youtube-connector-mcp

Overview

This is a production-ready MCP server that connects AI assistants to YouTube's Data API v3. It provides comprehensive functionality for searching videos, retrieving video details, fetching transcripts, and analyzing channels. The server is well-documented with clear installation instructions and supports multiple MCP clients including Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and others.

Try asking AI

After installing, here are 6 things you can ask your AI assistant:

• youtube_search

  Search videos, channels, playlists with filters

  Try:Search for Python tutorialsTry:Find recent AI videos
• youtube_get_video

  Get detailed video metadata, statistics, and content details

  Try:Get details for this video: URLTry:What's the view count for this video?
• youtube_get_channel

  Get channel info, subscriber count, and statistics

  Try:How many subscribers does @MKBHD have?Try:Channel statistics for this channel
• youtube_get_transcript

  Retrieve actual video transcript text with timestamps

  Try:Get the transcript for this videoTry:Show me the transcript with timestamps
• youtube_get_comments

  Fetch video comments with pagination support

  Try:Get comments for this videoTry:Show me the top comments on this video
• youtube_get_playlist

  Get playlist details and complete video list

  Try:Get videos in this playlistTry:Show me details about this playlist
• youtube_list_playlists

  List all playlists for a specific channel

  Try:List all playlists for this channelTry:Show me playlists from this channel

Comparable tools

Installation

# 1. Get your YouTube API Key from Google Cloud Console
#    https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/credentials

# 2. Set your API key as environment variable
export YOUTUBE_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"

# 3. Install pipx first (if not installed)
brew install pipx  # macOS
# or: apt install pipx  # Ubuntu/Debian

# 4. Install the package
pipx install youtube-connector-mcp

# 5. Add the MCP server
claude mcp add youtube-connector-mcp youtube-connector-mcp -s user -e YOUTUBE_API_KEY="${YOUTUBE_API_KEY}"

# 6. Restart Claude Code and start using!

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-connector-mcp": {
      "command": "youtube-connector-mcp",
      "env": {
        "YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

How do I get a YouTube API key?

Go to Google Cloud Console, create a project, enable YouTube Data API v3, and create an API key. It's free and takes just a few minutes.

What happens if I exceed the API quota?

You'll get a 403 error. Check your quota in Google Cloud Console. The default is 10,000 units per day. You can upgrade for higher limits.

Why can't I get transcripts for some videos?

The video may not have captions enabled, or auto-generated captions may take 24+ hours after upload. Try a video known to have captions.

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