Turn YouTube videos into Markdown notes — with the AI subscription you already pay for.
TubeFold is a native macOS app. Paste a YouTube link (or click once in the Chrome extension) and it fetches the transcript, runs it through your own Claude Code or Codex CLI, and saves a structured Markdown note — key ideas, arguments, takeaways, sources — into a local library on your Mac.
No API keys. No TubeFold account. No TubeFold servers. No telemetry.
Most YouTube summarizers want a second subscription on top of the AI you already pay for, and keep your library on their servers, in their format.
TubeFold inverts both:
- Your subscription does the work. It drives the
claudeorcodexCLI already authenticated on your Mac — the official tools, using their own keychain/OAuth. TubeFold never sees your credentials, and summaries cost you nothing beyond the plan you have. - Your notes are files. Plain Markdown with YAML front matter, on your disk. They open in Obsidian, they're greppable, and they'd survive TubeFold being deleted.
- No middleman. There is no TubeFold backend service. Your transcript goes to exactly one AI company: the one you already trust with your subscription.
If you paste transcripts into Claude by hand today — this is that workflow, finished: automatic transcript fetch with original-language selection, a tested prompt, consistent structure, deduplicated library, one-click capture from the browser, PDF export, auto-updates.
| Your own AI | Codex CLI or Claude Code, chosen in a setup wizard that detects and tests your CLI. Switch anytime. |
| Structured notes | Overview, detailed summary, key ideas, practical takeaways, people & sources. |
| Chrome extension | Send the video you're watching with one click; get gentle "summarize this?" suggestions for videos you watched. Web Store |
| PDF export | Any note, saved next to its Markdown. |
| Telegraph publishing | One click turns a note into a shareable public article. |
| Any output language | Summaries in your language regardless of the video's language. |
brew install --cask tubefold/tap/tubefoldOr download TubeFold.zip from the latest release.
YouTube URL
→ video metadata
→ transcript
→ prompt template
→ your CLI
→ validated Markdown body
→ done — open the result as a Markdown file, Telegraph web page, or PDF
Why not just paste the transcript into Claude?
That's this pipeline, done manually. TubeFold adds: automatic transcript fetch with language selection, a consistent tested prompt, YAML front matter, a deduplicated library with filenames that make sense, browser one-click capture, PDF export — and it keeps everything.
Do I need a paid AI subscription?
You need a working claude or codex CLI signed into your account. Summaries run on your plan's quota; TubeFold shows per-provider token usage in Settings.
- Multiple prompt templates, including flashcards/Anki
- Obsidian integration (save notes directly into a vault folder)
- In-library search
Bug reports and PRs welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md.
MIT © Bogdan Bystritskiy