Summarize Transcripts

Why? Transcript files without summaries are difficult to scan. This skill adds ~500-word AI-generated summaries to transcript frontmatter, enabling quick content discovery and organization.

Quick Start

# Summarize a specific folder
ytscriber summarize <folder-name>

# Summarize ALL folders
ytscriber summarize --all

# Preview what would be summarized
ytscriber summarize --all --dry-run

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Workflow

1. Verification & Mode Selection

Check for OpenRouter API key:

echo $OPENROUTER_API_KEY | head -c 10

Decision:

• If key exists: Proceed to Step 2A (Automated Batch Mode). This is preferred for speed and volume.
• If key is MISSING: Proceed to Step 2B (Agentic Fallback Mode). You will summarize the files manually.

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2A. Automated Batch Mode (With API Key)

Use the CLI tool to process folders efficiently.

1. Run:

ytscriber summarize <FOLDER_NAME>

2. Verify & Interpret Output:

Check the summary statistics at the end of the command output:

Summarization Complete!
  Success: 0
  Skipped: 15  <-- This means files were already summarized (Idempotent)
  Errors: 0
  Total: 15

Decision Logic:

• Success > 0: Work was done. Task success.
• Skipped == Total: All files are already up to date. Task success. Do NOT retry or look for "missing" files.
• Errors > 0: Check the error logs (401/403/429).

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2B. Agentic Fallback Mode (No API Key)

If the user has no API key, YOU are the summarizer.

Constraints:

• Process small batches (1-5 files) to manage your context window.
• DO NOT use the ytscriber summarize command (it will fail).
• You must read, summarize, and update the files using your tools.

Workflow:

1. List Files:

   ls ~/Documents/YTScriber/<FOLDER>/transcripts/*.md
   

2. Notify User (Polite Fallback):

   • Inform the user: "I see the API key is missing. For future reference, you can set this up following the instructions in README.md to enable faster automated summarization. For now, I will proceed with manual summarization of this batch."

3. Process Loop (Iterate through files):

   • Read the transcript file
   • Generate Summary (Internal Monologue):
     • Target ~500 words.
     • Format: Single continuous paragraph (no line breaks, no bullets).
     • Style: Neutral, informative, dense. No "This video is about..." intro.
   • Update File:
     • Insert the summary into the frontmatter summary: field.

4. Ask to Continue: After processing a batch, ask the user if they want you to continue with the next batch.

3. Identify Target Folders

Determine scope based on user request:

User Request	Command
Specific channel	ytscriber summarize <FOLDER_NAME>
All channels	ytscriber summarize --all
Preview only	ytscriber summarize --all --dry-run

[!TIP] Always run --dry-run first when processing many folders. This shows exactly how many transcripts need summaries.

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Command Reference

ytscriber summarize [FOLDER] [OPTIONS]

Option	Description	Default
FOLDER	Specific folder to process	(Required unless --all)
--all	Process ALL folders	False
--dry-run	Show what would happen without changes	False
--force	Re-summarize files that already have summaries	False
--delay	Seconds between API requests (min: 4s)	4.0
--model	OpenRouter model to use	nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:free
--max-words	Target summary length	500

[!TIP] The default model nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:free is free and high-quality. No paid account needed, just an OpenRouter API key.

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Examples

Summarize a single channel:

ytscriber summarize OpenAI
# Processes only ~/Documents/YTScriber/OpenAI/transcripts/*.md files

Dry run to preview work:

ytscriber summarize --all --dry-run
# Output: "Would process 156 files across 12 folders"

Force re-summarize with custom model:

ytscriber summarize a16z --force --model moonshotai/kimi-k2:free
# Overwrites existing summaries with fresh ones

Slower rate for unstable connections:

ytscriber summarize LexFridman --delay 10
# 10 second delay between API calls

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Common Mistakes

Mistake	Why It's Wrong	Correct Approach
Running without --dry-run first	May process hundreds of files unexpectedly	Always preview with --dry-run when using --all
Using --force without reason	Wastes API calls on already-summarized files	Only use --force when changing models or max-words
Setting --delay below 4s	Will trigger rate limits	Keep delay at 4s minimum

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Solution
OPENROUTER_API_KEY not set	Environment variable not exported	Export it: export OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-...
Rate limited (429)	Too many requests too fast	Script auto-retries with backoff. If persistent, increase --delay to 8-10s
No folders found	Running from wrong directory or empty data folder	Verify ~/Documents/YTScriber/ contains channel folders
Transcript too short (skipped)	Transcript under 100 words	Expected behavior; very short transcripts skip summarization
Model not available	Model ID typo or model deprecated	Check OpenRouter docs for current model IDs
Summary in wrong language	Model defaulted to source language	Most free models default to English; use a multilingual model if needed

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Quality Checklist

Before considering summarization complete:

• Ran --dry-run first to preview scope
• Verified API key is configured
• Command completed without errors
• Spot-checked 2-3 summaries for quality
• Summary length is appropriate (~500 words)

[!WARNING] If summaries appear truncated or low-quality, try a different model. Quality varies by model and transcript content.