---
name: youtube-video-audit
description: Audit one YouTube video in depth using public metadata, transcript/content evidence, release timing, comments, and optional owner analytics
type: research
version: v0.0
argument-hint: "<video URL or ID> [--owner-analytics <path>] [--comments N] [--compare-channel <slug>]"
---

## Pack Availability Guard

Before telling the user to run a skill from another project-local pack, check `.agents/project.json.enabled_packs`. If the target pack is not enabled, recommend `/pack install <pack>` instead of the target skill. Global skills are always valid. Skills from this same pack are valid because the current skill is already running from that pack.

# YouTube Video Audit

Invoke as `/youtube-video-audit`.

## Report-First Approval Gate

Default to report-only: present findings, evidence coverage, assumptions, recommended artifact path, and proposed file changes in a pre-approval alignment page plus a concise conversation summary for user approval before creating or updating canonical research, spec, or task files.

Do not write or overwrite synthesized deliverables until the user explicitly approves, unless the user invoked an explicit write/update/fix mode or clearly asked to write files upfront. Raw evidence capture may be persisted before analysis when reproducibility requires it; report those raw paths separately and still gate synthesized research/report writes.

When stopping for approval, build and attempt to open the alignment preview page first, then ask the user to review it and approve, question, or request adjustments. Do not include `Recommended next skill`, `Recommended next command`, or downstream routing language. The approval request itself is the next action. Only emit next-skill routing after the approved artifact has been written or updated.

Audit one YouTube video with raw evidence first, then synthesize why it performed the way it did and what should be changed or repeated. This is the single-video lane; use `/youtube-channel-audit` for channel-level patterns across multiple videos.

## Inputs

- Required: one YouTube video URL or video ID.
- Optional `--owner-analytics <path>`: user-provided CSV/JSON export or OAuth/API output from YouTube Studio or YouTube Analytics API.
- Optional `--comments N`: fetch up to N public top-level comments when public comment tooling/API access is available. Default 50, max 200.
- Optional `--compare-channel <slug>`: compare the video against existing raw channel evidence under `research/youtube/data/<slug>/`.

## Workflow

### 1. Resolve Target and Tools

1. Extract the video ID from a normal watch URL, Shorts URL, youtu.be URL, embed URL, or raw 11-character ID.
2. Require `yt-dlp` for public metadata:

   ```bash
   command -v yt-dlp
   ```

3. Select a transcript Python interpreter. Prefer a workspace-local `.venv`; create it if missing. Install `youtube-transcript-api` into `.venv` only when the import check fails and network access is available.
4. Do not require API keys. If `YOUTUBE_API_KEY` is already present, optionally use the YouTube Data API to enrich public metadata and public comments. If it is absent, continue with `yt-dlp` and transcript evidence.
5. Do not scrape logged-in YouTube Studio pages, bypass bot protections, or ask for private account credentials.

### 2. Persist Raw Evidence

Create:

```text
research/youtube/data/<video-id>/
```

Persist public evidence before analysis:

- `metadata-YYYY-MM-DD.json`: raw `yt-dlp --dump-json "VIDEO_URL"` output.
- `transcript/<video-id>.json`: raw transcript JSON when available.
- `transcript/transcript-summary.json`: transcript text or failure reason.
- `api/videos-list-YYYY-MM-DD.json`: optional YouTube Data API `videos.list` response when `YOUTUBE_API_KEY` is already available.
- `api/comment-threads-YYYY-MM-DD.json`: optional public `commentThreads.list` response when available.
- `owner-analytics/<source-file>`: copy or cite user-provided owner analytics exports when supplied.

Record evidence gaps explicitly. Missing transcript, comments, likes, retention, CTR, impressions, traffic sources, or daily history are not failures.

### 3. Public Metadata Fields

Extract when present:

| Field | Source and use |
| --- | --- |
| `id`, `webpage_url`, `title`, `description` | Identity, promise, and audit links |
| `channel`, `channel_id`, `uploader`, `uploader_id` | Channel identity |
| `upload_date`, `timestamp`, `release_timestamp`, `live_status` | Release timing and live/premiere context |
| `duration`, `availability`, `age_limit`, `is_live`, `was_live` | Format and access context |
| `view_count`, `like_count`, `comment_count` | Public performance snapshot |
| `tags`, `categories`, `chapters` | Topic, SEO, and structure signals |
| `thumbnail`, `thumbnails` | Packaging review evidence |
| `subtitles`, `automatic_captions` | Transcript availability signal |

If YouTube Data API enrichment is available, include `snippet`, `contentDetails`, `statistics`, `status`, `topicDetails`, and `liveStreamingDetails` from `videos.list`. Respect quota costs and do not run repeated unnecessary API calls.

### 4. Owner Analytics Lane

When `--owner-analytics <path>` is supplied, inspect the local file format and parse only available fields. Support CSV or JSON with any of these fields:

- views, watch time, average view duration, average view percentage.
- impressions, click-through rate, traffic source, playback location, device type, geography.
- audience retention, relative retention, intro retention, end-screen metrics.
- likes, dislikes if owner-exported, comments, shares, subscribers gained, subscribers lost.
- daily or hourly time series after publish.

Treat owner analytics as private or owner-provided evidence. Cite local paths, avoid copying sensitive rows unrelated to this video into the report, and do not claim owner-only metrics unless they are present in the supplied evidence.

### 5. Analyze the Video

Analyze performance and content together:

- Release timing: date, weekday, time, recency, premiere/live/Shorts context, and any owner-provided first-24h or first-7d curve.
- Public performance: views, likes, comments, like rate, comment rate, views/day, views/minute, and comparison to channel median when `--compare-channel` evidence exists.
- Packaging: title promise, specificity, search/topic clarity, thumbnail focal clarity, description support, chapters, tags, and promise-match with the opening.
- Hook and structure: first 30-60 seconds, problem statement, payoff setup, pacing, chapter structure, recurring dead zones, outro and CTA.
- Content quality: clarity, credibility, examples, evidence, novelty, production value, and whether the video serves acquisition, trust-building, proof, education, launch support, community, or cleanup/repositioning.
- Audience response: summarize public comments into themes only when comments were captured; separate praise, objections, confusion, requests, and spam/noise.
- Owner analytics diagnosis: when present, connect retention, traffic, CTR, watch time, and time-series signals to concrete packaging or content hypotheses.

Do not fabricate transcript quotes, comments, thumbnails, retention curves, or metric values. Every major conclusion must cite the raw path, video metadata field, transcript excerpt, comment evidence, or owner analytics field that supports it.

### 6. Write Report

Save to:

```text
research/youtube/video-audit-<video-id>-YYYY-MM-DD.md
```

Use this structure:

```markdown
# YouTube Video Audit - [Title]

> Video: [URL]
> Video ID: [id]
> Channel: [channel]
> Published: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM TZ if known
> Date captured: YYYY-MM-DD
> Public metadata: research/youtube/data/<video-id>/metadata-YYYY-MM-DD.json
> Transcript: [path or unavailable reason]
> Owner analytics: [path or not provided]

## Evidence Coverage

| Evidence | Status | Path or gap |
|---|---|---|
| Public metadata | Available | ... |
| Transcript | Available / Missing | ... |
| Public comments | Available / Missing / Not requested | ... |
| Owner analytics | Provided / Not provided | ... |
| Channel comparison | Available / Not provided | ... |

## Performance Snapshot

- **Views**: N
- **Likes**: N / unavailable
- **Comments**: N / unavailable
- **Views/day**: N
- **Views/minute**: N
- **Like rate**: N% / unavailable
- **Comment rate**: N% / unavailable
- **Channel comparison**: [above/below median, if evidence exists]

## Release Timing

[Publish date/time, weekday, recency, Shorts/live/premiere context, early curve if owner analytics exists.]

## Packaging Diagnosis

- **Title promise**: ...
- **Thumbnail signal**: ...
- **Description/tags/chapters**: ...
- **Expectation match**: ...

## Content and Retention Diagnosis

- **Hook**: ...
- **Structure**: ...
- **Pacing**: ...
- **Credibility and evidence**: ...
- **CTA/outro**: ...

## Audience Response

[Comment themes or explicit evidence gap.]

## Owner Analytics Findings

[Only include when owner analytics were supplied; otherwise state the gap.]

## What Worked

1. [Finding] - [evidence]
2. [Finding] - [evidence]
3. [Finding] - [evidence]

## What Hurt Performance

1. [Finding] - [evidence]
2. [Finding] - [evidence]
3. [Finding] - [evidence]

## Recommended Fixes

| Priority | Change | Why | Evidence | Human check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High / Medium / Low | ... | ... | ... | ... |

## Reusable Lessons

[What to repeat or avoid in future videos, scoped to this video's evidence.]
```

### 7. Summarize In Thread

After saving the report, output the performance headline, top 3 strengths, top 3 weaknesses, highest-priority fix, evidence gaps, report path, and raw data paths.

## Constraints

- Public-first by default; owner analytics are optional and must come from user-provided files or already-authorized API output.
- Do not bypass login walls, bot protections, access controls, or YouTube Studio UI restrictions.
- Do not invent metrics, comments, transcript quotes, thumbnails, or retention data.
- Separate public evidence from private or owner-provided analytics in both raw paths and report language.
- Do not treat one video as a channel trend. Route channel-level pattern questions to `/youtube-channel-audit` or `/creator-metrics-review`.
- Do not perform external account actions or make automated channel changes.

## Approved Artifact Handoff

After an approved synthesized write, explicit write/update mode, or any direct artifact mutation:

- List every created or updated synthesized artifact path in the final response.
- State the verification performed, such as readback, schema/check command, or why no executable verification applies for a Markdown-only strategy artifact.
- Check and report the relevant git status for intended artifacts when the project is a git repository. If intended artifacts are modified or untracked, make the next action shipping, committing, or an explicit dirty-artifact handoff before recommending downstream strategy work.
- Do not imply the research workflow is complete while approved artifacts remain untracked or uncommitted unless the user explicitly asked not to ship.
- If stopping for approval before writing, the approval request remains the next action; do not include downstream routing.

## Intent-Aware Routing

Before applying the default `## Next-Skill Routing` sequence, classify the user's immediate intent and route to the missing action that best serves that intent:

- Strategy refresh: recommend the missing or stale positioning, programming, portfolio, metrics, or product-media artifact.
- Recording prep: recommend the missing series spec, script, build proof, walkthrough guide, or validation artifact needed before recording.
- Upload prep: recommend packaging, title/thumbnail, description, chapters, or final metadata work before broader strategy work.
- Performance review: recommend metrics, cadence, portfolio, peer benchmark, or owner-analytics export work before new content planning.
- Owner analytics or private/manual platform evidence: route to an explicit manual/guide handoff instead of inventing unavailable metrics.
- Dirty intended artifacts: route to shipping/commit/handoff first, not another creator strategy skill.

Use the default next-skill sequence only when no stronger user intent, missing artifact, manual blocker, or dirty-artifact handoff applies.

## Next-Skill Routing

After writing the artifact, recommend the next contextual creator-media skill in the final response as `Recommended next skill: <command>`.

Default recommendation: `/youtube-vid-research` when the user needs neutral context from an external reference video; `/youtube-format-research` from the `remotion` pack when the next step is to reuse the video's format, design, pacing, edit, or production grammar; `/youtube-competitive-research` when the user asks why the video worked or what to learn from a specific competitor; `/youtube-concept-research` when the audit should inform a new video concept; `/youtube-description-optimizer` when description support, CTA/link structure, chapters, hashtags, disclosures, or metadata/search alignment are the main next step; `/youtube-title-thumbnail-audit` when title/thumbnail packaging changes are the main next step; otherwise `/creator-metrics-review` when owner analytics or channel comparison evidence suggests broader performance review.

If the user asks whether the issue is unique to this one video, recommend `/youtube-channel-audit`. If the user asks what to make next, recommend `/content-programming` after the audit report exists.

## Alignment Page

When this skill produces durable deliverables (research, specs, plans, reports, prototypes, or any document output), build a full-depth HTML alignment page at `alignment/youtube-video-audit-{topic}.html`. Use a normalized topic slug derived from the app, feature, research subject, report subject, or output filename.

**Full content requirement.** The alignment page must contain the complete content of every proposed markdown deliverable -- every section, every finding, every detail, every list item. It is a thorough interactive review document, not a summary. Render the full deliverable content in clean, readable HTML with appropriate hierarchy, styling, and navigation. If the skill writes multiple scoped deliverables in one run, build one alignment page that contains all deliverables with anchor-linked navigation. Durable tracker artifacts, such as `research/assumption-tracker.md`, remain canonical markdown outputs but must also be fully rendered into the alignment page before approval.

**Dark-mode styling.** Use a dark color scheme by default. Base CSS variables: `--bg: #0d1117; --surface: #161b22; --border: #30363d; --text: #c9d1d9; --text-muted: #8b949e; --accent: #58a6ff; --green: #3fb950; --red: #f85149; --orange: #d29922; --purple: #bc8cff;`. Apply `background: var(--bg); color: var(--text);` on body. Use `--surface` for cards, nav, and table headers. Use `--border` for all borders. Use `--purple` for question blocks and gate headings. Use `--accent` for links and section headings. Keep headings `color: #fff` or `var(--accent)` for hierarchy. Question block backgrounds should use `#1c2333`.

**Alignment gates.** Treat gates as explicit review sections inside the HTML page. A gate blocks finalization until its required inline questions are answered and compiled into YAML. Include every gate that applies to the skill output, and include these gate types whenever relevant: evidence coverage, assumptions/confidence, scope/non-goals, candidate/verdict decisions, artifact destination, proposed file changes, coverage checkpoint, and post-approval route.

**Report-only research gates.** For report-only or pre-approval research skills, the alignment page must explicitly contain evidence coverage, assumptions/confidence, recommended path, proposed file changes, and approval gates before any canonical research, spec, or task file is created or updated.


**Required inline questions.** Each gate must contain at least one required inline question placed directly under the content it governs, inside a visually distinct question block. Each question must use radio-button inputs and include two standing options after the skill-generated choices: "Other / None of the above" backed by a multi-line text box for free-form input, and "Need clarification" backed by an optional notes box where the user can explain what is unclear. When any radio option other than "Other" or "Need clarification" is selected, show an optional "Additional notes" text box beneath it so the user can qualify their choice. Generate questions based on what genuinely needs user input -- do not add filler questions. Do not create a separate bottom "Decisions & Clarifications" section.

**Gate YAML contract.** At the bottom of the page, include a "Compile Answers" button that aggregates answers from all inline gate questions throughout the page, including free-text notes. The button remains disabled until every required question has a selection, shows a count of remaining unanswered questions, and scrolls to the first unanswered question if clicked early. When every question is answered, generate a structured YAML block with one item per gate answer using this stable shape: `section`, `gate_type`, `status` (`answered`, `other`, or `needs-clarification`), `answer`, optional `notes`, and optional `target_artifact` or `target_path` when the gate controls file output. After successful compilation, automatically attempt to copy the YAML to the clipboard with the Clipboard API, display copy status, and display the YAML in a read-only textarea with an explicit "Copy YAML" button. The copy button must retry clipboard copy when supported and fall back to selecting the textarea contents when clipboard access is unavailable or blocked.

**Pre-approval stop.** Before user approval, the next action is review of the HTML alignment page, not downstream routing. Ask the user to review the page and provide the compiled YAML answers. Do not include `Recommended next skill`, `Recommended next command`, or downstream routing language until after compiled YAML has been provided and the approved artifacts have been written or updated.

**Diff highlighting on updates.** When the agent updates an existing alignment page after receiving compiled answers, highlight what changed since the previous version. The agent chooses inline annotation or side-by-side layout per situation.

**Archiving.** Before replacing an existing alignment page, archive it to `docs/history/archive/YYYY-MM-DD/HHMMSS/alignment/youtube-video-audit-{topic}.html`.

**Browser open.** Attempt to open the resulting HTML page in the browser and report whether the open succeeded or was blocked. A blocked browser-open attempt does not make the skill fail when the files were written correctly.

## Archive-First Replacement Policy

Before replacing an existing canonical research document, archive it under `docs/history/archive/YYYY-MM-DD/HHMMSS/<original-relative-path>`.
