# YT Knowledge Notes

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YT Knowledge Notes (ytkn) turns YouTube videos and playlists into structured knowledge notes in Obsidian.

Paste a YouTube URL, and generate a bookmark/transcript-only note or an AI-assisted knowledge note directly in your vault.

![YT Knowledge Notes Guide](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aawhb/ytkn/main/docs/ytkn-guide01.png)

## Why use it

- Capture videos as structured Markdown with source metadata, frontmatter, and transcript appendices predictable.
- Pick built-in note shapes for study, research, implementation, deep dives, and full extracts. Or, provide a custom AI prompt to match the output to your needs.
- Generate notes for a single video, multiple URLs, or an entire playlist.
- Use OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or local OpenAI-compatible models.

## Pick the note shape you need

YT Knowledge Notes includes built-in templates for:

- **General knowledge note** - balanced summary and takeaways
- **Study notes** - review-friendly notes with concepts and self-test
- **Implementation note** - steps, tools, gotchas, and action items
- **Deep dive** - durable reference notes for important ideas
- **Full extract** - detailed capture of claims, examples, numbers, and quotes
- **Research dossier** - evidence-aware notes for investigation

See [Templates](https://github.com/aawhb/ytkn/blob/main/docs/templates.md) for the full guide and runtime controls.

## Installation

*Requires Obsidian `1.11.4` or newer.*

- **Community Plugins:** install it there like any other plugin.
- **BRAT or Manual** add `aawhb/ytkn` to BRAT or install the latest GitHub release manually.

Full setup steps: [Getting started](https://github.com/aawhb/ytkn/blob/main/docs/getting-started.md)

## Create your first note

1. Set default settings in **Obsidian Settings → YT Knowledge Notes** including optional AI provider and model.
2. Open a note if you want to insert at the caret or append to the active note
3. Run **YT Knowledge Notes: Generate** from Obsidian command panel
4. Provide a YouTube video or playlist URL
5. Choose a template, transcript mode, and destination
6. Click **Generate**.

If you want batching, playlists, local models, or run reports, jump to [Workflows](https://github.com/aawhb/ytkn/blob/main/docs/usage.md) and [Providers](https://github.com/aawhb/ytkn/blob/main/docs/providers.md).

## Documentation

- [Documentation hub](https://github.com/aawhb/ytkn/blob/main/docs/README.md)
- [Getting started](https://github.com/aawhb/ytkn/blob/main/docs/getting-started.md)
- [Workflows](https://github.com/aawhb/ytkn/blob/main/docs/usage.md)
- [Configuration](https://github.com/aawhb/ytkn/blob/main/docs/configuration.md)
- [Templates](https://github.com/aawhb/ytkn/blob/main/docs/templates.md)
- [Providers and local models](https://github.com/aawhb/ytkn/blob/main/docs/providers.md)
- [Troubleshooting](https://github.com/aawhb/ytkn/blob/main/docs/troubleshooting.md)

## Privacy and external services

- The plugin does not collect telemetry and does not proxy requests through a separate service.
- Transcript and playlist metadata requests go directly from Obsidian to YouTube.
- AI requests go directly from Obsidian to the provider or local endpoint you configure.
- API keys are stored in Obsidian SecretStorage. The plugin data file stores only secret IDs.
- AI-generated content is written into your notes as returned. Review it if accuracy matters.

See [SECURITY.md](https://github.com/aawhb/ytkn/blob/main/SECURITY.md) for the security policy and reporting guidance.

## Contributing

If you want to help improve the plugin, start with [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/aawhb/ytkn/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md).

## License

GNU GPL v3 or later - see [LICENSE](https://github.com/aawhb/ytkn/blob/main/LICENSE).