YouTube MCP Server: Transcripts, Search, Channels & Playlists 🎬

A remote MCP server for YouTube — transcripts, video/channel search, channel browsing, in-channel search, and playlist extraction. API-key or OAuth 2.1 sign-in. Free tier, no card required.

Seven 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

Why this MCP

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).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 7 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_live_your_key_here" }
    }
  }
}

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 seven 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.

Cost: 1 credit. Note: this returns the full transcript as one text block — there's no per-segment timestamp breakdown.

2. search_youtube

Search YouTube for videos or channels, paginated.

Cost: 1 credit/page.

3. get_channel_latest_videos _{· FREE}

Get a channel's metadata plus its most recent uploads.

Cost: Free.

4. search_channel_videos

Search within one specific channel's videos.

Cost: 1 credit/page.

5. list_channel_videos

List every video a channel has ever uploaded (the full /videos tab, not just recent ones).

Cost: 1 credit/page.

6. list_playlist_videos

Get every video in a YouTube playlist.

Cost: 1 credit/page.

7. get_credits _{· FREE}