YouTube Search
Search YouTube videos and list results.
Quick Start
/mk-youtube-search <query> [count] [mode]
Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| query | Yes | - | Search keywords |
| count | No | 10 | Number of results |
| mode | No | fast | fast or full (see below) |
Mode Selection
| Mode | Speed | Metadata | Use When |
|---|---|---|---|
fast | ~1-2s | Basic (no upload_date) | General searches, topic exploration |
full | ~5-8s | Complete (includes upload_date, description) | Time-sensitive searches, recent content |
When to use full mode:
- User asks for "recent" or "latest" videos on a topic
- Search query includes time indicators (e.g., "2024", "this week", "new")
- User wants to sort or filter by upload date
- Content is time-sensitive (news, events, updates)
When to use fast mode (default):
- General topic searches
- Tutorial or educational content
- Evergreen content that doesn't require recency
Examples
/mk-youtube-search AI tutorial→ fast mode (general topic)/mk-youtube-search "machine learning" 10→ fast mode/mk-youtube-search "Claude AI news" 5 full→ full mode (time-sensitive)/mk-youtube-search "latest iPhone review" 10 full→ full mode (recent content)
How it Works
- Execute:
{baseDir}/scripts/search.sh "<query>" <count> <mode> - Parse JSON output
- Write video metadata to centralized store (
/tmp/monkey_knowledge/youtube/meta/) - Display results in table format
Output Format
| # | Title | Channel | Duration | Views | Upload Date | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ... | ... | 10:23 | 1.2M | 2024-01-15 | https://... |
Note: Upload Date is only available in full mode.
JSON Output
{
"status": "success",
"videos": [
{
"video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"title": "Video Title",
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...",
"channel": "Channel Name",
"channel_url": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC...",
"duration_string": "10:23",
"view_count": 1234567,
"upload_date": "20240115",
"live_status": "not_live",
"description": "First 200 chars..."
}
]
}
Note: In fast mode, upload_date, live_status, and description will be null.
Notes
- Default result limit: 10 videos
- Default mode:
fast(usefullfor time-sensitive searches) - Uses system yt-dlp/jq if available, otherwise auto-downloads on first run
- Search results are saved to centralized metadata store for use by other skills (only in
fullmode)