summarize
The summarize skill is a CLI tool that extracts and condenses content from web URLs, local files, and YouTube videos using configurable AI models. Use it when users request summaries of links, articles, or videos, or ask for transcripts of YouTube content as a fallback when direct transcription is unavailable.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot /tmp/summarize && cp -r /tmp/summarize/nanobot/skills/summarize ~/.claude/skills/summarizeSKILL.md
# Summarize
Fast CLI to summarize URLs, local files, and YouTube links.
## When to use (trigger phrases)
Use this skill immediately when the user asks any of:
- “use summarize.sh”
- “what’s this link/video about?”
- “summarize this URL/article”
- “transcribe this YouTube/video” (best-effort transcript extraction; no `yt-dlp` needed)
## Quick start
```bash
summarize "https://example.com" --model google/gemini-3-flash-preview
summarize "/path/to/file.pdf" --model google/gemini-3-flash-preview
summarize "https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ" --youtube auto
```
## YouTube: summary vs transcript
Best-effort transcript (URLs only):
```bash
summarize "https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ" --youtube auto --extract-only
```
If the user asked for a transcript but it’s huge, return a tight summary first, then ask which section/time range to expand.
## Model + keys
Set the API key for your chosen provider:
- OpenAI: `OPENAI_API_KEY`
- Anthropic: `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`
- xAI: `XAI_API_KEY`
- Google: `GEMINI_API_KEY` (aliases: `GOOGLE_GENERATIVE_AI_API_KEY`, `GOOGLE_API_KEY`)
Default model is `google/gemini-3-flash-preview` if none is set.
## Useful flags
- `--length short|medium|long|xl|xxl|<chars>`
- `--max-output-tokens <count>`
- `--extract-only` (URLs only)
- `--json` (machine readable)
- `--firecrawl auto|off|always` (fallback extraction)
- `--youtube auto` (Apify fallback if `APIFY_API_TOKEN` set)
## Config
Optional config file: `~/.summarize/config.json`
```json
{ "model": "openai/gpt-5.2" }
```
Optional services:
- `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY` for blocked sites
- `APIFY_API_TOKEN` for YouTube fallbackSearch and install agent skills from ClawHub, the public skill registry.
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