YouTube Transcript Remote MCP Server

The first remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables Claude AI to extract transcripts from YouTube videos. This server offers zero-setup access for users on any platform including mobile devices.

🌟 Features

Zero Local Setup: No installation required - works directly from the cloud
Universal Access: Works on desktop, mobile, and web versions of Claude
Smart Caching: Efficient caching system using Cloudflare KV for fast responses
Multi-language Support: Extract transcripts in different languages
Error Handling: Robust error handling with user-friendly messages
Analytics: Built-in request tracking and usage analytics
URL Flexibility: Handles all YouTube URL formats (youtube.com, youtu.be, m.youtube.com, etc.)

🚀 Quick Start

Option 1: Use Our Hosted Server (Recommended)

The easiest way to get started - just add our public server to your Claude Desktop:

For Claude Desktop Users

Open Claude Desktop Settings
- Click on "Claude" in the menu bar → "Settings"
- Navigate to "Developer" tab
- Click "Edit Config"

Add the MCP Server Configuration

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://youtube-transcript-mcp.ergut.workers.dev/sse"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop

After saving the config file, restart Claude Desktop to load the server.
Verify Installation

Look for the tools icon (🔧) in the chat interface. You should see the get_transcript tool available.

Option 2: Deploy Your Own

Want to run your own instance? Deploy to Cloudflare Workers in one click:

Or manually:

git clone https://github.com/ergut/youtube-transcript-mcp
cd youtube-transcript-mcp
npm install
npm run deploy

For Other MCP Clients

The server supports the standard MCP protocol and can be used with any compatible client:

Public Server URL: https://youtube-transcript-mcp.ergut.workers.dev/sse
Transport: Server-Sent Events (SSE) or HTTP
Authentication: None required (public server)

📖 Usage Examples

Basic Transcript Extraction

Extract the transcript from this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Multi-language Support

Can you get the transcript of this video in Turkish: https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID

Extract the Spanish transcript from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID

Supported URL Formats

The server automatically handles all YouTube URL formats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
https://www.youtube.com/live/VIDEO_ID
https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID
International domains (youtube.co.uk, youtube.de, etc.)

All tracking parameters (like ?si=, &t=, etc.) are automatically removed.

🛠 Available Tools

`get_transcript`

Extracts the transcript from a YouTube video URL.

Parameters:

url (required): YouTube video URL in any format
language (optional): Language code for the transcript (e.g., 'en', 'es', 'fr'). Defaults to 'en'.

Example Usage:

{
  "name": "get_transcript",
  "arguments": {
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "language": "en"
  }
}

🔧 Advanced Configuration

Debug Logging

To enable detailed logging for troubleshooting:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://youtube-transcript-mcp.ergut.workers.dev/sse",
        "--debug"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Debug logs will be created in ~/.mcp-auth/{server_hash}_debug.log.

HTTP Transport Only

To force HTTP transport instead of SSE:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://youtube-transcript-mcp.ergut.workers.dev/mcp",
        "--transport",
        "http-only"
      ]
    }
  }
}

📊 Server Information

Hosting: Cloudflare Workers
Caching: Cloudflare KV with 7-day cache for successful transcripts
Rate Limiting: Built-in retry logic with exponential backoff
Uptime: 99.9%+ availability through Cloudflare's global network
Response Time: Typically <3 seconds for cached content, <10 seconds for new requests

🚨 Error Handling

The server provides clear error messages for common issues:

"Invalid YouTube URL provided": The URL format is not recognized
"No transcript available for this video": Video has no captions/transcript
"Video not found or private": Video is private, deleted, or doesn't exist
"Service temporarily busy, try again in a few minutes": Rate limiting from YouTube
"Transcripts are disabled for this video": Creator has disabled captions

🌍 Language Support

The server supports any language that YouTube provides transcripts for. Common language codes:

en - English (default)
tr - Turkish
es - Spanish
fr - French
de - German
it - Italian
pt - Portuguese
ja - Japanese
ko - Korean
zh - Chinese

🔒 Privacy & Security

No Authentication Required: Public server for ease of use
No Data Storage: Transcripts are cached temporarily for performance only
No Personal Information: Only YouTube video IDs and transcripts are processed
HTTPS Only: All communications are encrypted
CORS Enabled: Supports web-based MCP clients

🚀 API Endpoints

For developers who want to integrate directly:

HTTP POST `/mcp`

Standard MCP JSON-RPC endpoint for direct integration.

Server-Sent Events `/sse`

MCP SSE transport endpoint for real-time communication.

Info `/`

Server information and status endpoint.

Example Direct API Call:

curl -X POST https://youtube-transcript-mcp.ergut.workers.dev/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 1,
    "method": "tools/call",
    "params": {
      "name": "get_transcript",
      "arguments": {
        "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
        "language": "en"
      }
    }
  }'

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Connection Error" in Claude Desktop
- Ensure you have the latest Claude Desktop version
- Check that mcp-remote is properly configured
- Try adding --debug flag to see detailed logs
"Could not attach to MCP server"
- Verify your internet connection
- Check the server URL is correct
- Restart Claude Desktop after config changes
No transcript returned
- Verify the YouTube URL is valid and accessible
- Check if the video has captions enabled
- Try a different language code if available

Getting Help

Check logs: Look in ~/.mcp-auth/ for debug logs
Test direct connection: Use npx -p mcp-remote@latest mcp-remote-client https://youtube-transcript-mcp.ergut.workers.dev/sse
Verify server status: Visit https://youtube-transcript-mcp.ergut.workers.dev/
Open an issue: GitHub Issues

🤝 Contributing

This is an open-source project. Contributions are welcome!

Report Issues: Found a bug? Please open an issue
Feature Requests: Have ideas for improvements? Let us know!
Code Contributions: PRs welcome for enhancements

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/ergut/youtube-transcript-mcp
cd youtube-transcript-mcp
npm install
npm run dev

📜 License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with the Model Context Protocol by Anthropic
Hosted on Cloudflare Workers
Uses the youtube-transcript library
Inspired by the MCP community and existing local transcript servers

Ready to supercharge Claude with YouTube transcript extraction? Add this server to your Claude Desktop configuration and start extracting transcripts from any YouTube video instantly! 🎉

YouTube Transcript