Command	Sub-Skill	Trigger Phrases
`/youtube audit`	`sub-skills/audit.md`	"audit my channel", "channel health", "what's wrong with my channel", "my channel isn't growing"
`/youtube seo`	`sub-skills/seo.md`	"video SEO", "rank higher", "keyword research", "improve search ranking"
`/youtube script`	`sub-skills/script.md`	"write a script", "script for my video", "help me script"
`/youtube hook`	`sub-skills/hook.md`	"write a hook", "improve my intro", "first 30 seconds", "opening"
`/youtube thumbnail`	`sub-skills/thumbnail.md`	"thumbnail brief", "improve CTR", "design thumbnail"
`/youtube strategy`	`sub-skills/strategy.md`	"channel strategy", "content plan", "positioning", "niche"
`/youtube calendar`	`sub-skills/calendar.md`	"content calendar", "upload schedule", "what should I post this month"
`/youtube shorts`	`sub-skills/shorts.md`	"Shorts", "short video", "vertical video", "Shorts strategy"
`/youtube analyze`	`sub-skills/analyze.md`	"analyze metrics", "why are views dropping", "interpret analytics"
`/youtube repurpose`	`sub-skills/repurpose.md`	"repurpose video", "turn into Shorts", "cross-platform", "extract clips"
`/youtube monetize`	`sub-skills/monetize.md`	"monetize", "make money", "revenue", "brand deals", "memberships"
`/youtube competitor`	`sub-skills/competitor.md`	"competitor analysis", "spy on channel", "what is [channel] doing"
`/youtube metadata`	`sub-skills/metadata.md`	"upload metadata", "title and description", "pre-publish checklist"
`/youtube ideate`	`sub-skills/ideate.md`	"video ideas", "what should I make next", "brainstorm", "content ideas"

If the user's request doesn't clearly match one command, ask a clarifying question. If the request spans multiple sub-skills (e.g., "help me plan and script my next video"), run the relevant sub-skills sequentially, passing output from each as input to the next.

Context-Gathering Protocol

Before invoking ANY sub-skill, you MUST collect these three inputs. If any are missing, ask:

Channel niche/topic — What is the channel about? Be specific (not "tech" — "budget Android phone reviews").
Channel size tier:
- New: < 1K subscribers
- Growing: 1K–10K subscribers
- Established: 10K–100K subscribers
- Authority: 100K+ subscribers
Primary goal: Growth / Monetisation / Brand Authority / Audience Engagement

For audit, analyze, and competitor sub-skills, also collect the channel URL or handle.

Channel Type Detection

Based on niche and content description, classify into one of 9 types and load the matching template from templates/:

Type	Template	Signals
Education	`templates/education-channel.md`	How-to, explainers, courses
Entertainment	`templates/entertainment-channel.md`	Comedy, challenges, reactions
Tutorial	`templates/tutorial-channel.md`	Step-by-step, walkthroughs, demos
Vlog	`templates/vlog-channel.md`	Day-in-life, personal updates
Review	`templates/review-channel.md`	Product reviews, comparisons, unboxing
Commentary	`templates/commentary-channel.md`	News commentary, opinion, essays
Niche Authority	`templates/niche-authority-channel.md`	Deep-dive single topic, expert positioning
Personal Brand	`templates/personal-brand-channel.md`	Creator-as-brand, multi-format
Shorts-First	`templates/shorts-first-channel.md`	Primarily vertical content

Parallel Agent Rules

audit sub-skill — spawn 4 parallel agents:

Agent A: Technical SEO audit (loads references/seo-playbook.md)
Agent B: Performance audit (loads references/analytics-guide.md)
Agent C: Content strategy audit (loads references/algorithm-guide.md)
Agent D: Monetisation audit (loads references/monetization-guide.md)

competitor sub-skill — spawn 4 parallel agents:

Agent A: Top video analysis
Agent B: Keyword gap analysis
Agent C: Format gap analysis
Agent D: Audience gap analysis (comment mining)

All other sub-skills run inline (single-threaded). If Agent tool is unavailable, fall back to sequential inline execution.

Reference Files

Load on-demand when a sub-skill requests them. Never pre-load all at once. Do not reload a reference file already in context for this session.

File	Content
`references/algorithm-guide.md`	3-system architecture, testing cascade, CTR/AVD benchmarks, 2024-2025 changes
`references/seo-playbook.md`	Title/description/tags/chapters/hashtags rules, VideoObject schema
`references/retention-scripting-guide.md`	Hook frameworks, pattern interrupts, CTA placement, retention graphs
`references/thumbnail-ctr-guide.md`	CTR by niche, face psychology, A/B testing, title formulas
`references/shorts-playbook.md`	Shorts algorithm, format specs, monetisation, repurposing
`references/analytics-guide.md`	Metrics hierarchy, funnel ratios, RPM/CPM by niche
`references/monetization-guide.md`	YPP tiers, 7 revenue streams, brand deal rates
`references/repurposing-guide.md`	Hub/Hero/Help model, cross-platform workflows, platform specs
`references/dataforseo-integration.md`	DataForSEO MCP tool reference, YouTube SERP, keyword research, trends

DataForSEO MCP Integration (Optional)

When the DataForSEO MCP server is available (configured in ~/.claude/settings.json), youtube skills use live data for keyword research, YouTube SERP analysis, trend intelligence, video metadata, and competitive research. Falls back to WebSearch + execution scripts when unavailable.

Reference: Load references/dataforseo-integration.md for full tool reference, parameters, and efficiency guidelines.

Detection: Attempt any DataForSEO tool call (e.g., serp_youtube_organic_live_advanced). If it fails, fall back to WebSearch + execution scripts. Never block a workflow because DataForSEO is unavailable.

Default parameters: location_code=2840 (US), language_code="en"

Key YouTube DataForSEO Tools

Tool	Purpose
`serp_youtube_organic_live_advanced`	YouTube search results for a keyword — videos, channels, playlists with view counts
`serp_youtube_video_info_live_advanced`	Deep video analysis — views, likes, comments, tags, category, subtitles
`serp_youtube_video_comments_live_advanced`	Video comments with engagement data
`serp_youtube_video_subtitles_live_advanced`	Video transcript/subtitles extraction
`kw_data_google_ads_search_volume`	Search volume, CPC, competition for keyword arrays
`dataforseo_labs_google_keyword_ideas`	Keyword ideas from seed keywords
`dataforseo_labs_google_keyword_suggestions`	Autocomplete-style keyword suggestions
`dataforseo_labs_bulk_keyword_difficulty`	Keyword difficulty scores (0-100)
`dataforseo_labs_search_intent`	Intent classification (informational/commercial/transactional)
`kw_data_google_trends_explore`	Google Trends time series (supports YouTube-specific filtering)

Sub-Skill → DataForSEO Module Mapping

Sub-Skill	DataForSEO Tools Used
ideate	YouTube SERP + keyword ideas + trends + volume
seo	Volume + difficulty + intent + YouTube SERP competition
competitor	YouTube SERP × keywords + video info + comments
strategy	Trends + volume + YouTube SERP + keyword ideas
calendar	Google Trends for seasonal planning + volume for prioritisation
analyze	YouTube SERP position tracking + video info
audit	YouTube SERP + volume + video info + keyword difficulty
shorts	YouTube SERP (Shorts filter) + trends
hook	YouTube SERP top video titles for keyword
thumbnail	YouTube SERP competitor thumbnails
metadata	Volume + difficulty for tag optimisation

API Credit Awareness

DataForSEO charges per API call. Typical workflow costs $0.002-$0.04. Rules:

Batch keywords into single calls (volume, difficulty, intent tools accept arrays)
Don't re-fetch data already retrieved in the same session
Use dataforseo_labs_google_keyword_overview for single-keyword lookups
Warn the user before running expensive operations

NanoBanana MCP — Thumbnail Generation (Optional)

When the NanoBanana MCP server is configured, the thumbnail sub-skill can generate actual thumbnail images using Gemini models instead of just producing text briefs.

Tool: generate_image

Recommended thumbnail settings:

aspect_ratio: "16:9" (YouTube standard)
resolution: "4k" (1280×720 minimum for YouTube)
model_tier: "nb2" (fast, high-quality production assets)

Detection: Attempt generate_image tool call. If unavailable, deliver text-based thumbnail briefs only — they are detailed enough for any designer to execute.

Workflow: Primary thumbnail + 3 A/B variants = 4 generate_image calls per brief. See sub-skills/thumbnail.md for prompt engineering guidelines.

Execution Scripts

Scripts require YouTube API credentials. Before calling any script:

Check if YOUTUBE_API_KEY environment variable exists
If missing, provide the user with setup instructions instead of failing silently
For Analytics API scripts, check OAuth token exists

If credentials are absent, fall back to asking the user to provide data manually (e.g., paste YouTube Studio screenshots or describe their metrics).

Script	Purpose	Quota Cost
`execution/fetch_channel_data.py`	Channel stats + last N videos via Data API v3	~16 units
`execution/fetch_video_analytics.py`	Private analytics (own channel, OAuth)	~5 units
`execution/search_competitor_videos.py`	Search competitor videos (expensive)	100 units/search
`execution/fetch_transcript.py`	Video transcript extraction	1-2 units
`execution/utils/quota_tracker.py`	Tracks 10K unit/day quota	0 units
`execution/utils/youtube_auth.py`	API key + OAuth handler	0 units

Quality Gates

Every sub-skill output MUST pass these checks before delivery:

Specificity — Every recommendation must be actionable for THIS channel. No generic advice like "post consistently" without specifying cadence for their tier.
Data grounding — Every benchmark cited must come from a reference file. Never hallucinate statistics. If unsure, say "benchmark unavailable" and explain.
Completeness — All sections in the sub-skill's output template must be present. Missing sections = incomplete deliverable.

Self-Anneal Loop

If a sub-skill output fails a quality gate:

Identify which gate failed and why
Re-read the relevant reference file for missing data
Re-generate only the failing sections
Re-check all three gates
If still failing after 2 attempts, deliver with explicit caveats noting the limitation

Output Format

Default to markdown. For metadata sub-skill, produce copy-paste-ready plain text blocks. For calendar, produce a markdown table. For audit, produce a structured report with scores. Always end with a "Next Steps" section pointing the user to the logical next sub-skill (e.g., after audit → suggest strategy or the lowest-scoring dimension's sub-skill).

youtube

Claude YouTube — YouTube Creator Skill

Command Router