youtube-agent-skill: Eleven Claude skills for YouTube channel scripting, editing, and analytics

Overview and Purpose

`youtube-agent-skill` is an open-source collection of eleven Claude skills designed to streamline YouTube content creation and strategy workflows. Released under the MIT license, it assists creators by providing scripts based on 21 hook formulas, evaluating title and thumbnail pairings simultaneously, generating edit decision lists from transcripts, parsing audience retention exports, identifying short-form content opportunities within long-form videos, and analyzing niche performance dynamics.

Requirements and Installation Setup

The repository requires a standard Python 3 environment (with zero third-party dependencies) to execute the included CLI tools. Users operating with Claude Code can install the suite globally or locally.

To clone and install globally for Claude Code:

git clone https://github.com/Jakeschincariol/youtube-agent-skill.git
cp -r youtube-agent-skill/skills/yt-* ~/.claude/skills/

Alternatively, it can be installed via the plugin framework:

/plugin marketplace add Jakeschincariol/youtube-agent-skill
/plugin install youtube-agent

For users without Claude Code, individual `SKILL.md` files can be pasted at the top of a chat window to function as operational modes, though standalone Python execution is omitted in that context. To customize output tone, creators copy `templates/voice.md` to `~/.claude/youtube/voice.md` or prompt Claude to generate it from existing video scripts.

Workflow Execution and Standalone Tools

The repository features eleven distinct slash commands including `/yt-script`, `/yt-package`, `/yt-edit`, `/yt-comment`, `/yt-plan`, `/yt-viral`, `/yt-retention`, `/yt-shorts`, `/yt-seo`, `/yt-chapters`, and `/yt-audit`. Alongside prompt skills, six standalone Python 3 scripts perform core mathematical and heuristic evaluations without external library requirements:

python3 skills/yt-script/hookscore.py --hook "one line"
python3 skills/yt-package/title.py --title "..." --thumb "..."
python3 skills/yt-edit/deadair.py transcript.srt
python3 skills/yt-chapters/chapters.py transcript.srt
python3 skills/yt-retention/retention.py retention.csv
python3 skills/yt-viral/swipe.py collected.json --min 2.0

Advantages, Limitations, and Comparison

Unlike closed SaaS tools requiring subscription fees or API keys, `youtube-agent-skill` operates locally and transparently under the MIT license. Key technical boundaries include:

- **No Automatic Publishing:** The toolkit does not publish videos or metadata automatically. Every skill outputs reviewable copy blocks for manual publication.

- **Heuristic Scoring:** `hookscore.py` uses heuristic evaluations calibrated on 74 short-form hooks; high scores indicate structural hook properties rather than guaranteed view performance.

- **Public Data Usage:** `/yt-viral` reads public listings without scraping or authenticating with personal account credentials.

Verified pricing: The software is free under the open-source MIT license.