# Chat with YouTube

Fetches a video's metadata and transcript, then answers questions with clickable timestamp citations.

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Markdown variants are available by appending `.md` to any URL or sending an `Accept: text/markdown` header. An agent skill is available at [/.well-known/agent-skills/site-skill.md](/.well-known/agent-skills/site-skill.md).



<DocsBaseSwitcher base="mastra" agent="chat-with-youtube" />

<AgentPreview
  agent="chat-with-youtube"
  framework="mastra"
  inputFields="[
  {
    name: &#x22;url&#x22;,
    label: &#x22;YouTube URL&#x22;,
    placeholder: &#x22;https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ&#x22;,
    type: &#x22;text&#x22;,
  },
  {
    name: &#x22;question&#x22;,
    label: &#x22;Question&#x22;,
    placeholder: &#x22;Summarize the video with chapter timestamps.&#x22;,
    type: &#x22;text&#x22;,
  },
]"
/>

## Summary [#summary]

The **Chat with YouTube Agent** answers questions about a video using its
transcript. It pulls the video's metadata and full transcript, then summarizes,
answers follow-ups, and generates chapter timestamps — each citation a clickable
link straight to that moment. Reach for it to skim long talks, lectures, or
podcasts without watching end to end.

## Installation [#installation]

<CodeTabs>
  <TabsList>
    <TabsTrigger value="cli">
      Command
    </TabsTrigger>

    <TabsTrigger value="manual">
      Manual
    </TabsTrigger>
  </TabsList>

  <TabsContent value="cli">
    ```bash
    npx shadcn@latest add @agentcn/mastra/chat-with-youtube
    ```
  </TabsContent>

  <TabsContent value="manual">
    <Steps>
      <Step>
        Install the following dependencies:
      </Step>

      ```bash
      npm install @mastra/core @mastra/libsql @mastra/memory youtube-transcript-scraper
      ```

      <Step>
        Copy and paste the following code into your project.
      </Step>

      <ComponentSource src="registry/mastra/chat-with-youtube/config.ts" title="config.ts" />

      <ComponentSource src="registry/mastra/chat-with-youtube/instructions.md" title="instructions.md" />

      <ComponentSource src="registry/mastra/chat-with-youtube/memory.ts" title="memory.ts" />

      <ComponentSource src="registry/mastra/chat-with-youtube/lib/youtube-utils.ts" title="lib/youtube-utils.ts" />

      <ComponentSource src="registry/mastra/chat-with-youtube/tools/youtube-metadata.ts" title="tools/youtube-metadata.ts" />

      <ComponentSource src="registry/mastra/chat-with-youtube/tools/youtube-transcript.ts" title="tools/youtube-transcript.ts" />

      <Step>
        Update the import paths to match your project setup.
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </TabsContent>
</CodeTabs>

## Composition [#composition]

```text
├── config.ts                    # Agent definition (model + config)
├── instructions.md              # Comprehensive YouTube assistant instructions
├── memory.ts                    # Memory instance
├── lib/
│   └── youtube-utils.ts         # Video ID extraction + timestamp formatting
└── tools/
    ├── youtube-metadata.ts      # Fetch video title, author, description, duration
    └── youtube-transcript.ts    # Fetch timestamped transcript segments
```

## How It Works [#how-it-works]

1. **Get Metadata** - `fetch-youtube-metadata` retrieves video title, author, description, and duration
2. **Get Transcript** - `fetch-youtube-transcript` fetches the full transcript with timestamps
3. **Answer Questions** - The agent answers based on transcript content with clickable timestamp citations
4. **Generate Chapters** - Creates chapter timestamps in YouTube description format

## Customization [#customization]

* **Swap the model.** Edit the `model` field in `config.ts`.
* **Add chapters export.** Add a tool that writes the chapter list back as a YouTube description or VTT file.
* **Handle missing transcripts.** Fall back to an STT service when a video has no captions.
* **Swap metadata source.** Use the YouTube Data API for richer metadata.