by2kb: automation for Hermes Agent

Forwards a video link to an agent and keeps transcript and notes in your knowledge base

What by2kb does

The primary user sends a Bilibili or YouTube link, or a media attachment, to an agent like Hermes; by2kb handles media retrieval and runs the selected local or cloud ASR provider, while the agent uses its own existing model access to produce both summaries. A standalone user without an agent can run the same pipeline using their own OpenAI-compatible API key. From version 0.7.0, sending a learning topic through the Hermes plugin returns three to five numbered video recommendations to pick from before transcription starts.

Caption-only previews never download audio or run ASR, keeping topic exploration cheap, and the local default uses faster-whisper so no audio has to leave the machine; a cloud Doubao ASR path remains available for machines that should not run Whisper locally. Upgrades preserve the configured knowledge-base folder, downloaded models, job history, credentials and custom skills.

Key features

Forwards a video link through an agent into transcript, abstract and study-note files
Hermes plugin supports topic search, returning numbered video recommendations first
Local faster-whisper ASR by default, with a cloud Doubao ASR option available
Caption-only previews that never trigger audio download or ASR
Agent-guided installation skill that configures local defaults without cloud credentials

When to use it

Saving a video shared in chat as a transcript and study notes in a personal knowledge base
Exploring a learning topic by browsing agent-suggested videos before committing to transcribe one
Running a fully local, cloud-free transcription pipeline for Bilibili or YouTube videos

Who it is for: Hermes Agent users who want videos shared in chat turned into searchable, durable knowledge-base notes.

How it fits with Hermes Agent

by2kb is designed around an agent user, with Hermes named as the primary target and a dedicated Hermes plugin that adds topic search on top of the core transcription pipeline.

How to install by2kb

These commands are copied from the project's README. Check the repository for the latest steps before you run them.

pipx install "by2kb[asr-whisper,youtube]"
by2kb init --preset agent-local
by2kb models install

Requirements: Python 3.12+, pipx, and ffmpeg/ffprobe on PATH

Note: A resident background service, native Telegram/Lark bots and remote knowledge-base sinks are still planned, not yet implemented.

FAQ

What is by2kb?

by2kb is a tool that turns a forwarded video link into a transcript, a short abstract and long-form study notes, saved as markdown into your own knowledge base.

Does by2kb work with Hermes Agent?

Yes, Hermes is the named primary target: a dedicated Hermes plugin adds topic search, and the agent uses its own model access to produce the summaries by2kb's pipeline requests.

How do I install by2kb?

The agent-guided path has an agent with terminal access read and follow the install skill at the URL in the README; to install it yourself, run pipx install "by2kb[asr-whisper,youtube]" followed by by2kb init --preset agent-local.