A Model Context Protocol server that enables retrieval of transcripts from YouTube videos. This server provides direct access to video captions and subtitles through a simple interface.
To install YouTube Transcript Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:
npx -y @smithery/cli install @kimtaeyoon83/mcp-server-youtube-transcript --client claude-
get_transcript
- Extract transcripts from YouTube videos
- Inputs:
url(string, required): YouTube video URL, Shorts URL, or video IDlang(string, optional, default: "en"): Language code for transcript (e.g., 'ko', 'en'). Automatically falls back to available languages if requested language is not found.include_timestamps(boolean, optional, default: false): Include timestamps in output (e.g., '[0:05] text')strip_ads(boolean, optional, default: true): Filter out sponsorships, ads, and promotional content from transcript based on chapter markers
-
analyze_video (optional, requires a TwelveLabs API key)
- Analyze a video with TwelveLabs Pegasus, a video-understanding model. Unlike
get_transcript, this reasons over what is shown on screen, so it produces useful summaries and answers even for videos with little or no speech (demos, gameplay, b-roll, music videos). - Inputs:
url(string, required): A publicly reachable direct video URL (e.g. an.mp4/.mov/.webmlink or a pre-signed URL). TwelveLabs fetches the file server-side, so a YouTube watch page URL will not work — it serves HTML, not a raw video stream.prompt(string, optional): Instruction or question for the model (e.g."Summarize this video in 3 sentences"or"What products are shown?"). Defaults to a general summary.model(string, optional, default:"pegasus1.2"): Pegasus model to use ("pegasus1.2"or"pegasus1.5").max_tokens(number, optional, default: 2048): Maximum response length in tokens.
- Requires the
TWELVELABS_API_KEYenvironment variable. The transcript tool works without it; analysis is fully opt-in. Grab a free key at twelvelabs.io — there's a generous free tier.
- Analyze a video with TwelveLabs Pegasus, a video-understanding model. Unlike
- Support for multiple video URL formats (including YouTube Shorts)
- Language-specific transcript retrieval with automatic fallback
- Optional timestamps for referencing specific moments
- Built-in ad/sponsorship filtering (enabled by default)
- Zero external dependencies for transcript fetching
- Detailed metadata in responses
To use with Claude Desktop, add this server configuration:
{
"mcpServers": {
"youtube-transcript": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@kimtaeyoon83/mcp-server-youtube-transcript"]
}
}
}To enable the optional analyze_video tool, add your TwelveLabs API key:
{
"mcpServers": {
"youtube-transcript": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@kimtaeyoon83/mcp-server-youtube-transcript"],
"env": {
"TWELVELABS_API_KEY": "your-twelvelabs-api-key"
}
}
}
}mcp-get A command-line tool for installing and managing Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers.
npx @michaellatman/mcp-get@latest install @kimtaeyoon83/mcp-server-youtube-transcriptawesome-mcp-servers A curated list of awesome Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers.
- Node.js 18 or higher
- npm or yarn
Install dependencies:
npm installBuild the server:
npm run buildFor development with auto-rebuild:
npm run watchnpm testSince MCP servers communicate over stdio, debugging can be challenging. We recommend using the MCP Inspector for development:
npm run inspectorThe evals package loads an mcp client that then runs the index.ts file, so there is no need to rebuild between tests. You can load environment variables by prefixing the npx command. Full documentation can be found here.
OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key npx mcp-eval src/evals/evals.ts src/index.tsThe server implements robust error handling for common scenarios:
- Invalid video URLs or IDs
- Unavailable transcripts
- Language availability issues
- Network errors
- Get transcript by video URL:
await server.callTool("get_transcript", {
url: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID",
lang: "en"
});- Get transcript by video ID:
await server.callTool("get_transcript", {
url: "VIDEO_ID",
lang: "ko"
});- Get transcript from YouTube Shorts:
await server.callTool("get_transcript", {
url: "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID"
});- Get transcript with timestamps:
await server.callTool("get_transcript", {
url: "VIDEO_ID",
include_timestamps: true
});- Get raw transcript without ad filtering:
await server.callTool("get_transcript", {
url: "VIDEO_ID",
strip_ads: false
});- How to Extract YouTube Subtitles in Claude Desktop App
chat: https://youtu.be/ODaHJzOyVCQ?si=aXkJgso96Deri0aB Extract subtitles
The server:
- Validates all input parameters
- Handles YouTube API errors gracefully
- Implements timeouts for transcript retrieval
- Provides detailed error messages for troubleshooting
This MCP server is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.
