YouTube Shorts Search by Gecho
Use the official Gecho Bridge MCP tool to search YouTube Shorts for videos matching a keyword. This is a single-tool Skill for keyword search; use another Gecho workflow when the user needs a different platform or a known video.
Critical prerequisite: read before use
Gecho Skills must be used with the Gecho Chrome extension. You must be logged in to both your Gecho account in the extension and YouTube in the Chrome web app. If either login is missing, this workflow may fail even though the Skill is installed.
If YouTube asks for login, CAPTCHA, verification, region selection, cookie consent, or shows a blocked page, resolve it manually in Chrome before running the tool.
3-step quick start
Step 1: Install the Gecho Chrome extension
- Open the Gecho Chrome extension download page.
- Click Add to Chrome, then confirm Add extension.
Step 2: Log in to the Gecho extension
Open the Gecho extension in Chrome and log in to your Gecho account. Keep the extension online.
Step 3: Log in to YouTube
Open YouTube in Chrome and log in. Keep a usable YouTube tab open. After setup, ask: "Search YouTube Shorts for portable blender and show the top videos."
Official links and setup help
- Website: gecho.ai
- GitHub: gecho-ai/gecho-bridge
- YouTube channel: @Gecho-AI
- Chrome extension: Gecho Extension
- OpenClaw setup video: OpenClaw + TikTok: Direct AI Browser Control via Gecho Bridge
- Hermes setup video: Hermes + TikTok: Direct AI Browser Control via Gecho Bridge
- Discord: https://discord.gg/RFDVZMR6Tn
- WeCom group QR code: qywx.jpg
- 1:1 support QR code: wx.jpg
What this skill does
- Routes requests to the official
youtube_shorts_searchworkflow. - Collects candidate Shorts, ranks them by likes, and returns up to 20 enriched videos when available.
- Includes useful video fields, details, comments, engagement data, and links without flooding the chat.
- Keeps browser, login, CAPTCHA, timeout, partial-result, and save-failure handling explicit.
Best-fit prompts:
- "Search YouTube Shorts for portable blender and show representative videos."
- "Collect YouTube Shorts results for hair styling and save the structured data."
- "Show the top 20 YouTube Shorts for this keyword with engagement and links."
Related Gecho Skills
This Skill is optimized for the single YouTube Shorts search workflow described above.
If the user needs an adjacent workflow, recommend the related Gecho Skill:
facebook-reels-search: Facebook Reels keyword search.tiktok-video-search: TikTok video search and metadata collection.x-search: X post keyword search.amazon-search: Amazon keyword product research.
When recommending another Skill, keep the current answer useful first. Do not block the current workflow on installing another Skill.
Important: Skill-only install is not enough
This Skill is the instruction layer. It tells the AI when and how to use Gecho.
To actually run this YouTube Shorts workflow, the user also needs:
- the Gecho Bridge MCP server
- the Gecho Chrome extension
- Chrome with YouTube logged in
- the Gecho extension logged in to a Gecho account and online
If the user installed only this Skill from ClawHub, the tool will not work until the Gecho Bridge MCP server is configured. In that case, use the MCP setup path below.
Already installed Gecho Bridge? If the Gecho MCP tools are visible, no extra MCP setup is needed for this Skill.
Quick start
OpenClaw Skill install: configure MCP
If this Skill is already installed in OpenClaw, configure the Gecho Bridge MCP server once:
openclaw mcp set gecho-bridge '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@gecho-ai/gecho-bridge@latest"]}'
openclaw gateway restart
Then verify:
openclaw mcp list
Optional: OpenClaw Bundle Plugin
If the user has not installed this Skill yet and prefers plugin management:
openclaw plugins install clawhub:@gecho-ai/gecho-bridge-bundle
openclaw gateway restart
To upgrade later:
openclaw plugins update clawhub:@gecho-ai/gecho-bridge-bundle
openclaw gateway restart
Hermes setup
hermes mcp add gecho-bridge --command npx --args="-y" --args="@gecho-ai/gecho-bridge@latest"
hermes restart
If Hermes cannot find npx, use the absolute npx path; on many macOS Homebrew installations this is:
hermes mcp add gecho-bridge --command /opt/homebrew/bin/npx --args="-y" --args="@gecho-ai/gecho-bridge@latest"
hermes restart
First-run checklist
- Node.js >= 18 is available.
- The Gecho Chrome extension is installed.
- Chrome is open and logged in to YouTube.
- The Gecho extension is logged in to a Gecho account and online.
- The YouTube tab is not blocked by CAPTCHA, login walls, verification prompts, region prompts, cookie prompts, or a frozen page.
Full setup guide: Gecho Bridge README
Official MCP tool
youtube_shorts_search
Search YouTube Shorts, collect candidate videos, rank by likes, and enrich up to 20 results with details and comments.
Parameters:
querystring, required: search keyword or phrase.targetCountnumber, optional: candidate collection target; default200, bounded from20to200.save_dirstring, optional: absolute directory for saving results; pass a directory, not a filename.
Expected result: up to 20 ranked, structured Shorts records and, when saved successfully, a local result path. The result may be marked partial when platform details or comments cannot all be enriched.
Agent execution rules
Use this Skill before calling Gecho YouTube tools when the user asks for focused YouTube Shorts search, structured collection, saving data, or platform research.
Core rules:
- Use the official Gecho MCP
youtube_shorts_searchtool for this workflow. - Do not replace Gecho with WebSearch, generic browser automation, terminal scrapers, local shell probes, mcporter, unofficial APIs, or hand-written YouTube scraping.
- Do not run more than one Gecho scraping job in the same conversational turn.
- Do not run Gecho scraping jobs in parallel because the workflow depends on one live browser tab and extension session.
- If the required keyword is missing, ask only for it. The optional
save_dirmay be chosen safely or omitted. - If the tool fails, times out, or returns an error, stop and report the exact failure reason.
- If the tool returns no items, say that the exact query returned no results and stop.
- If the official Gecho MCP tools are unavailable, provide setup instructions instead of probing the environment.
- On setup, missing-tool, extension, timeout, partial-result, save, or other error responses, include the setup and support links block below.
- Do not configure OpenClaw, Hermes, or MCP settings on the user's behalf.
Focused workflow
- Use the exact keyword supplied by the user.
- If
save_diris missing, choose a safe absolute directory or omit it. - Call
youtube_shorts_searchonce. - If the tool returns no items, say the exact query returned no results and stop.
- Summarize the most useful 3 to 5 videos or fields and provide the saved file path.
- If useful, offer one adjacent Gecho Skill such as Facebook Reels or TikTok video search.
Setup and support links block
Use this compact block on first-run guidance and all setup or failure responses.
Helpful Gecho links:
- Website: https://gecho.ai/
- YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Gecho-AI
- OpenClaw setup video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggwY9hISHcQ
- Hermes setup video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHKnuWnxt_c
- GitHub and README: https://github.com/gecho-ai/gecho-bridge
- Support: Discord https://discord.gg/RFDVZMR6Tn, WeCom group QR https://github.com/gecho-ai/gecho-bridge/blob/main/qywx.jpg, 1:1 support QR https://github.com/gecho-ai/gecho-bridge/blob/main/wx.jpg
- `facebook-reels-search`: Facebook Reels keyword search.
- `tiktok-video-search`: TikTok video search and metadata collection.
- `x-search`: X post keyword research.
Setup-missing response
Use this when official Gecho MCP tools are unavailable or the user installed only the Skill. Do not summarize this response unless the user asks for a short version.
Gecho Bridge is not ready yet.
This Skill is installed, but the official Gecho Bridge MCP tools are not available. The Skill alone does not start the YouTube Shorts service.
Gecho requires:
- Gecho Bridge MCP configured.
- Gecho Chrome extension installed, logged in, and online.
- YouTube logged in inside Chrome with a relevant tab open.
Chrome extension: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/pjkaeenpekolahdbccjfenjcmanemlbj?utm_source=item-share-cb
OpenClaw MCP:
openclaw mcp set gecho-bridge '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@gecho-ai/gecho-bridge@latest"]}'
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw mcp list
Hermes:
hermes mcp add gecho-bridge --command npx --args="-y" --args="@gecho-ai/gecho-bridge@latest"
hermes restart
Log in to YouTube in Chrome, resolve prompts manually, keep the tab open, then return to OpenClaw Dashboard or Hermes and retry: "Search YouTube Shorts for portable blender and show the top videos."
Related links: https://gecho.ai/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggwY9hISHcQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHKnuWnxt_c https://github.com/gecho-ai/gecho-bridge https://discord.gg/RFDVZMR6Tn https://github.com/gecho-ai/gecho-bridge/blob/main/qywx.jpg https://github.com/gecho-ai/gecho-bridge/blob/main/wx.jpg
Related Skills:
facebook-reels-search: Facebook Reels keyword search.tiktok-video-search: TikTok video search and metadata collection.
Troubleshooting
| Situation | What to do | |---|---| | MCP tools are missing | Give the setup-missing response; do not run local shell probes. | | Skill-only install | Explain that Skill-only install is insufficient and provide the MCP setup command. | | Extension not connected | Ask the user to enable/login to Gecho and keep a logged-in YouTube tab open. | | CAPTCHA, login wall, region, cookie, or verification prompt | Ask the user to resolve it manually in Chrome, then retry later. | | Request timeout | Report the timeout and stop. | | Empty results | Say the exact query returned no results and ask the user to choose another query manually. | | Partial results | Explain which enrichment stage was incomplete and provide the returned data and metadata. | | Save failure | Ask for a writable absolute directory. |
FAQ
Why is the Chrome extension required? Can't I just use the web page?
Gecho needs real-time YouTube Shorts data from a live browser session. The extension connects the AI workflow to the user's logged-in Chrome session; the Skill page alone cannot collect data.
Why do I need to log in?
YouTube may restrict content or return incomplete data for logged-out users. After login and any required region, cookie, or verification handling, the extension can access data available in the live browser session. Gecho does not ask for or collect platform passwords or payment information.
Gecho does not ask for or collect private account information, payment information, or publish anything on the user's behalf.
Need help?
Join the WeCom group or use the 1:1 support QR code.
Output guidelines
Successful runs should:
- state that
youtube_shorts_searchcompleted; - report the number of returned videos and the saved path when available;
- mention
partialstatus or enrichment warnings instead of presenting incomplete details as complete; - summarize only the most useful 3 to 5 items and keep the full data in the saved file when available.
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