YouTube MCP Server (NO API REQUIRED)

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables YouTube search, video info retrieval, and transcript extraction with NO API KEYS required.

Features

• Search YouTube videos with customizable result limits
• Get detailed video information from any YouTube URL or video ID
• Extract video transcripts (captions) with timestamps
• No API keys or authentication required
• Support for multiple YouTube URL formats
• Automatic language selection (prioritizes English)
• Returns structured results with rich metadata

Installation

1. Clone or download this repository
2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

3. Build the server:

   npm run build
   

4. Add the server to your MCP configuration:

For Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-search": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/youtube-mcp/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

(Replace with the absolute path to the index.js file on your system)

Configuration file location:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

For Cursor:

1. Go to Settings → MCP → Add a new MCP server
2. Fill in the fields: - Name: youtube - Type: command - Command: node /absolute/path/to/youtube-mcp/build/index.js

(Replace with the absolute path to the index.js file on your system)

Usage

The server provides three tools:

1. Search Tool (search)

{
  "query": string,    // The search query
  "limit": number     // Optional: Number of results to return (default: 5, max: 10)
}

Example response:

[
  {
    "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "title": "Video Title",
    "url": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/hqdefault.jpg",
    "description": "Video description...",
    "channel": {
      "name": "Channel Name",
      "url": "https://youtube.com/channel/..."
    },
    "viewCount": "1M views",
    "publishedTime": "3 years ago"
  }
]

2. Video Info Tool (get-video-info)

{
  "input": string    // YouTube video ID or URL
}

Supported URL formats:

• Direct video ID: dQw4w9WgXcQ
• Standard watch URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
• Short URL: https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ
• Embed URL: https://www.youtube.com/embed/dQw4w9WgXcQ
• Mobile URL: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
• Music URL: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

3. Transcript Tool (get-transcript)

{
  "input": string    // YouTube video ID or URL
}

Example response:

{
  "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "videoInfo": {
    "title": "Video Title",
    "channel": {
      "name": "Channel Name"
    },
    "duration": "212"
  },
  "transcript": [
    {
      "time": "0.00",
      "text": "First caption..."
    },
    {
      "time": "2.50",
      "text": "Next caption..."
    }
  ]
}

Limitations

Since this tool uses web scraping of YouTube pages, there are some important limitations to be aware of:

1. Rate Limiting:

   • YouTube may temporarily block requests if too many are made in a short time
   • Keep requests to a reasonable frequency
   • Consider implementing delays between requests
   • Use the limit parameter judiciously

2. Transcript Availability:

   • Not all videos have transcripts/captions available
   • Some videos may only have auto-generated captions
   • Some videos may only have non-English captions
   • Private videos are not accessible

3. Result Accuracy:

   • The tool relies on YouTube's HTML structure, which may change
   • Some metadata might be missing or incomplete
   • Search results may vary based on region/language settings

4. Legal Considerations:

   • This tool is intended for personal use
   • Respect YouTube's terms of service
   • Consider implementing appropriate rate limiting for your use case

Error Handling

The server provides clear error messages for common issues:

1. Invalid video IDs or URLs:

   {
     "error": "Invalid YouTube video ID or URL: input"
   }
   

2. Missing transcripts:

   {
     "error": "No transcript available for this video"
   }
   

3. Network or parsing errors:

   {
     "error": "Failed to fetch video data: HTTP error status 429"
   }
   

Contributing

Feel free to submit issues and enhancement requests!

Connect & Feedback

Have questions, suggestions, or need help with this tool? Connect with me:

• GitHub: @spolepaka/youtube-mcp
• X (Twitter): @skpolepaka

Your feedback helps improve this tool for everyone!