---
name: youtube-search
description: "Use when the user wants to find YouTube content on any topic: searching for videos or channels, finding creators who cover a subject, discovering tutorials, talks, or expert discussions, or looking up a channel by name or handle. Also use proactively when the user wants to research a topic and YouTube is a good source. Not for account management or written-source-only research."
version: "1.5.0"
user-invocable: true
compatibility: Requires internet access to reach transcriptapi.com. No additional runtimes or dependencies needed.
required_environment_variables:
- name: TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
prompt: Your TranscriptAPI key (starts with sk_)
help: Free account at https://transcriptapi.com — 100 credits, no card required. Or let the agent create one for you.
required_for: all API requests
metadata: {"openclaw":{"emoji":"▶️","requires":{"env":["TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY"]},"primaryEnv":"TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY","homepage":"https://transcriptapi.com"},"hermes":{"tags":["youtube","search","video","channels","discovery","research"],"category":"media"}}
---
# YouTube Search
Search YouTube and fetch transcripts via [TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com).
## Setup
If `$TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY` is not set, read [references/auth-setup.md](references/auth-setup.md) and follow the instructions there to get and store the key.
## Required Headers
Every request needs two headers:
- **Authorization:** `Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY`
- **User-Agent:** your agent's name and version if known (e.g. `HermesAgent/0.11.0`, `ClaudeCode/1.0`). Version is optional — agent name alone is fine. Do not omit this header or send a bare default — Cloudflare will return a 403 (error code 1010) and block the request.
## API Reference
Full OpenAPI spec: [transcriptapi.com/openapi.json](https://transcriptapi.com/openapi.json) — consult this for the latest parameters and schemas.
## GET /api/v2/youtube/search — 1 credit
Search YouTube globally for videos or channels.
```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search?q=QUERY&type=video&limit=20" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```
| Param | Required | Default | Validation |
| ------- | -------- | ------- | --------------------- |
| `q` | yes | — | 1-200 chars (trimmed) |
| `type` | no | `video` | `video` or `channel` |
| `limit` | no | `20` | 1-50 |
**Video search response:**
```json
{
"results": [
{
"type": "video",
"videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up",
"channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
"channelTitle": "Rick Astley",
"channelHandle": "@RickAstley",
"channelVerified": true,
"lengthText": "3:33",
"viewCountText": "1.5B views",
"publishedTimeText": "14 years ago",
"hasCaptions": true,
"thumbnails": [{ "url": "...", "width": 120, "height": 90 }]
}
],
"result_count": 20
}
```
**Channel search response** (`type=channel`):
```json
{
"results": [{
"type": "channel",
"channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
"title": "Rick Astley",
"handle": "@RickAstley",
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/@RickAstley",
"description": "Official channel...",
"subscriberCount": "4.2M subscribers",
"verified": true,
"rssUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UC...",
"thumbnails": [...]
}],
"result_count": 5
}
```
## GET /api/v2/youtube/channel/search — 1 credit
Search videos within a specific channel. Accepts `channel` — an `@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID.
```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/search\
?channel=@TED&q=climate+change&limit=30" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```
| Param | Required | Validation |
| --------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| `channel` | yes | `@handle`, channel URL, or `UC...` ID |
| `q` | yes | 1-200 chars |
| `limit` | no | 1-50 (default 30) |
Returns up to ~30 results (YouTube limit). Same video response shape as global search.
## GET /api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve — FREE
Convert @handle to channel ID:
```bash
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve?input=@TED" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```
## Workflow: Search → Transcript
```bash
# 1. Search for videos
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search\
?q=python+web+scraping&type=video&limit=5" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
# 2. Get transcript from result
curl -s "https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript\
?video_url=VIDEO_ID&format=text&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY" \
-H "User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0"
```
## Errors
| Code | Meaning | Action |
| -------- | ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| 401 | Bad API key | Check key |
| 402 | No credits | transcriptapi.com/billing |
| 403/1010 | Cloudflare block | Add or fix User-Agent header |
| 404 | Not found | Resource doesn't exist |
| 408 | Timeout | Retry once |
| 422 | Invalid param | Check param format |
Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min.