crewAI/docs/tools/youtube-channel-search-tool.mdx

---
title: YoutubeChannelSearchTool
description: A semantic search tool for YouTube channel content using RAG capabilities
icon: youtube
---

## YoutubeChannelSearchTool

The YoutubeChannelSearchTool is a specialized Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) tool that enables semantic search within YouTube channel content. It inherits from the base RagTool class and provides both fixed and dynamic YouTube channel searching capabilities.

## Installation

```bash
pip install 'crewai[tools]'
```

## Usage Example

```python
from crewai import Agent
from crewai_tools import YoutubeChannelSearchTool

# Method 1: Dynamic channel handle
youtube_search = YoutubeChannelSearchTool()

# Method 2: Fixed channel handle
fixed_channel_search = YoutubeChannelSearchTool(youtube_channel_handle="@example_channel")

# Create an agent with the tool
researcher = Agent(
    role='Content Researcher',
    goal='Search through YouTube channel content semantically',
    backstory='Expert at finding relevant information in YouTube content.',
    tools=[youtube_search],
    verbose=True
)
```

## Input Schema

The tool supports two input schemas depending on initialization:

### Dynamic Channel Schema
```python
class YoutubeChannelSearchToolSchema(BaseModel):
    search_query: str           # The semantic search query
    youtube_channel_handle: str # YouTube channel handle (with or without @)
```

### Fixed Channel Schema
```python
class FixedYoutubeChannelSearchToolSchema(BaseModel):
    search_query: str  # The semantic search query
```

## Function Signature

```python
def __init__(self, youtube_channel_handle: Optional[str] = None, **kwargs):
    """
    Initialize the YouTube channel search tool.

    Args:
        youtube_channel_handle (Optional[str]): Fixed channel handle. If provided, 
            the tool will only search this channel.
        **kwargs: Additional arguments passed to the parent RagTool
    """

def _run(self, search_query: str, **kwargs: Any) -> Any:
    """
    Perform semantic search on the YouTube channel content.

    Args:
        search_query (str): The semantic search query
        **kwargs: Additional arguments (including 'youtube_channel_handle' for dynamic mode)

    Returns:
        str: Relevant content from the YouTube channel based on semantic search
    """
```

## Best Practices

1. Choose initialization method based on use case:
   - Use fixed channel handle when repeatedly searching the same channel
   - Use dynamic handle when searching different channels
2. Write clear, semantic search queries
3. Channel handles can be provided with or without '@' prefix
4. Consider content availability and channel size

## Integration Example

```python
from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew
from crewai_tools import YoutubeChannelSearchTool

# Example 1: Fixed channel search
tech_channel_search = YoutubeChannelSearchTool(youtube_channel_handle="@TechChannel")

# Example 2: Dynamic channel search
flexible_search = YoutubeChannelSearchTool()

# Create agents
tech_analyst = Agent(
    role='Tech Content Analyst',
    goal='Find relevant tech tutorials and explanations',
    backstory='Expert at analyzing technical YouTube content.',
    tools=[tech_channel_search]
)

content_researcher = Agent(
    role='Content Researcher',
    goal='Search across multiple YouTube channels',
    backstory='Specialist in finding information across various channels.',
    tools=[flexible_search]
)

# Define tasks
fixed_search_task = Task(
    description="""Find all tutorials related to machine learning 
    basics in the channel.""",
    agent=tech_analyst
)

# The agent will use:
# {
#   "search_query": "machine learning basics tutorial"
# }

dynamic_search_task = Task(
    description="""Search through the @AIResearch channel for 
    content about neural networks.""",
    agent=content_researcher
)

# The agent will use:
# {
#   "search_query": "neural networks explanation",
#   "youtube_channel_handle": "@AIResearch"
# }

# Create crew
crew = Crew(
    agents=[tech_analyst, content_researcher],
    tasks=[fixed_search_task, dynamic_search_task]
)

# Execute
result = crew.kickoff()
```

## Notes

- Inherits from RagTool for semantic search capabilities
- Supports both fixed and dynamic YouTube channel handles
- Automatically adds '@' prefix to channel handles if missing
- Uses embeddings for semantic search
- Thread-safe operations
- Automatically handles YouTube content loading and embedding