YouTube Transcript & Search MCP Server

YouTube Transcript & Search MCP Server.

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What it can do

  • Get Transcript: Get the transcript (subtitles) of a YouTube video. Accepts a video id or any YouTube URL. Set video_metadata=true to get the title, channel and duration in the SAME call — do not call
  • Get Video Info: Get metadata for one YouTube video (title, channel, duration, views, thumbnails) plus the list of available transcript languages, WITHOUT downloading the subtitles. Use it only when th
  • Search Youtube: Search YouTube for videos or channels. Paginate by passing next_page_token from the previous result. has_more tells you whether another page exists.

What data it sees

Do you need an account

No: the server works without sign-in

YouTube Transcript & Search MCP Server. 14 tools for AI agents: transcript extraction in five formats with adjustable segment size, video metadata, video and channel search, channel browsing, in-channel search, playlists, and an asynchronous batch job for up to 4,000 transcripts. Free tier: 100 credits on signup, no card.

How to connect

How to connect YouTube Transcript & Search MCP Server to Claude

The server address to paste into Claude settings:

https://youtube-transcript-search--artemchuikin.run.tools

  1. Open Claude (claude.ai or the desktop app).
  2. Go to Settings → Connectors.
  3. Click Add custom connector.
  4. Paste the server address copied below into Remote MCP server URL and click Add.
  5. In a chat, click + → Connectors and switch the new connector on.

Custom connectors are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans (Free is limited to one). On Team and Enterprise an organization Owner adds the connector first under Organization settings → Connectors.

Authorization

After you click Add, a sign-in window for the service opens. Sign in with your own account and approve access. Claude never sees your password.

How to connect YouTube Transcript & Search MCP Server to ChatGPT

The server address to paste into ChatGPT settings:

https://youtube-transcript-search--artemchuikin.run.tools

  1. Open ChatGPT in a browser (chatgpt.com). A Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu plan is required.
  2. Turn on developer mode once: Settings → Apps → Advanced settings → Developer mode.
  3. Open Settings → Connectors and click Create.
  4. Fill in the form: Name (anything), Description (one line about what the service does), MCP server URL (copy it below).
  5. Under Authentication choose OAuth if the service requires sign-in, otherwise None. Click Create.
  6. In a new chat open + → Apps/Connectors and enable the connector.

OpenAI has renamed this section before (Connectors → Apps/Plugins). If the label differs, search settings for "developer mode". On Business/Enterprise workspaces an admin must allow custom connectors first.

Authorization

On first use ChatGPT opens the service's sign-in window. Sign in and approve access.

How to connect YouTube Transcript & Search MCP Server to Cursor

The server address to paste into Cursor settings:

https://youtube-transcript-search--artemchuikin.run.tools

Fastest: click Open in Cursor below and confirm the prompt.

Manually:

  1. In Cursor open Settings → Cursor Settings → MCP and click Add new global MCP server.
  2. Paste the JSON copied below into ~/.cursor/mcp.json (per project: .cursor/mcp.json in the repo root).
  3. Save the file. The server appears in the MCP list; authorize it there if asked.

Authorization

If the service needs sign-in, an authorize button appears next to the server in the MCP list.

Server tool list (14)

Raw names from tools/list. Only developers need these.

get_transcriptGet the transcript (subtitles) of a YouTube video. Accepts a video id or any YouTube URL. Set video_metadata=true to get the title, channel and duration in the SAME call — do not call get_video_info first, that is a second billed call for data this one already returns. format=text returns plain readable text (default, cheapest to read); format=json returns timed segments with start/duration in seconds; srt/vtt return ready subtitle file bodies and srv3 the raw YouTube XML. Prefer text unless you need timestamps or a file. Costs 1 credit.
get_video_infoGet metadata for one YouTube video (title, channel, duration, views, thumbnails) plus the list of available transcript languages, WITHOUT downloading the subtitles. Use it only when the transcript itself is not wanted. If you are going to fetch the transcript anyway, call get_transcript with video_metadata=true instead — it returns both for one credit, where these are two separate calls and two credits.
search_youtubeSearch YouTube for videos or channels. Paginate by passing next_page_token from the previous result. has_more tells you whether another page exists.
list_channel_videosList videos from a channel's Videos tab, newest first. Accepts an @handle, a UC... channel id or a channel URL. ids_only=true returns just video ids (up to 500 per page) — use it when you only need ids to fetch transcripts.
search_channel_videosSearch videos inside one channel using YouTube's native relevance search. Results are ranked by relevance, so a video whose title lacks the query word is normal.
latest_channel_videosGet the ~15 most recent videos of a channel from its RSS feed. Fastest and cheapest way to check what a channel published recently.
list_playlist_videosList videos of a playlist in playlist order. Accepts a PL... playlist id or a URL with list=. ids_only=true returns just video ids (up to 500 per page).
search_playlist_videosFind videos inside a playlist by a substring of the title (case-insensitive). YouTube has no native playlist search, so this scans up to 500 playlist items. truncated=true means there may be more matches beyond the scanned window.
submit_transcripts_jobQueue transcripts for MANY videos at once (up to 4000) and get a job_id back immediately — the work continues in the background. Use this instead of calling get_transcript in a loop for more than a handful of videos. Feed it video ids from list_channel_videos or list_playlist_videos (ids_only=true). Next: poll get_transcripts_job until status is 'done', reading finished transcripts from get_transcripts_results as they land. Costs 1 credit per video, charged on submit; duplicates are removed first. Requires a user key (sk_...).
get_transcripts_jobCheck the progress of a batch job: status (queued/running/done/cancelled), how many videos are ready, failed and still pending. Free — polling a job you already paid for costs nothing. Read the transcripts themselves with get_transcripts_results.
get_transcripts_resultsRead finished transcripts from a batch job, in the order submitted. Results appear as they are fetched, so this can be called before the job is done. Each entry is exactly what get_transcript returns for that video, plus its status. Page with next_page_token. Free.
get_transcripts_resultRead ONE video's result out of a batch job by its video id, without paging through get_transcripts_results. 404 means the job does not exist or this video has not finished yet — check get_transcripts_job before concluding anything. Free.
cancel_transcripts_jobCancel a batch job. Credits are refunded ONLY for videos not started yet — anything already fetched stays in the results and stays paid for. Free.
get_creditsCheck the remaining credit balance of the API key. Free. Use it when the user asks how many credits are left, or before submit_transcripts_job to confirm a large batch fits the balance (the batch charges 1 credit per video on submit).