Enhanced YouTube MCP Server

A powerful MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that connects AI models with YouTube's rich content via yt-dlp. Features comprehensive video downloading, enhanced subtitle processing with time range selection, multiple language support, intelligent caching, and robust error handling.

✨ New Features (v0.8.0)

• 🚀 Video Download: Download videos with quality selection (best, 720p, 480p, 360p)
• 🔄 Intelligent Caching: Automatic caching of video metadata for faster responses
• 🛡️ Enhanced Error Handling: Retry mechanisms and clear error messages
• ⚡ Progress Reporting: Real-time feedback for long operations
• 🎯 Smart Format Selection: Automatic fallback for unavailable formats

Core Features

• ⏰ Time-Range Downloads: Download specific portions of videos using customizable start/end times
• 🌍 Multi-Language Support: Download subtitles in multiple languages simultaneously
• 📊 Video Metadata: Get comprehensive video information including title, duration, description, and formats
• 📝 Multiple Subtitle Types: Choose between manual subtitles, auto-generated subtitles, and live chat
• 📋 Multiple Formats: Support for VTT, SRT, ASS, MP4, WebM, and other formats
• 🔍 Subtitle Discovery: List all available subtitle options for any video
• 🧹 Smart Processing: Intelligent content cleaning while preserving important information

Available Tools

download_video ⭐ NEW

Download YouTube videos with quality and format selection:

download_video({
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...",
  "quality": "best", // "best", "720p", "480p", "360p"
  "format": "mp4",   // "mp4", "webm", "best"
  "output_filename": "my_video", // optional custom filename
  "save_path": "./downloads" // optional directory to save video
})

get_video_info

Get comprehensive information about a YouTube video including metadata and available subtitle options. Results are automatically cached for 24 hours.

list_available_subtitles

List all available subtitle tracks for a video, showing manual and auto-generated options in different languages.

download_subtitles

Download subtitles with advanced options:

• Time Range Selection: Specify time_start and time_end (e.g., "10:30" to "25:45")
• Multiple Languages: Download subtitles in several languages at once
• Format Options: Choose from VTT, SRT, ASS formats
• Subtitle Types: Select manual, auto-generated, or live chat subtitles
• Metadata Inclusion: Optionally include video metadata in the response

download_video_metadata

Get detailed video information including title, description, duration, view count, and technical details.

Usage Examples

Basic subtitle download:

download_subtitles({
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...",
  "languages": ["en"],
  "formats": ["vtt"]
})

Time-range subtitle download (great for long videos):

download_subtitles({
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...",
  "languages": ["en", "es"],
  "time_start": "10:30",
  "time_end": "25:45",
  "formats": ["vtt", "srt"]
})

Get video information first:

get_video_info({
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=..."
})

Installation

Prerequisites

1. Install yt-dlp (Homebrew and WinGet both work great):

   brew install yt-dlp  # macOS
   winget install yt-dlp # Windows

Install the MCP Server

Manual Installation

If you prefer to manually configure the MCP server:

1. Install the package:

   npm install -g @sri-krishna/mcp-youtube

2. Add to your MCP configuration (usually in ~/.mcp.json or similar):

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "youtube": {
         "command": "mcp-youtube",
         "args": []
       }
     }
   }

3. Alternative configuration for npx (if not installed globally):

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

Integration with Claude

Once installed, Claude can use this server to:

• Summarize specific portions of long YouTube videos
• Extract subtitles in multiple languages
• Get video metadata for research
• Process video content with precise time selection

Try asking Claude: "Summarize the first 15 minutes of this YouTube video and provide the transcript in both English and Spanish."

credits/cloned from : https://github.com/anaisbetts/mcp-youtube.git