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