YouTube Transcript MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for extracting and processing YouTube video transcripts.

Features

• Extract transcripts from YouTube videos
• Channel processing - Get all videos from a YouTube channel
• Playlist processing - Get all videos from a YouTube playlist
• Bulk transcripts - Extract transcripts from all channel or playlist videos
• Search within transcripts for specific content
• Batch processing of multiple videos
• Multiple output formats (JSON, text, SRT, VTT)
• Context-aware search with configurable windows

Installation

Via NPX (Recommended)

npx @emit-ia/youtube-transcript-mcp

Local Development

git clone https://github.com/emit-ia/youtube-transcript-mcp.git
cd youtube-transcript-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Usage

As MCP Server

Option 1: Via NPX

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration:

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

Option 2: Local Installation

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration:

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

Available Tools

youtube_get_transcript

Extract transcript from a YouTube video.

Parameters:

• url (required): YouTube video URL
• language (optional): Language code (default: "en")
• format (optional): Output format - "json", "text", "srt", "vtt" (default: "json")

youtube_search_transcript

Search for specific text within a transcript.

Parameters:

• url (required): YouTube video URL
• query (required): Text to search for
• contextWindow (optional): Seconds of context (default: 30)
• caseSensitive (optional): Case sensitive search (default: false)
• language (optional): Language code (default: "en")

youtube_batch_transcripts

Process multiple videos simultaneously.

Parameters:

• urls (required): Array of YouTube video URLs
• language (optional): Language code (default: "en")
• maxConcurrent (optional): Max concurrent requests (default: 3)

youtube_transcript_summary

Get formatted summary of transcript content.

Parameters:

• url (required): YouTube video URL
• summaryType (optional): "brief", "detailed", "topics", "timestamps" (default: "brief")
• language (optional): Language code (default: "en")

youtube_get_channel_videos

Get detailed video information from a YouTube channel.

Parameters:

• channelUrl (required): YouTube channel URL (supports @username, /c/, /channel/, /user/ formats)
• maxVideos (optional): Maximum number of videos to retrieve (default: 50, max: 200)

youtube_get_channel_video_urls

Get just the video URLs from a YouTube channel.

Parameters:

• channelUrl (required): YouTube channel URL
• maxVideos (optional): Maximum number of video URLs to retrieve (default: 50, max: 200)

youtube_get_channel_transcripts

Extract transcripts from multiple videos in a YouTube channel.

Parameters:

• channelUrl (required): YouTube channel URL
• maxVideos (optional): Maximum number of videos to process (default: 10, max: 50)
• maxConcurrent (optional): Max concurrent transcript requests (default: 3, max: 10)

youtube_get_playlist_info

Get information about a YouTube playlist.

Parameters:

• playlistUrl (required): YouTube playlist URL (supports playlist?list= and watch?v=...&list= formats)

youtube_get_playlist_videos

Get detailed video information from a YouTube playlist.

Parameters:

• playlistUrl (required): YouTube playlist URL
• maxVideos (optional): Maximum number of videos to retrieve (default: 50, max: 200)

youtube_get_playlist_video_urls

Get just the video URLs from a YouTube playlist.

Parameters:

• playlistUrl (required): YouTube playlist URL
• maxVideos (optional): Maximum number of video URLs to retrieve (default: 50, max: 200)

youtube_get_playlist_transcripts

Extract transcripts from multiple videos in a YouTube playlist.

Parameters:

• playlistUrl (required): YouTube playlist URL
• maxVideos (optional): Maximum number of videos to process (default: 50, max: 200)
• maxConcurrent (optional): Max concurrent transcript requests (default: 3, max: 10)

Example Usage

// Get basic transcript
const transcript = await youtube_get_transcript({
  url: "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  format: "json"
});

// Search within transcript
const searchResults = await youtube_search_transcript({
  url: "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  query: "important topic",
  contextWindow: 30
});

// Get all videos from a channel
const channelVideos = await youtube_get_channel_videos({
  channelUrl: "https://youtube.com/@channelname",
  maxVideos: 25
});

// Get just the video URLs
const videoUrls = await youtube_get_channel_video_urls({
  channelUrl: "https://youtube.com/c/ChannelName",
  maxVideos: 50
});

// Get transcripts from channel videos
const channelTranscripts = await youtube_get_channel_transcripts({
  channelUrl: "https://youtube.com/@channelname",
  maxVideos: 10,
  maxConcurrent: 3
});

// Get playlist information
const playlistInfo = await youtube_get_playlist_info({
  playlistUrl: "https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmRdnEQy6nuLMHjMZOz59Mgq_SUoL"
});

// Get all videos from a playlist
const playlistVideos = await youtube_get_playlist_videos({
  playlistUrl: "https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmRdnEQy6nuLMHjMZOz59Mgq_SUoL",
  maxVideos: 50
});

// Get transcripts from playlist videos
const playlistTranscripts = await youtube_get_playlist_transcripts({
  playlistUrl: "https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmRdnEQy6nuLMHjMZOz59Mgq_SUoL",
  maxVideos: 25,
  maxConcurrent: 3
});

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• No API keys required (uses public transcript data)

Limitations

• Only works with videos that have public transcripts
• Rate limiting may apply for high-volume usage
• Transcript availability depends on YouTube's availability

License

MIT