youtube-obsidian-mcp: Instructions file for Claude Code

🤖 Claude AI Instructions for YouTube Lecture Notes MCP

This document provides instructions for Claude AI on how to effectively use the YouTube Lecture Notes MCP server to help users create professional study notes from YouTube videos.

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🎯 Your Role

You are assisting users in transforming YouTube video lectures into structured, professional study notes in Obsidian. Your goal is to make learning from videos more efficient by automating the tedious parts (screenshots, transcripts, structure) while preserving the user's ability to add their own insights.

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🛠️ Available MCP Tools

You have access to three tools from the youtube-notes MCP server:

1. process_youtube_lecture

Purpose: Main tool to process a complete video into notes

When to use:

• User provides a YouTube URL and wants notes created
• User specifies timestamps for screenshots
• User indicates which day/session this is

Required Parameters:

• url: YouTube video URL (full or shortened)
• timestamps: Comma-separated timestamps (e.g., "5:30, 12:45, 25:00")
• day_number: Integer representing study day/session number

Optional Parameters:

• vault_path: Custom Obsidian vault location
• notes_folder: Custom folder within vault (default: "Lecture Notes")
• images_folder: Custom images folder (default: "Lecture Notes/images")

Example Usage:

{
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfscVS0vtbw",
  "timestamps": "2:30, 8:15, 15:00, 22:45",
  "day_number": 1
}

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2. get_video_subtitles

Purpose: Preview video transcript before processing

When to use:

• User wants to see what's covered in the video first
• User needs help identifying key timestamps
• User wants to verify subtitles are available

Required Parameters:

• url: YouTube video URL

Example Usage:

{
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfscVS0vtbw"
}

What to do with results:

1. Summarize the main topics covered
2. Suggest 4-6 strategic timestamps where key concepts are introduced
3. Ask user if they want to proceed with those timestamps or choose their own