Workflows
Three bounded ways to use a video brief.
These workflows start from explicit public YouTube URLs. They do not promise automatic channel crawling, a hosted remote MCP service, or unattended publication. Each one keeps the original source and a human review step in the loop.
Local agent workflow
MCP agents: inspect a manifest before loading the brief.
For Codex, Claude Code, and other local clients, Youtubebrief runs as a local stdio MCP process. The agent receives bounded file handles instead of a transcript pasted into every prompt. That makes it possible to inspect a manifest first, choose the relevant Markdown or JSON output, and report which evidence informed an answer.
Local stdio first
The current MCP surface runs locally through the CLI. It does not require a public remote MCP endpoint or a new production port.
Explicit URL lists
The workflow is for URLs you provide. It does not crawl channels, expand playlists automatically, or run YouTube search.
Bounded agent context
Large outputs stay in the bundle. Agents can inspect the manifest first and read only the files they need.
Review sequence
- Provide the exact video URL and the question the agent should answer.
- Inspect the returned manifest and load only the needed brief file.
- Require timestamp evidence for factual claims and label the agent's own synthesis.
Inspect the synthetic MCP manifest example. It demonstrates the file contract; it is not a customer record or proof of output quality.
Retrieval preparation
RAG and JSONL: preserve selection and provenance.
A useful retrieval dataset records which videos were selected, what each output contains, and which items failed. Youtubebrief's bundle shape keeps a manifest beside Markdown and optional JSONL exports so an indexer does not have to infer status from filenames. The workflow still requires a person to confirm that the source can be processed and that the generated note is suitable for the intended index.
Schema-first output
Use manifest.json as the source of truth and videos.jsonl as an ingestion-friendly export.
Partial failure visibility
Each item records status, output paths, and billing facts so failed items can be retried intentionally.
No hidden crawling
The first beta processes the URLs you pass. Discovery, channel watch, and hosted batch jobs are later design topics.
Review sequence
- Document why every URL belongs in the collection before processing it.
- Retain the manifest with the JSONL export so status and source identity remain auditable.
- Sample timestamp evidence and remove weak or irrelevant notes before indexing.
Inspect the synthetic JSONL example. It illustrates schema and provenance fields, not a live production dataset.
Research handoff
DevRel and research: turn links into review assignments.
Conference talks, product demos, and interviews often enter a team as an unstructured list of links. A better handoff states why each source matters, adds a generated map of sections and timestamps, and records what a human reviewer corrected. This reduces watch time without turning generated prose into an unattributed source.
Reusable handoffs
Share a bundle instead of a pile of links, screenshots, and ad-hoc notes.
Original-source trail
Briefs keep the source URL and timestamp-style evidence fields when available, so teams can verify before publishing.
Beta access path
Private beta credits are still manual. Request access and describe the workflow you want to validate.
Review sequence
- Group a small set of public videos by research question.
- Assign a reviewer to check surprising claims and source-dependent visuals.
- Share the corrected note with source links, generation date, and known omissions.
See the source-specific case studies for examples where generated coverage was useful but the wording still required editing.
Shared boundaries
What every workflow keeps explicit.
Explicit sources
The system processes URLs supplied by the user. It does not quietly expand a channel, playlist, or search result.
Reviewable evidence
Timestamps are navigation aids. Important claims still need to be checked against the source video and any visual context.
Separate synthesis
Generated source notes and a researcher's conclusions should remain visibly separate in the final handoff.
Server-authoritative billing
CLI and API minute use is recorded by the service rather than inferred from local output files.
Reviewed outputs