: pasted @handles or channel URLs, requests to browse a creator's uploads, see what a channel has posted recently, sea...
Usage Guidance
This skill appears to do what it says: it uses TranscriptAPI to browse YouTube channels and needs only a TranscriptAPI key. Things to consider before installing: 1) The included auth guide will ask you to supply an email and/or OTP and can create an account on your behalf — if you prefer, create an account manually on transcriptapi.com and paste the key instead. 2) The guide instructs the agent to write HTTP responses and tokens to temporary files and to persist the API key so it is available across sessions; verify where the agent will store the key (shell profile, agent config, or secret manager) and whether you’re comfortable with that persistence and its filesystem visibility. 3) Confirm transcriptapi.com is trusted and read its privacy/terms for how API keys and transcripts are used. If you are uncomfortable with automated account creation or persistent storage by the agent, provide your key manually and avoid letting the agent alter global config files.
Capability Analysis
Type: OpenClaw Skill
Name: youtube-channels
Version: 1.5.0
The skill provides YouTube channel metadata and search capabilities via transcriptapi.com. It is classified as suspicious because references/auth-setup.md contains explicit instructions for the AI agent to bypass host-level security redaction filters. Specifically, it directs the agent to write sensitive API tokens (access_token and api_key) to temporary files to prevent the platform from masking them in command output. While this is intended to facilitate the setup of the TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY, providing instructions to circumvent security controls is a high-risk behavior. The skill also requests persistence of environment variables in shell profiles.
Capability Tags
Capability Assessment
Purpose & Capability
Name/description, endpoints in SKILL.md, and the single required environment variable (TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY) are consistent: TranscriptAPI is the documented backend for YouTube channel lookups, so asking for that key is expected.
Instruction Scope
The runtime instructions include a full account-creation flow (POST register, ask for email, receive OTP, POST verify) and explicit guidance to write HTTP responses to temporary files and then read tokens from them. That behavior gives the agent the ability to perform network calls, create temp files, and persist secrets — all relevant to obtaining and using the API key, but also sensitive. The skill does not instruct reading unrelated system files or contacting endpoints outside transcriptapi.com.
Install Mechanism
No install spec or code files; instruction-only skill (lowest install risk). There is no downloaded code or third-party package install.
Credentials
Only one required environment variable (TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY), which is proportional to the service. However the instructions require persisting that key for future sessions (writing it into whatever persistent config the platform uses), which increases the impact of that single secret and may write it into shell profiles or agent config files.
Persistence & Privilege
Skill does not request always:true and does not claim elevated platform privileges. Still, the auth guide explicitly instructs persisting the API key across sessions and creating temporary files containing tokens; this grants the skill persistent access to the secret if the agent follows those steps, so the user should consider where the key will be stored.
How to Use
- Make sure OpenClaw is installed (local or Docker)
- Run the install command in chat:
/install youtube-channels - After installation, invoke the skill by name or use
/youtube-channels - Provide required inputs per the skill's parameter spec and get structured output
Version History
v1.5.0
Replace auth.js with agent-native auth-setup.md; fix YAML frontmatter (quote descriptions); add version field; move homepage into metadata.openclaw.
v1.4.1
ClawHub variant: minimal tapi-auth.js v3.0.0, only writes to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
v1.4.0
- Added detailed documentation in SKILL.md about where the API key is saved during verification, including all supported shell and agent configuration paths.
- Clarified that existing config files are backed up to `<file>.bak` before API key modifications.
- Updated metadata to list all config file paths touched, improving transparency for autonomous/background usage.
- Described the rationale for storing the API key in multiple locations to ensure persistent access across shells and agents.
- No changes to core skill functionality or API usage.
v1.3.4
- Metadata block in SKILL.md reformatted to a single line for improved readability.
- No changes to functionality or API details; documentation content remains the same.
v1.3.3
- Simplified authentication: no password or manual key saving—just email and OTP, with the API key auto-saved on verification.
- All endpoints now accept flexible channel input (@handle, URL, or UC... ID).
- Parameter names changed from channel_id to channel for most endpoints.
- OpenAPI spec link added for up-to-date parameters and schemas.
- "user-invocable: true" and updated metadata to match new runtime/environment conventions.
- Doc references and examples updated for channel flexibility and new setup process.
v1.3.2
Fix: markdown formatting + blank line between password warning and Step 2
v1.3.1
Fix: register response now echoes password + pre-filled next_command to prevent agents losing the password between register and verify steps
v1.3.0
Bundled auth script for agent-driven signup flow
v1.2.2
Fixed code block widths for proper rendering
v1.2.1
Removed separators
v1.2.0
Cleaned docs — removed internal implementation details
v1.1.0
Full v2 API support: search, channels, playlists. Accurate schemas, validation, cache TTLs.
v1.0.0
Initial release — YouTube transcripts via TranscriptAPI.com
Metadata
Frequently Asked Questions
What is youtube-channels?
Use when a YouTube channel is the focus: pasted @handles or channel URLs, requests to browse a creator's uploads, see what a channel has posted recently, sea... It is an AI Agent Skill for Claude Code / OpenClaw, with 3119 downloads so far.
How do I install youtube-channels?
Run "/install youtube-channels" in the OpenClaw or Claude Code chat to install it in one step — no extra setup required.
Is youtube-channels free?
Yes, youtube-channels is completely free, licensed under MIT-0. You can download, install and use it at no cost.
Which platforms does youtube-channels support?
youtube-channels is cross-platform and runs anywhere OpenClaw / Claude Code is available (cross-platform).
Who created youtube-channels?
It is built and maintained by Rohit Das (@therohitdas); the current version is v1.5.0.
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