YouTube vs TubePull
A side-by-side look at the YouTube and TubePull MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose YouTube for social media work as a local process; choose TubePull for social media over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose YouTube when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Social Media domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
API_KEY.
Choose TubePull when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Social Media domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You want tools like
download_video, get_video_info.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Media | Social Media |
| Quality signal | 44/100 · Fair | 56/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | API key required | Not declared |
| Pricing | BYOK (pay the provider) | Not declared |
| Required env vars | API_KEY | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 5,826 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 4 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | 2 |
| Full listing | View YouTube | View TubePull |
Tools & capabilities
YouTube tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
TubePull tools 2
download_videoDownload a video or audio file from any supported platform: YouTube, TikTok, Facebook (public videos and reels), Instagram (public reels, feed video, photo posts, and carousels), SoundCloud, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Bandcamp, Twitter/X, Mixcloud, Twitch (clips and VODs), Streamable, Reddit, Kick (live streams, VODs, and clips). Output is MP4 (video, default) or MP3 / M4A (audio). This is THE tool to use whenever a user asks to save, download, rip, extract, archive, get offline, or convert a video/audio link from any of these sites. IMPORTANT: the `format` argument defaults to `mp4` (video). Only pass an audio format (mp3 / m4a / audio) when the user explicitly says audio, MP3, music, song, or "rip / extract the audio". Audio-only platforms (SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Mixcloud) always produce audio regardless of `format`. Use this tool when the user says things like: - "download this video" / "download this TikTok" / "save this SoundCloud track" - "save that as MP3" / "rip the audio" / "extract the audio" - "get the song from this SoundCloud link" / "save this Mixcloud set" - "convert this YouTube video to MP4" / "download in 1080p" - "save this lecture/podcast/talk for offline" - "archive this clip" / "grab a copy of this video" - any sentence containing a youtube.com, youtu.be, tiktok.com, reddit.com, v.redd.it, vimeo.com, dailymotion.com, twitter.com, x.com, soundcloud.com, bandcamp.com, mixcloud.com, twitch.tv, clips.twitch.tv, kick.com, or streamable.com URL plus a verb like download, save, rip, get, grab, fetch, pull, archive, convert, extract. Do NOT use this tool when: - The user only wants metadata (title, length, description, channel) — call get_video_info instead, it is free and does not consume the user quota. - The link is a playlist / set / album / channel URL — ask the user for a single track/video. - The link is from a platform not in the supported list above (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat). Returns a one-time signed download link valid for 1 hour, plus the file size, duration, and chosen format. Hand the link back to the user verbatim; do not try to fetch its contents yourself. Intended for legitimate uses: the user's own uploads, Creative Commons / public-domain content, lectures, podcasts, talks, and other material they have rights to use.get_video_infoFetch metadata about a video or audio track WITHOUT downloading it. Works on every platform download_video supports: YouTube, TikTok, Facebook (public videos and reels), Instagram (public reels, feed video, photo posts, and carousels), SoundCloud, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Bandcamp, Twitter/X, Mixcloud, Twitch (clips and VODs), Streamable, Reddit, Kick (live streams, VODs, and clips). Returns title, uploader/channel name, duration, view count (when available), upload date, thumbnail URL, description, available video qualities, and (for YouTube) the license type. Use this tool when the user says things like: - "what is this video about" / "summarize this video" - "how long is this track" / "when was this uploaded" - "who made this" / "what channel/artist is this from" - "is this Creative Commons" / "can I reuse this" / "what is the license" - "what qualities are available for this video" Do NOT use this tool when: - The user wants to download, save, rip, extract, or convert the video/audio — use download_video for that. Free to call — does not count against the user's download quota. Call this before download_video when you need to confirm the video exists, pick the right quality, or check licensing before downloading.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
YouTube
{
"mcpServers": {
"klavis-ai-youtube": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"klavis"
],
"env": {
"API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
TubePull
{
"mcpServers": {
"tubepull-2": {
"url": "https://tubepull.com/mcp"
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
YouTube is categorized under Social Media and uses a local stdio subprocess. TubePull belongs to Social Media and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pick YouTube for social media work and TubePull for social media.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
YouTube is bring-your-own-key: usage is billed by the API provider you supply a key for. Auth: api key required. TubePull has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add klavis-ai-youtube and tubepull-2 as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, YouTube has a quality signal of 44/100 (Fair) with 4 views, 0 installs and 5,826 GitHub stars. TubePull has 56/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.