name: youtube-creator-cli-skill description: Comprehensive operational guide for agents using YouTube Creator CLI. version: 1.0.0 tools:

• youtube-creator-cli

YouTube Creator CLI Skill (youtube-creator-cli)

This skill teaches an agent to use the YouTube Creator CLI safely, deterministically, and non-interactively where possible.

1) Tool identity and binary

• Package: youtube-creator-cli
• Primary binary: youtube-creator-cli
• Source dev entry: npm run dev -- <command>

If the binary is not globally installed, use local execution from repo root:

npm run dev -- --help

2) What this CLI is for

Use this CLI to:

• Configure OAuth credentials and defaults
• Authenticate against YouTube Data API v3
• Upload videos
• Read/update/delete videos
• Manage thumbnails
• Manage playlists
• Read/post comments
• Read channel/video stats

3) Prerequisites the agent must verify

Before running business commands, verify:

1. Node >= 18
2. A valid setup exists (setup already run)
3. Auth is valid (auth completed; token refresh works)
4. Local file paths exist for upload/thumbnail operations
5. Intended account/channel is correct (especially before destructive actions)

Validation commands:

youtube-creator-cli --version
youtube-creator-cli --help
youtube-creator-cli config show

4) First-run bootstrap workflow

4.1 Setup

Interactive:

youtube-creator-cli setup

Non-interactive:

youtube-creator-cli setup \
  --client-id "YOUR_CLIENT_ID" \
  --client-secret "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET" \
  --default-privacy private \
  --port 3000 \
  --non-interactive

4.2 Authenticate

youtube-creator-cli auth

Useful auth options:

• --port <number>: callback port override
• --no-browser: print URL instead of auto-open
• --profile <name>: store token under specific auth profile

4.3 Confirm readiness

youtube-creator-cli config show
youtube-creator-cli channels

5) Command map for agents

Core setup/auth:

• setup
• auth
• logout
• reset
• config show
• config set <key> <value>
• config use-profile <name>

Content operations:

• channels
• videos
• upload <file>
• update <videoId>
• delete <videoId>
• stats <videoId>
• thumbnail <videoId> <imagePath>

Playlists:

• playlists
• playlist-create
• playlist-add <playlistId> <videoId>
• playlist-update <playlistId>
• playlist-delete <playlistId>

Comments:

• comments <videoId>
• comment <videoId> <text>

For exact flags per command:

youtube-creator-cli <command> --help

6) High-confidence automation patterns

6.1 Upload workflow

youtube-creator-cli upload ./video.mp4 \
  --title "Launch Demo" \
  --description "Automated upload via agent" \
  --privacy private \
  --tags "demo,launch"

Optional thumbnail step:

youtube-creator-cli thumbnail <VIDEO_ID> ./thumb.jpg

6.2 Metadata update workflow

youtube-creator-cli update <VIDEO_ID> \
  --title "Updated Title" \
  --description "Updated description" \
  --privacy unlisted

6.3 Review + safe delete workflow

youtube-creator-cli stats <VIDEO_ID>
youtube-creator-cli delete <VIDEO_ID>

Agent rule: never delete without explicit confirmation from caller context.

7) Agent operating rules (important)

1. Prefer deterministic, explicit flags over defaults for automation.
2. Always run read-only command first before mutating:
   • before update: run videos or stats
   • before delete: run stats and confirm target ID
3. Use profile-aware auth (auth --profile) for multi-tenant work.
4. Never expose secrets in logs or summaries.
5. Treat all OAuth/token/config files as sensitive.
6. Capture command stdout/stderr and return concise structured outcomes.

8) Output strategy for agentic environments

• Use command output directly for human-readable operation logs.
• Where available, use JSON-friendly command modes (e.g. videos --format json) for downstream parsing.
• For commands lacking JSON mode, parse stable fields (IDs, URLs, statuses) from lines with anchored patterns.
• Store important IDs (videoId, playlistId) as explicit state for next steps.

9) Common failure handling

Not configured

Symptoms:

• "Configuration not found"

Action:

youtube-creator-cli setup

Not authenticated / expired token

Action:

youtube-creator-cli logout
youtube-creator-cli auth

OAuth access blocked

Likely missing test user/scopes in Google OAuth consent screen.

Port conflict

Action:

youtube-creator-cli auth --port 3001

or persist:

youtube-creator-cli config set oauth.port 3001

Quota issues

Uploads are expensive quota operations; if upload fails with quota messages, pause and report quota guidance.

10) Minimal runbooks

Runbook A: fresh machine

1. npm install -g youtube-creator-cli
2. youtube-creator-cli setup ...
3. youtube-creator-cli auth
4. youtube-creator-cli channels

Runbook B: weekly publishing

1. youtube-creator-cli videos --limit 20
2. youtube-creator-cli upload ...
3. youtube-creator-cli thumbnail ...
4. youtube-creator-cli stats ...

Runbook C: profile switching

1. youtube-creator-cli config show
2. youtube-creator-cli config use-profile <name>
3. youtube-creator-cli auth --profile <name>
4. youtube-creator-cli channels

11) Security reminders for agents

• Never commit ~/.youtube-creator-cli/config.json.
• Never print full client secret/token values.
• Prefer local callback loopback only (localhost).
• Use least privilege and only requested operations.

12) Quick command cheatsheet

youtube-creator-cli setup
youtube-creator-cli auth
youtube-creator-cli channels
youtube-creator-cli videos --help
youtube-creator-cli upload ./video.mp4 --title "Title" --privacy private
youtube-creator-cli update <VIDEO_ID> --title "New title"
youtube-creator-cli thumbnail <VIDEO_ID> ./thumb.jpg
youtube-creator-cli playlists
youtube-creator-cli comments <VIDEO_ID>
youtube-creator-cli comment <VIDEO_ID> "Great video!"
youtube-creator-cli logout