Overview
What is YouTube MCP Server?
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides resources and tools to query YouTube videos, channels, comments, and transcripts through a stdio interface. It is designed for developers and AI agents to interact with YouTube data programmatically.
How to use YouTube MCP Server?
Install dependencies with npm install, set the YOUTUBE_API_KEY environment variable in a .env file, then build and run the server using npm run build and npm start. The server can also be deployed via Docker or installed automatically for Claude Desktop using the Smithery CLI.
Key features of YouTube MCP Server
- Search YouTube videos with advanced filtering options
- Get detailed video and channel information
- Retrieve and compare video statistics
- Discover trending videos by region and category
- Fetch video comments and transcripts/captions
- Generate video analysis and transcript summaries
Use cases of YouTube MCP Server
- Query YouTube video metadata and statistics programmatically
- Analyze channel performance and video trends
- Extract and summarize video transcripts for content review
- Compare statistics across multiple videos
- Automate YouTube data collection for research or dashboards
FAQ from YouTube MCP Server
What is the YouTube MCP Server?
A server that implements the Model Context Protocol to interact with YouTube data, providing resources and tools for querying videos, channels, comments, and transcripts.
What are the prerequisites?
Node.js v16 or later and a YouTube Data API key.
How do I install it?
Clone the repository, run npm install, create a .env file with your YOUTUBE_API_KEY, then build and start the server. Alternatively, use the Smithery CLI for automatic Claude Desktop installation.
What transport and authentication does it use?
It uses a stdio interface and requires a YouTube Data API key set in the YOUTUBE_API_KEY environment variable.
What happens if there is an error?
The server handles invalid API keys, missing videos or channels, unavailable transcripts, and network issues, returning appropriate error responses.
