YouTube · Guide

How to get an AI summary of a YouTube short

TL;DR

To get an AI summary of a YouTube short, sign up for a free Captapi key, then send one GET request to /v1/youtube/shorts/summarize with your input. You get clean JSON back in seconds for 3 credits per call — no OAuth, scraping or platform SDKs. AI summary of a YouTube Short — rejects long-form videos (≤3 min only).

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How to get an AI summary of a YouTube short (step by step)

1
Get a free API key
Create a free Captapi account (100 credits, no card) and generate an API key from the dashboard.
2
Call the YouTube Shorts Summarizer API
Send an authenticated GET request to /v1/youtube/shorts/summarize with your input. No OAuth, no scraping setup.
3
Read the JSON response
Parse the clean JSON response. Pass cache=true for a free 24h cache hit; default is always fresh.

Code example

curl "https://api.captapi.com/v1/youtube/shorts/summarize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fshorts%2FegvLKQe6I4I" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer capt_live_..."
# or: -H "x-api-key: capt_live_..."

What the response looks like

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/egvLKQe6I4I",
    "videoId": "egvLKQe6I4I",
    "title": "Don't Pop the Balloon",
    "summary": "MrBeast challenges people not to pop a balloon in a high-stakes Short.",
    "keyPoints": [
      "Contestants must keep a balloon intact.",
      "Quick comedy beat typical of YouTube Shorts."
    ],
    "topics": [
      "challenge",
      "shorts"
    ],
    "sentiment": "positive"
  }
}

Billing metadata (credits charged, cache hit/miss) is returned in the X-Captapi-Credits and X-Captapi-Cache response headers.

Request parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
url	string	Yes	Public YouTube Shorts URL, e.g. https://youtube.com/shorts/ID (≤3 min). Long-form videos return HTTP 422 — use the matching /v1/youtube/… endpoint instead. The URL platform must match this endpoint's platform. Do not pass cross-platform URLs, e.g. YouTube to TikTok, Instagram to Facebook, LinkedIn to X/Twitter, or Pinterest to Rumble.
language	string	No	Preferred caption language as an ISO code, e.g. "en". Defaults to auto-detect.
cache	boolean	No	Set true to serve from the 24h response cache (0 credits on hit). Default false — always fetch fresh.

Frequently asked questions

What does the YouTube Shorts Summarizer API do?

The YouTube Shorts Summarizer API lets you generate an AI summary with key points and topics from a public YouTube Short using one GET request to /v1/youtube/shorts/summarize. It returns clean JSON — no OAuth or infrastructure setup required.

How many credits does the YouTube Shorts Summarizer API cost?

Each successful call costs 3 credits. Pass cache=true to serve from the 24h cache (0 credits on hit); default is always fresh. Selected profile endpoints also accept cacheMaxAge=1d|3d|7d|14d|30d. Failed or empty results are never charged.

Do I need a YouTube API key or OAuth?

No. A single Captapi key works across every platform Captapi supports — YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, Reddit, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Rumble, Spotify, Kwai, and more. We handle proxies, rate limits, retries, and authentication for you.

Which AI model powers the summaries?

Summaries are generated with GPT-4o-mini for a strong balance of quality, speed, and cost, built on top of the transcript.

Why did I get 404 on a video with clear speech?

This endpoint returns captions YouTube published — it does not run speech-to-text. Read detail.code: no_captions means tracks=0 (common on long live streams); language_not_available means tracks exist but not in your language (see availableLanguages). On no_captions, detail.suggestion points at /v1/youtube/audio-transcript with estimatedCredits. 404 never charges credits.

If I pass language=en and only Turkish captions exist, what happens?

We try YouTube's timedtext translation into en. If that fails → 404 language_not_available with availableLanguages (not a silent Turkish transcript). On success, requestedLanguage and returnedLanguage are both set; isTranslated is true when YouTube translated.

Is the YouTube Shorts Summarizer API suitable for production use?

Yes. It is a stable REST endpoint with predictable JSON and automatic retries. Pass cache=true to serve from the 24h cache (0 credits on hit); default is always fresh. Selected profile endpoints also accept cacheMaxAge=1d|3d|7d|14d|30d. Use it for analytics, monitoring, and content automation.

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