> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.usealmanac.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> This handbook preview targets personal CLI 0.11.1. Check installed command help and the matching backend schema before using examples with another release. Examples with named people and placeholder IDs are fictional.

# Read YouTube videos, speech and replies

> Keep video metadata, timed transcript segments and comment reply tokens distinct.

A YouTube URL can identify a video for metadata, transcript and comments, but each is a separate read. Video metadata describes a page; transcript segments describe returned speech text with times; neither is a downloaded video. With a known URL, you can go straight to the needed operation without searching first.

```sh theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
almanac web read --source youtube --type video 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb9s3UiMSTA' --output video.json
almanac web read --source youtube --type video --part transcript 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb9s3UiMSTA' --output transcript.json
```

A September 2026 read returned metadata and 709 English timestamped segments for that video. To support a claim, inspect adjacent `startMs` and text segments and link to the relevant video time. Automatic captions can misspell technical words; paraphrase with that uncertainty. The study verified transcript text, not the audio or video bytes.

Comments form another path. Read a video's comments; then use the selected comment's `repliesContinuationToken` as the initial identity for the reply operation:

```sh theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"vesper"}}
almanac web read --source youtube --type video --part comments 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb9s3UiMSTA' --output comments.json
almanac web read --source youtube --type comment --part replies --reply-token REPLY_TOKEN --output replies.json
```

`REPLY_TOKEN` is a placeholder that must come from the returned comment. A later replies page uses the continuation token returned by that replies response; do not substitute the video URL or a search cursor. The transcript route was exercised in the September study, while the reply-token route here is based on the current operation contract and was not live-tested by that task. Channel videos, shorts, playlists and community posts have separate operations; use their returned native IDs and current `web describe` contract when entering those collections.