YouTube Transcript MCP Server

This YouTube Transcript MCP server acts as a specialized bridge between video content and AI assistants like Claude or Cursor, allowing them to "read" videos instantly. In simple terms, it automatically retrieves the written text from any YouTube video so the AI can analyze it without a human needing to manually watch the video or copy-paste subtitles. This makes it incredibly easy for anyone to ask an AI to summarize a long tutorial, extract key points from a lecture, or find specific information hidden within hours of footage. Beyond simple text retrieval, the server provides five distinct tools that offer a high degree of control over how video data is processed. It can fetch transcripts for single videos or handle batch processing for multiple links at once. The system also includes capabilities for translating transcripts into different languages and reformatting the output into specific files like SRT or VTT. This flexibility ensures that AI models receive exactly the data they need in the most useful structure possible for generating summaries or structured reports. For developers building sophisticated AI workflows, this Go-based implementation is engineered for high performance and production reliability. It solves common data-fetching challenges by incorporating built-in rate limiting and proxy rotation to navigate YouTube's access restrictions. To ensure lightning-fast response times, the server supports both in-memory and Redis caching, which prevents redundant requests for popular videos. Fully compliant with the latest Model Context Protocol standards and Docker-ready, it provides a robust, scalable infrastructure for any application requiring deep video context.

Category: Design, Media & Creative

Tags: subtitles, summarization, transcription, video, youtube

Visit YouTube Transcript MCP Server

How to install and configure YouTube Transcript MCP Server

1. Installation You can install the YouTube Transcript MCP Server using several methods: Automatic Installation (Recommended) bash # Clone the repository git clone https://github.com/kyong0612/youtube-mcp.git cd youtube-mcp # Run the installer ./scripts/install-mcp.sh Via Go Install bash # Install the stdio version for MCP clients go install github.com/kyong0612/youtube-mcp/cmd/mcp@latest # Rename the binary for clarity (standard Go path is usually $GOPATH/bin) mv $GOPATH/bin/mcp $GOPATH/bin/youtube-mcp-stdio Manual Build bash # Build the stdio server directly from the source go build -o youtube-mcp-stdio ./cmd/mcp/

2. Configuration To use the server with Claude Desktop or Cursor, add the following configuration to your settings file (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json or Cursor's MCP settings): json { "mcpServers": { "youtube-transcript": { "command": "/path/to/youtube-mcp/youtube-mcp-stdio", "args": [], "env": { "LOG_LEVEL": "info", "CACHE_ENABLED": "true", "YOUTUBE_DEFAULT_LANGUAGES": "en,ja" } } } } Note: Ensure the command path points to the actual location of your youtube-mcp-stdio binary. Key Environment Variables: - YOUTUBE_DEFAULT_LANGUAGES: Default languages for transcripts (e.g., "en,ja"). - CACHE_TYPE: Type of cache to use (memory or redis). - LOG_LEVEL: Logging level (debug, info, warn, error). - CACHE_ENABLED: Set to true to enable caching.

3. Available Tools The server provides 5 powerful tools for interacting with YouTube transcripts: * get_transcript: Fetch the transcript for a single video. * Arguments: video_identifier (URL or ID), languages (list), preserve_formatting (boolean). * get_multiple_transcripts: Batch process transcripts for multiple videos. * Arguments: video_identifiers (list), languages (list), continue_on_error (boolean). * translate_transcript: Translate transcripts into different languages. * format_transcript: Format transcripts into specific styles (plain text, SRT, VTT, etc.). * list_available_languages: List all available subtitle languages for a specific video.

4. Example Prompts Once configured, you can use the server with prompts like: * "Get the transcript for this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" * "Fetch the transcripts for these three videos [ID1, ID2, ID3] and provide them in English." * "What subtitle languages are available for the video with ID dQw4w9WgXcQ?" * "Get the transcript for this video and format it as an SRT file."

What you can do with YouTube Transcript MCP Server

Use Case 1: Rapid Content Repurposing for Bloggers and Social Media Managers Problem: Content creators often spend hours manually re-watching their own long-form webinars, podcasts, or tutorials to identify key points for blog posts, newsletters, or LinkedIn snippets. Solution: This MCP allows users to instantly pull the full transcript of a video directly into an AI assistant. The AI can then use the format_transcript tool to clean up the text and the get_transcript tool to provide the raw data needed to generate high-quality written content without the creator needing to leave their workspace. Example: A YouTuber provides a video link to Claude and says: "Fetch the transcript for this 30-minute video, summarize the three most important takeaways, and draft a 500-word blog post based on the speaker's exact tone."

Use Case 2: Cross-Language Technical Research and Learning Problem: High-quality technical tutorials or conference talks are often available in languages the researcher does not speak (e.g., a cutting-edge Go tutorial in Japanese), and YouTube's built-in translation can be difficult to analyze deeply or search through. Solution: Using the translate_transcript and list_available_languages tools, a user can fetch a foreign-language transcript and have it translated into their native language. Because the transcript is pulled into the AI’s context window, the user can ask complex follow-up questions about specific technical concepts mentioned in the video. Example: A developer uses the MCP in Cursor to pull the transcript of a Japanese developer keynote, translates it to English, and then asks: "Based on this transcript, what are the three breaking changes mentioned for the new API version?"

Use Case 3: Batch Competitive Analysis for Market Researchers Problem: Market analysts often need to compare how different brands or influencers discuss a specific product across multiple videos. Manually watching five different 20-minute reviews to find specific feature mentions is highly inefficient. Solution: The get_multiple_transcripts tool allows for batch processing. An analyst can provide a list of URLs to the AI, which then fetches all transcripts simultaneously. The AI can then perform a horizontal analysis across all videos to find common themes, pros, and cons. Example: "Fetch the transcripts for these five different 'iPhone 16 Pro Review' videos. Create a table comparing what each reviewer said about the new 'Camera Control' button, specifically noting if they found it intuitive or gimmicky."

Use Case 4: Creating Accessible Learning Materials (SRT

VTT Generation) Problem: Educators or developers building…

Key facts

• Open Source
• Design, Media & Creative, Web Search & Research
• subtitles, summarization, transcription, video, youtube

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