A free, open source Chrome extension that summarizes YouTube videos using AI. Get concise summaries, key revelations, and actionable takeaways in seconds.
100% Free. No subscriptions. No premium tiers. Ever.
- Truly Free - No subscriptions, premium tiers, or hidden costs. Just pay your AI provider directly.
- Privacy First - No accounts, no tracking, no data collection. Your API keys never leave your device.
- 5 Export Integrations - One-click export to Obsidian, Capacities, Craft, Bear, and Logseq.
- Your Choice of AI - Use Claude, GPT-4, or Gemini. Switch anytime.
- Open Source - Fully transparent code. Contribute or fork as you like.
- Customizable - Extensive settings for each integration to match your workflow.
- Instant Summaries - Analyze any YouTube video with captions in seconds
- Key Revelations - Extract the most important insights automatically
- Actionable Takeaways - Get practical next steps from every video
- Multiple AI Providers - Choose from Claude, GPT-4, or Gemini
- Beautiful UI - Clean, newspaper-inspired interface
Export summaries with one click to your favorite note-taking app:
| App | Export Method | Video Thumbnail |
|---|---|---|
| Obsidian | Opens app directly | ✅ |
| Capacities | Opens app directly | ✅ |
| Craft | Opens app directly | ✅ |
| Bear | Opens app directly | ✅ |
| Logseq | Copy to clipboard | ✅ |
Plus: Standard Copy and Download options for any markdown-compatible app.
All exports include:
- Video metadata (channel, duration, views, publish date)
- Clickable video thumbnail
- Full summary with revelations and takeaways
- Properly formatted markdown
- Visit the Chrome Web Store listing
- Click "Add to Chrome"
- Done! Click the extension icon to get started
- Download the latest release
- Unzip the downloaded file
- Important: Inside the unzipped folder, locate the
extensionfolder- The download contains the full repository
- You only need the
extensionfolder for Chrome - Path will look like:
youtube-summarizer-1.2.0/extension/
- Open Chrome and go to
chrome://extensions/ - Enable "Developer mode" (toggle in top right corner)
- Click "Load unpacked" button
- Navigate to and select the
extensionfolder (from step 3)
- Click the TL;DW extension icon
- Choose your AI provider (Claude, GPT-4, or Gemini)
- Enter your API key from:
- Anthropic Console for Claude
- OpenAI Platform for GPT-4
- Google AI Studio for Gemini
- Start summarizing videos
- Navigate to any YouTube video
- Click the TL;DW extension icon
- Click "Analyze Video"
- Wait a few seconds
- Read your summary
One-Click Export (Obsidian, Capacities, Craft, Bear):
- Click the app icon in the popup
- The app opens automatically with your summary ready
Copy to Clipboard (Logseq or any app):
- Click "Copy" or the Logseq icon
- Paste into your note-taking app
Download as File:
- Click "Download"
- Save the
.mdfile anywhere
Each export integration can be customized in the Options page:
Obsidian:
- Vault name and folder path
- Video thumbnail toggle
- Callout style for revelations
Capacities:
- YAML frontmatter toggle
- Wikilinks for channel names
- Custom tags
- Hashtag support for insights
Craft:
- Space ID and folder ID
- Metadata and thumbnail toggles
Bear:
- Default tags
- Pin notes option
- Thumbnail toggle
Logseq:
- Page properties
- Block-based formatting
- Thumbnail toggle
Click the gear icon in the extension popup or right-click the extension icon → Options.
The extension is free. You only pay your AI provider directly:
- ~$0.01-0.03 per video depending on length
- New Anthropic accounts get free credits
- No accounts required
- No data collection
- No tracking
- API keys stored locally on your device
- Transcripts sent only to your chosen AI provider
See our full Privacy Policy.
- Manifest V3 Chrome Extension
- Vanilla JavaScript
- Claude / GPT-4 / Gemini APIs
Contributions are welcome! Please read our Contributing Guidelines before submitting a PR.
Q: Which videos can be summarized? A: Any YouTube video with captions (auto-generated or manual). Most videos have captions.
Q: How long does it take? A: Usually 3-10 seconds, depending on video length and AI provider response time.
Q: What's the maximum video length I can summarize? A: The limit depends on your AI provider and speaking speed. For above-average speaking speed (~170 words per minute):
- GPT-4 (OpenAI): ~9 hours
- Claude Sonnet (Anthropic): ~15 hours
- Gemini Flash (Google): ~75 hours
Most YouTube videos fall well within these limits. Longer videos may take slightly more time to process.
Q: Can I use this without a note-taking app? A: Yes! Use the "Copy" or "Download" buttons to save summaries anywhere.
Q: Which AI provider is best? A: Claude (Anthropic) generally provides the best summaries, but all three work great. Try them and see what you prefer.
Q: Does this work with YouTube Music or Shorts? A: It works with any YouTube video that has captions, including Shorts if they have captions.
Q: Can I customize the summary format? A: Each export integration has customization options. Click the gear icon to access settings.
Q: Is my API key safe? A: Yes. Your API key is stored locally on your device using Chrome's secure storage. It's never sent anywhere except directly to your chosen AI provider.
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
- Website: tldw.nickdimoro.com
- Issues: GitHub Issues
- Contributions: Contributing Guidelines