YouTube Transcript MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for retrieving transcripts from YouTube videos. Extract, summarize, and analyze video content with Claude Code or any MCP-enabled AI tool.

Quick Start

claude mcp add --scope user youtube-transcript npx @adbuilds/youtube-transcript-mcp

Then restart Claude Code and ask: "Get the transcript from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"

Features

• Get Video Transcripts: Extract full transcripts from any YouTube video with available captions
• Multiple URL Formats: Support for all common YouTube URL formats
• Timestamp Support: Include or exclude timestamps in transcript output
• Language Selection: Request transcripts in specific languages when available
• Zero Dependencies: Uses native fetch API for transcript fetching (no external packages for YouTube)
• Multi-Client Fallback: Tries Android → Web → TV_EMBEDDED clients for maximum reliability

Installation

Via npm (Recommended)

npm install -g @adbuilds/youtube-transcript-mcp

From source

git clone https://github.com/adbuilds/youtube-transcript-mcp.git
cd youtube-transcript-mcp
npm install

Configuration

Claude Code CLI (Easiest)

# Add the MCP server for all projects (machine-wide)
claude mcp add --scope user youtube-transcript npx @adbuilds/youtube-transcript-mcp

Manual Configuration

Add to your ~/.claude.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@adbuilds/youtube-transcript-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Usage

Once configured, restart Claude Code. The following tools will be available:

1. get-transcript

Retrieve the transcript of a YouTube video.

Parameters:

• url (required): YouTube video URL or video ID
• lang (optional): Language code for transcript (e.g., 'en', 'es', 'fr'). Default: video's default language
• include_timestamps (optional): Include timestamps in output. Default: true

Supported URL formats:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
• https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID
• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID
• VIDEO_ID (just the 11-character video ID)

Example prompts:

Get the transcript from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Get the transcript from this video without timestamps: https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ

2. get-transcript-languages

Check what transcript languages are available for a video.

Parameters:

• url (required): YouTube video URL or video ID

Example:

What transcript languages are available for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ?

MCP Token Limit

The MCP protocol has a 25,000 token response limit. For very long videos (60+ minutes):

• Disable timestamps to reduce size by 20-30%
• Request shorter clips if available

Technical Details

• Built with @modelcontextprotocol/sdk
• Custom YouTube transcript library (yt-lib/) with zero external dependencies
• Uses YouTube's Innertube API for reliable transcript access
• Multi-client fallback system (Android → Web → TV_EMBEDDED)

Error Handling

The server provides specific error messages for:

• Transcripts disabled by video owner
• Video unavailable or private
• Age-restricted videos
• Request blocking (rate limiting)
• Invalid video IDs

License

MIT