YouTube MCP Server

Video & MediaTypeScript

Access and manage YouTube content, videos, channels, and transcripts

Available Tools

getVideoDetails

Retrieves detailed information about a YouTube video including title, description, duration, and statistics

getVideoTranscript

Retrieves the transcript/captions for a YouTube video with optional language selection

searchVideos

Searches for YouTube videos based on keywords, filters, and sorting options

getChannelDetails

Retrieves information about a YouTube channel including statistics and metadata

listChannelVideos

Lists videos from a specific YouTube channel with pagination support

getPlaylistDetails

Retrieves information about a YouTube playlist including title and item count

listPlaylistItems

Lists videos contained within a YouTube playlist with pagination support

getVideoStatistics

Retrieves view count, likes, comments, and other statistics for a YouTube video

The YouTube MCP provides a comprehensive interface for AI language models to interact with YouTube content. It enables access to video information, transcripts, channel details, and playlist management through the YouTube Data API. With this MCP, you can search videos, retrieve transcripts in multiple languages, analyze video statistics, and manage channel content seamlessly.

Overview

The YouTube MCP Server provides AI language models with the ability to interact with YouTube content through a standardized interface. This MCP leverages the YouTube Data API to provide comprehensive access to video information, transcripts, channel details, and playlist management.

Features

Video Information

Retrieve detailed video metadata (title, description, duration, etc.)
Access video statistics (views, likes, comments)
Search videos across the YouTube platform
List videos from specific channels

Transcript Management

Retrieve complete video transcripts
Support for multiple languages
Access timestamped captions
Search within transcript content

Channel Management

Get detailed channel information
List channel playlists
Access channel statistics
Search within channel content

Playlist Management

List all items in a playlist
Get playlist details
Search within playlists
Retrieve transcripts for playlist videos

Installation

Prerequisites

A YouTube Data API key (obtain from Google Cloud Console)

Installation Options

Via Smithery (Recommended)

For Claude Desktop users, the easiest installation method is via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @ZubeidHendricks/youtube --client claude

Manual Installation

You can install the package directly using npm:

npm install zubeid-youtube-mcp-server

Configuration

The YouTube MCP Server requires the following environment variables:

YOUTUBE_API_KEY: Your YouTube Data API key (required)
YOUTUBE_TRANSCRIPT_LANG: Default language for transcripts (optional, defaults to 'en')

Client Configuration

For Claude Desktop

Add the following to your Claude Desktop configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "zubeid-youtube-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

For VS Code

Add the following to your VS Code settings.json file:

{
  "mcp": {
    "inputs": [
      {
        "type": "promptString",
        "id": "apiKey",
        "description": "YouTube API Key",
        "password": true
      }
    ],
    "servers": {
      "youtube": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "zubeid-youtube-mcp-server"],
        "env": {
          "YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "${input:apiKey}"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Alternatively, you can create a .vscode/mcp.json file in your workspace with similar configuration.

Usage Examples

Once configured, you can ask your AI assistant to perform various YouTube-related tasks:

"Find videos about machine learning on YouTube"
"Get the transcript for the video with ID dQw4w9WgXcQ"
"Show me the latest videos from the channel 'TED'"
"Get statistics for the most popular video on the 'Google Developers' channel"
"Search for videos about climate change published in the last month"

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

Verify your YouTube API key is valid and has the necessary permissions
Check that you've properly configured the environment variables
Ensure you have a stable internet connection
For quota issues, remember the YouTube API has usage limits

Rate Limits

Be aware that the YouTube Data API has quota limits. Each API operation consumes quota points, and there's a daily limit. Plan your usage accordingly to avoid hitting these limits.