yt-ad-skip

Auto-skip in-video ads and sponsor segments - think AI-powered SponsorBlock without the manual work.

A Chrome extension + server that uses LLM analysis of video captions to detect and automatically skip sponsor reads, affiliate promotions, cross-promos, and other ad segments in YouTube videos. Currently in POC state.

How it works

Chrome Extension                Server (:3001)
┌──────────────┐                ┌──────────────────────┐
│ content.ts   │──videoId──→    │ POST /segments/:id   │
│  detects YT  │                │   ↓                  │
│  video, auto │                │ yt-dlp fetches VTT   │
│  skips ads   │                │ captions              │
│              │                │   ↓                  │
│ background.ts│←─ad blocks──   │ GPT-4o analyzes      │
│  fetch proxy │  via poll      │ transcript for ads    │
│              │                │   ↓                  │
│ popup.html   │                │ GET /segments/:id    │
│  shows found │                │   → cached result    │
│  segments    │                └──────────────────────┘
└──────────────┘

1. Extension detects the YouTube video ID
2. Sends it to the local server, which fetches captions via yt-dlp
3. GPT-4o analyzes the transcript to find ad/sponsor segments
4. Extension polls for results, then automatically skips detected segments during playback
5. A "Skipped ad" pill appears in the video player when a skip happens
6. Click the extension icon to see all detected segments and jump to any of them

What it detects

• Sponsor reads ("This episode is sponsored by...")
• Affiliate promotions with discount codes
• Cross-promotions for other podcasts/shows
• Premium subscription and membership upsells
• Merch store promotions
• Pre-roll and mid-roll ad breaks

It does not flag editorial content, outro credits, guest thank-yous, or casual brand mentions.

Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• yt-dlp on PATH (brew install yt-dlp)
• An OpenAI API key

Install

git clone https://github.com/masone/yt-ad-skip.git
cd yt-ad-skip
npm install

Create a .env file:

OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

Build & run

npm start                   # Start the server on :3001
npm run build               # Compile the extension to extension/dist/

Load the extension

1. Open chrome://extensions
2. Enable "Developer mode"
3. Click "Load unpacked" and select the extension/ folder
4. Navigate to any YouTube video — the extension handles the rest

Usage

• Automatic skipping: Just watch YouTube. The extension detects videos, sends them for analysis, and skips ad segments as they come up.
• Extension popup: Click the extension icon to see detected segments with timestamps and reasons. Click any segment to jump to its end.
• "Skipped ad" pill: Appears in the top-right of the video player for 3 seconds when a segment is skipped.

Results are cached in out/<videoId>/ — delete a folder to re-process a video.

Scripts

Command	Description
npm start	Start the server
npm run build	Build the extension
npm run typecheck	Type-check everything
npm test	Run unit tests
npm run eval	Run eval suite