---

name: extract-videos description: Extract video metadata from a YouTube channel and save to CSV for tracking. Use when adding a new channel, extracting conference videos, populating video lists, or when the user mentions "extract videos", "get videos from channel", "add channel", or "video metadata".

Extract Videos from YouTube Channel

Why? Manually tracking YouTube videos is tedious and error-prone. This skill automates extracting video metadata (titles, durations, URLs) into a CSV for systematic transcript downloading and analysis.

Quick Start

# Recurring channel (adds to channels.yaml for future syncs)
mkdir -p data/<channel-name>
transcript-extract https://www.youtube.com/@ChannelName/videos \
  --count 50 \
  --append-csv data/<channel-name>/videos.csv \
  --register-channel

# One-time extraction (conferences, playlists)
mkdir -p data/<name>
transcript-extract <youtube_url> --count 100 --append-csv data/<name>/videos.csv

---

Workflow

1. Determine Extraction Type

Scenario	Use --register-channel?	Typical Count
New channel for ongoing tracking	Yes	50-200 initial, then 20-50 for syncs
Conference talks (one-time)	No	50-500
Specific playlist/topic	No	As needed
Testing/exploration	No	5-10

[!TIP] Use --register-channel only for channels you want to sync regularly. It adds the channel to data/channels.yaml for the sync-all-channels skill.

2. Create Directory Structure

mkdir -p data/<channel-name>

Naming conventions:

• Use lowercase with hyphens: aws-reinvent-2025, veritasium, lexfridman
• Match the YouTube handle when possible: @veritasium becomes veritasium
• For conferences, include year: pycon-2025, kubecon-eu-2024

3. Run Extraction Command

transcript-extract <channel_url> \
  --count <N> \
  --append-csv data/<channel-name>/videos.csv \
  [--register-channel]

Parameters:

Option	Description	Default	When to Use
--count, -n	Number of latest videos	10	Always specify explicitly
--append-csv	CSV file path	Required	Always use for tracking
--register-channel	Add to channels.yaml	False	Recurring channels only
--output, -o	Save video IDs to text file	-	Rarely needed
--verbose, -v	Enable verbose output	False	Debugging

[!CAUTION] The --count in the command sets the INITIAL extraction count. The count in channels.yaml (set by --register-channel) controls FUTURE sync counts. These are independent values.

4. Verify Extraction

# Check CSV was created with expected columns
head -3 data/<channel-name>/videos.csv

# Count extracted videos
wc -l data/<channel-name>/videos.csv

Expected CSV columns:

• url - Full YouTube video URL
• title - Video title
• duration_minutes - Video length
• view_count - Number of views
• description - Video description
• transcript_downloaded - Tracking field (initially empty)
• summary_done - Tracking field (initially empty)

---

Examples

Adding a New Channel for Regular Syncing

# 1. Create directory
mkdir -p data/veritasium

# 2. Extract initial batch with registration
transcript-extract https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium/videos \
  --count 100 \
  --append-csv data/veritasium/videos.csv \
  --register-channel

# Result: 100 videos extracted, channel added to channels.yaml with count: 100

One-Time Conference Extraction

# Extract AWS re:Invent talks (won't be synced later)
mkdir -p data/aws-reinvent-2025
transcript-extract https://www.youtube.com/@AWSEventsChannel/videos \
  --count 200 \
  --append-csv data/aws-reinvent-2025/videos.csv

# No --register-channel = not added to channels.yaml

Re-running on Existing CSV (Incremental Update)

# Running again only adds NEW videos (duplicates auto-skipped)
transcript-extract https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium/videos \
  --count 20 \
  --append-csv data/veritasium/videos.csv

# Safe to run multiple times - existing videos preserved

---

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Solution
"No videos found"	Wrong URL format	Use https://www.youtube.com/@ChannelName/videos (include /videos)
CSV not created	Directory doesn't exist	Run mkdir -p data/<name> first
Duplicate videos appearing	Running with different URL variants	Always use canonical @handle/videos format
Channel not in channels.yaml	Forgot --register-channel	Re-run with flag, or manually add to YAML
Wrong video count in channels.yaml	Flag uses command's --count value	Edit channels.yaml manually to adjust future sync count
Permission denied	File locked or read-only	Close any apps using the CSV

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Common Mistakes

1. Forgetting /videos in URL

   • Wrong: https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium
   • Right: https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium/videos

2. Using --register-channel for one-time extractions

   • This pollutes channels.yaml with channels you won't sync
   • Only use for channels you want in the regular sync rotation

3. Expecting transcripts to download

   • This skill ONLY extracts video metadata to CSV
   • Use download-transcripts skill to actually fetch transcripts

4. Not creating directory first

   • The --append-csv path requires parent directory to exist
   • Always run mkdir -p data/<name> before extraction

5. Confusing command --count with channels.yaml count

   • Command --count: How many videos to extract NOW
   • channels.yaml count: How many videos for FUTURE syncs
   • Initial extraction might be 200, but sync count might be 30

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Quality Checklist

Before considering extraction complete:

• Directory created in data/ with proper naming
• CSV exists with expected video count
• CSV has all required columns (url, title, duration_minutes, etc.)
• If recurring channel: entry exists in channels.yaml
• If recurring channel: channels.yaml count is set appropriately for future syncs

---

Next Steps

After extracting videos:

1. Download transcripts: Use the download-transcripts skill
2. Sync channels later: Use sync-all-channels for registered channels
3. Add summaries: Use summarize-transcripts after downloading