youtube-mcp

<p align="center"> <a href="https://getyoutubetranscript.com"> <img src="public/brand/logo.png" width="140" height="140" alt="GetYouTubeTranscript" /> </a> </p> <h1 align="center">YouTube MCP Server: Transcripts, Search, Channels & Playlists</h1> <p align="center"> A remote MCP server for YouTube: transcripts, video and channel search, channel browsing, in-channel search, and playlist extraction.<br/> API key <b>or</b> OAuth 2.1 sign-in. Free tier, no card required. </p> <p align="center"> <a href="https://cursor.com/en/install-mcp?name=youtube-transcript&config=eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL2dldHlvdXR1YmV0cmFuc2NyaXB0LmNvbS9hcGkvbWNwIn0="><img alt="Install in Cursor" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Cursor-Install_MCP-000000?style=for-the-badge&logo=cursor&logoColor=white"/></a> <a href="https://insiders.vscode.dev/redirect?url=vscode%3Amcp%2Finstall%3F%7B%22name%22%3A%22youtube-transcript%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fgetyoutubetranscript.com%2Fapi%2Fmcp%22%7D"><img alt="Install in VS Code" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/VS_Code-Install_MCP-0098FF?style=for-the-badge&logo=visualstudiocode&logoColor=white"/></a> </p> <p align="center"> <a href="https://getyoutubetranscript.com"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Website-getyoutubetranscript.com-FF3B00?style=for-the-badge" alt="Website"/></a> <a href="https://getyoutubetranscript.com/docs"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Docs-API_Reference-06B6D4?style=for-the-badge&logo=readthedocs&logoColor=white" alt="Docs"/></a> <a href="./LICENSE"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-4CAF50?style=for-the-badge" alt="MIT License"/></a> </p>

Thirteen tools, one hosted endpoint, no local install, for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, and 15+ other MCP-compatible clients.

https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp

Quick taste:

Search @veritasium for videos about black holes, pull the transcript of the
two best matches, and tell me where they disagree.

The agent chains search_channel_videos and get_youtube_transcript on its own. No code on your side.

---

Why this MCP

| | This MCP | Typical single-purpose YouTube MCP | |---|---|---| | Hosting | ✅ Remote (no local install, no build step) | ❌ Local stdio process to manage | | Tools | ✅ 7 (transcript, search, channel latest/search/videos, playlist, credits) | ❌ Usually 1 (transcript only) | | YouTube search (video and channel) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | | Full channel upload history, paginated | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | | In-channel search | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | | Auth | ✅ API key and OAuth 2.1 (DCR + CIMD) | ❌ Usually neither | | Agent-friendly errors | ✅ Stable error codes, human-readable messages | ❌ Bare HTTP codes |

---

Install as an Agent Plugin

This repo root is also an Agent Plugins 1.0.0 package. It bundles the MCP server with a youtube skill that tells the agent which tool to use when, what each one costs, and how to avoid wasting credits.

plugin.json                # plugin manifest
mcp.json                   # hosted MCP server (streamable-http, OAuth, no key in the file)
skills/youtube/SKILL.md    # when and how to use the 13 tools

In VS Code, run Chat: Install Plugin From Source and paste https://github.com/tubeagentkit/youtube-mcp. Other clients that support Agent Plugins can point at this repo or a local clone. For Cursor there is a separate plugin repo.

The package holds no credentials. Check the manifests against the published schemas yourself:

curl -sO https://agent-plugins.org/schemas/1.0.0/plugin.schema.json
curl -sO https://agent-plugins.org/schemas/1.0.0/mcp.schema.json
npx ajv-cli@5 validate --spec=draft2020 -s plugin.schema.json -d plugin.json
npx ajv-cli@5 validate --spec=draft2020 -s mcp.schema.json -d mcp.json

ChatGPT and Codex

The same plugin.json carries the ChatGPT/Codex plugin directory listing under extensions.com.openai (other clients ignore it). scripts/build-openai-zip.sh checks it against OpenAI's field limits and builds the upload ZIP in dist/, with only plugin.json, mcp.json, skills/ and assets/.

---

Quick Install

Requirements: a free getyoutubetranscript.com account (sign up — 100 credits, no card) and an API key from your dashboard — or just connect via OAuth and skip the key entirely (see Authentication below).

Tip: clients that support MCP OAuth can skip the headers block in the snippets below and sign in through the browser instead.

Tip: to stop repeating "use the transcript tool", add a standing instruction to your client's rules or custom instructions, for example: "When I share a YouTube link, fetch its transcript with the youtube-transcript MCP before answering."

<details> <summary><b>Claude Code (CLI)</b></summary>

claude mcp add --transport http youtube-transcript https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

</details> <details> <summary><b>Claude Desktop / Claude Web (OAuth)</b></summary>

1. Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector
2. Name: YouTube Transcript · URL: https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp
3. Click Add, then Connect and sign in via browser — no API key needed.

</details> <details> <summary><b>Cursor</b></summary>

Settings → Features → MCP → Add New MCP Server — Type: SSE/HTTP, URL: https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp.

Or edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "url": "https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

</details> <details> <summary><b>VS Code</b></summary>

"mcp.servers": {
  "youtube-transcript": {
    "type": "http",
    "url": "https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp",
    "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
  }
}

</details> <details> <summary><b>ChatGPT</b></summary>

Enable Developer Mode, then Settings → Connected Apps → Add → URL https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp. Leave Client ID/Secret blank for Dynamic Client Registration, or use OAuth sign-in directly.

</details> <details> <summary><b>Windsurf</b></summary>

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "serverUrl": "https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

</details> <details> <summary><b>Cline</b></summary>

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "url": "https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp",
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

</details> <details> <summary><b>Zed</b></summary>

{
  "context_servers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "source": "remote",
      "url": "https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

</details> <details> <summary><b>Roo Code</b></summary>

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

</details> <details> <summary><b>Amp</b></summary>

amp mcp add youtube-transcript https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

</details> <details> <summary><b>Augment Code</b></summary>

"augment.advanced": {
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "youtube-transcript",
      "url": "https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  ]
}

</details> <details> <summary><b>Kilo Code</b></summary>

In .kilocode/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

</details> <details> <summary><b>JetBrains AI Assistant</b></summary>

Settings → Tools → AI Assistant → MCP:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "url": "https://getyoutubetranscript.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

</details>

30-second example

Summarize this video for me: https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ

The agent calls get_youtube_transcript and summarizes the result. If you connected via OAuth, there's no key to configure at all — just approve the connection once.

---

Run locally (stdio)

Prefer a local process? server/ is an open-source stdio MCP server with the same 13 tools, built on the official MCP TypeScript SDK. It calls the public REST API with your API key.

git clone https://github.com/tubeagentkit/youtube-mcp
npm install --prefix youtube-mcp/server

Then point your client at it, e.g. Claude Desktop / Cursor:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/youtube-mcp/server/index.js"],
      "env": { "GYT_API_KEY": "sk_l…[redacted]" }
    }
  }
}

Live integration test (uses only free tools): GYT_API_KEY=sk_live_... npm test --prefix server

---

Authentication

API Key

Universal, works with every MCP client. Get one free (100 credits, no card) at the dashboard, then send it as a Bearer token:

"headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer sk_live_your_key_here" }

OAuth 2.1

No manual key management — sign in via browser, the server handles the rest.

• Dynamic Client Registration (DCR): supported for clients that self-register at connect time (Claude Desktop/Web, ChatGPT, and most others).
• Client ID Metadata Documents (CIMD): supported per the current MCP spec (2026-07-28) for clients that host their own metadata document — the more modern alternative to DCR, no shared secret required.
• First connection opens a consent screen showing exactly what access is being granted; approve once and you're connected.

Both methods issue a token scoped and audience-bound to this specific MCP server — it can't be replayed against any other API.

---

Available Tools

All thirteen tools are exposed automatically once you connect. 1 credit = 1 successful request. Failed or rate-limited calls never consume credits.

1. get_youtube_transcript

Fetch the full transcript for a YouTube video, plus its title/author/thumbnail metadata.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | |---|---|---|---| | video_url | string | required | YouTube URL (full or short) or an 11-character video ID | | language | string | optional | Language code, e.g. en, es. Defaults to en | | send_metadata | boolean | optional | Include title/author/thumbnail. Defaults to true | | timestamps | boolean | optional | One line per caption, each starting with its [m:ss] start time ([h:mm:ss] past an hour). Defaults to false (one block of text) |

Cost: 1 credit, with or without timestamps.

2. get_transcript_languages

List the caption languages a video offers, creator-uploaded or auto-generated, and which one a default request returns.

| Parameter | Type