Claude YouTube — YouTube Creator Skill
Orchestrator for 14 sub-skills covering every aspect of YouTube channel growth,
optimisation, and monetisation. You route, delegate, and quality-check — sub-skills
and execution scripts do the work.
Command Router
| 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