AskVideo - Chat with YouTube Videos

Get information, summaries, and answers from any YouTube video using AI.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

User shares a YouTube URL and asks questions about it
User wants to summarize a YouTube video
User asks "what's in this video?"
User wants to extract information from video content
User needs to understand a tutorial, lecture, or presentation
User asks about timestamps or specific topics in a video

Keywords: YouTube, video summary, video transcript, explain video, what's in this video, video content, video tutorial

Prerequisites

The askvideo CLI must be installed and authenticated:

# Check if installed
which askvideo

# If not installed
npm install -g askvideo

# Authenticate (first time only - requires user's email)
askvideo login

Commands

Ask a Single Question (Recommended for Agents)

Use --simple flag for clean, non-streaming output:

askvideo ask "<question>" --url "<youtube-url>" --simple

Examples:

# Get a summary
askvideo ask "Summarize this video in 3 bullet points" --url "https://youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID" --simple

# Ask specific questions
askvideo ask "What are the main topics covered?" --url "https://youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID" --simple

# Extract information
askvideo ask "List all the tools mentioned in this video" --url "https://youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID" --simple

# Get timestamps
askvideo ask "At what timestamp do they discuss pricing?" --url "https://youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID" --simple

Ask About an Already-Indexed Video

If the video was previously processed, use the video ID for faster responses:

askvideo ask "<question>" --id <video-id> --simple

List User's Indexed Videos

askvideo videos

Check Credits

askvideo credits

Workflow for Agents

When user shares a YouTube URL with a question:

askvideo ask "<user's question>" --url "<url>" --simple

For multiple questions about the same video:
- First query will index the video (takes 30-60 seconds)
- Subsequent queries are instant
- Use --id flag if you have the video ID
If credits are exhausted:
- Run askvideo credits to check remaining credits
- Inform user they need to upgrade at https://askvideo.ai/pricing

Response Format

The CLI returns plain text answers. Present them to the user in a clear format:

Based on the video:

[AI response from askvideo]

Error Handling

Error	Solution
"Authentication required"	Run `askvideo login`
"No video credits remaining"	User needs to upgrade plan
"No message credits remaining"	User needs to upgrade plan
"Failed to fetch transcript"	Video may not have captions

Supported Video Types

Standard YouTube videos with captions/transcripts
YouTube Shorts
Unlisted videos (if URL is provided)

Limitations

Requires video to have a transcript (auto-generated or manual captions)
Free plan: 1 video + 10 messages per month
Video processing takes 30-60 seconds on first query

Examples for Common Tasks

Summarize a Video

askvideo ask "Give me a comprehensive summary of this video with key takeaways" --url "URL" --simple

Explain a Tutorial

askvideo ask "Explain the step-by-step process shown in this tutorial" --url "URL" --simple

Extract Code/Commands

askvideo ask "List all the code snippets or commands mentioned in this video" --url "URL" --simple

Find Specific Information

askvideo ask "What does the speaker say about [topic]?" --url "URL" --simple

Get Video Outline

askvideo ask "Create an outline of all topics covered with timestamps if mentioned" --url "URL" --simple

askvideo

Safety Notice

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