Turn any public YouTube video — educational channels, podcast recordings, conference talks — into Distill's full study pipeline. No download required.
What you can do with YouTube
One-click URL import
Paste any public YouTube URL. Distill fetches the audio, transcribes with Whisper-v3, and runs the full distillation pipeline.
Chapter-aware summaries
If the creator added YouTube chapters, Distill preserves them in the summary structure. Skim by topic, not by timecode.
Playlist import
Drop in a whole playlist (e.g., an MIT OpenCourseWare semester) and Distill processes each video in sequence with cross-video concept tracking.
Handles community-captioned content
When official captions exist, we use them as a quality gate on Whisper's output — accuracy improves meaningfully on accented or technical content.
Setup in 5 minutes
- 1
In Distill, click + Upload → YouTube URL.
- 2
Paste any public video URL (or playlist URL).
- 3
Distill fetches the audio and begins processing within seconds.
- 4
Get notified when the summary, flashcards, concept map, and quiz are ready — usually in 2 minutes.
YouTube integration UI — screenshots coming from design
Frequently asked questions
Does this work with private or unlisted videos?
Unlisted videos work if you have the URL. Private videos require that you download the audio yourself and upload it directly.
Is this legal?
Yes, for personal study and research use under fair use. Distill does not republish transcripts; they stay private to your account.
Max video length?
Free tier: 2 hours. Plus: 6 hours. Pro: 15 hours. Long playlists process one video at a time against your plan's per-video cap.
Start using YouTube with Distill
Create a free account and connect in under five minutes.
Start free →