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Server Youtube

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Enables AI assistants to search videos, read channels, browse playlists, fetch comments, and get transcripts from YouTube using the YouTube Data API v3 and Inne

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About

Enables AI assistants to search videos, read channels, browse playlists, fetch comments, and get transcripts from YouTube using the YouTube Data API v3 and InnerTube API for captions.

README

Check Integration Tests

A Rust MCP server for YouTube. Search videos, read channels, browse playlists, fetch comments, and get transcripts — all from your AI assistant.

Why this one?

  • Full YouTube Data API v3 coverage — videos, channels, playlists, comments, categories, trending, search with all filters and sorting options
  • Working transcripts — uses rustypipe (InnerTube API) for reliable subtitle/caption extraction, including auto-generated captions. No API key quota consumed for transcripts
  • Single binary, zero runtime dependencies — written in Rust, starts instantly
  • Typed filter enums — search filters (duration, definition, license, etc.) are exposed as typed enums in the JSON schema, so AI models know exactly which values are valid without guessing

Tools

Videos

Tool Description
videos_getVideo Get video details (snippet, statistics, content details)
videos_searchVideos Search videos with filters for duration, definition, date range, region, captions, license, category, and more. Supports sorting by relevance, date, rating, or view count
videos_getCategories List video categories for a region
videos_getTrending Get trending/most popular videos for a region, optionally filtered by category

Channels

Tool Description
channels_getChannel Get channel info and statistics by channel ID
channels_getByHandle Look up a channel by its handle (e.g. @shura_stone)
channels_search Search for channels by name
channels_listVideos List videos from a channel (by date) with pagination

Playlists

Tool Description
playlists_getPlaylist Get playlist info
playlists_getPlaylistItems List videos in a playlist with pagination

Comments

Tool Description
comments_getComments Get comment threads on a video with pagination

Transcripts & Captions

Tool Description
transcripts_getTranscript Get video transcript/subtitles. Works with both auto-generated and manual captions. Returns plain text by default; set include_timestamps for per-segment timing. Uses rustypipe (InnerTube API) — no API key quota consumed
transcripts_getBatch Fetch transcripts for multiple videos in one call with concurrent fetching. No API key quota consumed
transcripts_listLanguages List available subtitle/caption languages for a video

Setup

Get a YouTube API Key

  1. Go to Google Cloud Console
  2. Create a project (or select an existing one)
  3. Enable the YouTube Data API v3
  4. Create an API key under Credentials

Configuration

Environment Variable CLI Flag Default Description
YOUTUBE_API_KEY --youtube-api-key required YouTube Data API v3 key
YOUTUBE_TRANSCRIPT_LANG --transcript-lang en Default transcript language
MCP_TRANSPORT --transport stdio Transport: stdio or streamable-http
HOST --host 127.0.0.1 HTTP bind address
PORT --port 3000 HTTP port
YOUTUBE_TRANSCRIPT_CONCURRENCY --transcript-concurrency 50 Max concurrent transcript fetches for batch operations

The API key is stored as a SecretString and never appears in logs or debug output.

Usage

Claude Desktop / Claude Code

With uvx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-youtube"],
      "env": {
        "YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

With rvx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube": {
      "command": "rvx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-youtube"],
      "env": {
        "YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}
Other installation methods

With Nix:

nix run github:vaporif/mcp-server-youtube

With cargo:

cargo install mcp-server-youtube

From releases:

Download a prebuilt binary from GitHub Releases.

HTTP Transport

YOUTUBE_API_KEY=your_key mcp-server-youtube --transport streamable-http --port 3000

The server listens on http://127.0.0.1:3000/mcp.

Debugging

Enable debug logging to see tool invocations:

RUST_LOG=debug mcp-server-youtube

Development

# Enter dev shell (requires Nix)
nix develop

# Build
cargo build

# Test
cargo test

# Lint
cargo clippy --workspace -- -D warnings

# Format
cargo fmt --all

License

GPL-3.0-or-later

from github.com/vaporif/mcp-server-youtube

Install Server Youtube in Claude Desktop, Claude Code & Cursor

Recommended · one command, every IDE
unyly install mcp-server-youtube

Installs into Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor & VS Code — handles npx, uvx and build-from-source repos for you.

First time? Get the CLI: curl -fsSL https://unyly.org/install | sh

Or configure manually

Run in your terminal:

claude mcp add mcp-server-youtube -- uvx mcp-server-youtube

FAQ

Is Server Youtube MCP free?

Yes, Server Youtube MCP is free — one-click install via Unyly at no cost.

Does Server Youtube need an API key?

No, Server Youtube runs without API keys or environment variables.

Is Server Youtube hosted or self-hosted?

Self-hosted: the server runs locally on your machine via the install command above.

How do I install Server Youtube in Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor?

Open Server Youtube on unyly.org, pick your client tab (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor) and press Install — the config is generated automatically, no JSON editing.

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