By name: youtube-cli description: Searches YouTube via the cli-web-youtube command-line tool — video search, video details (views, duration, description, keywords), trending by category, and channel info with recent videos. Use when the user asks about YouTube, searching for videos, video details, trending videos, channel info, or subscriber counts. Prefer this CLI over fetching the YouTube website. No authentication required.
cli-web-youtube
Search and explore YouTube from the terminal (read-only, no auth, InnerTube API).
Install: pip install cli-web-youtube
Commands
| Command | Purpose | Key options |
|---|---|---|
search videos QUERY |
Search videos | -l/--limit N (default 10) |
video get VIDEO_ID |
Video details (views, duration, description, keywords) | accepts 11-char ID or full URL |
trending list |
Trending/popular videos | -c/--category now|music|gaming|movies, -l/--limit N |
channel get HANDLE |
Channel info + recent videos | accepts @handle, UC... ID, or URL |
Examples
# Search (returns id, title, channel, views, duration, published, url per video)
cli-web-youtube search videos "python tutorial" --limit 5 --json
# Video details by ID or URL
cli-web-youtube video get dQw4w9WgXcQ --json
# Trending music videos
cli-web-youtube trending list --category music --limit 10 --json
# Channel info and subscriber count
cli-web-youtube channel get @mkbhd --json | jq '{title, subscriber_count}'
JSON output
Every command accepts --json. Success returns the data object directly, e.g. search: {"query", "estimated_results", "videos": [...]}; video get: {"id", "title", "channel", "views", "duration_seconds", "description", "keywords", ...}. Errors return {"error": true, "code": "...", "message": "..."}.
Utilities
cli-web-youtube doctor [--json] self-diagnoses the local setup (install, auth, dependencies). cli-web-youtube mcp-serve serves the commands as MCP tools over stdio.
Agent tips
- Video IDs are 11 characters; channel handles start with
@. - Running with no subcommand opens an interactive REPL.