YouTube Transcript MCP Server

By jkawamoto GitHub

MCP server retrieving transcripts of YouTube videos

python mcp-server

Overview

What is Youtube Transcript MCP Server?

The Youtube Transcript MCP Server is a tool that retrieves transcripts for given YouTube video URLs, making it easier to access the spoken content of videos.

How to use Youtube Transcript MCP Server?

To use the server, you need to configure it in your application (Goose CLI, Goose Desktop, or Claude Desktop) by adding the appropriate settings in the configuration files. You can also install it via Smithery for automatic setup.

Key features of Youtube Transcript MCP Server?

Retrieves transcripts for YouTube videos.
Supports multiple languages for transcripts.
Easy integration with various desktop applications.

Use cases of Youtube Transcript MCP Server?

Extracting transcripts for educational YouTube videos for study purposes.
Creating subtitles for video content.
Analyzing video content for research or content creation.

FAQ from Youtube Transcript MCP Server?

Can I retrieve transcripts in different languages?

Yes! You can specify the desired language for the transcript.

Is there a limit to the number of videos I can retrieve transcripts for?

No, you can retrieve transcripts for as many videos as you need, as long as you provide the correct URLs.

What is the license for this project?

The project is licensed under the MIT License.

Content

YouTube Transcript MCP Server

This MCP server retrieves transcripts for given YouTube video URLs.

Tools

This MCP server provides the following tools:

`get_transcript`

Fetches the transcript of a specified YouTube video.

Parameters

url (string): The full URL of the YouTube video. This field is required.
lang (string, optional): The desired language for the transcript. Defaults to en if not specified.

Installation

For Goose CLI

To enable the YouTube Transcript extension in Goose CLI, edit the configuration file ~/.config/goose/config.yaml to include the following entry:

extensions:
  youtube-transcript:
    name: Youtube Transcript
    cmd: uvx
    args: [--from, git+https://github.com/jkawamoto/mcp-youtube-transcript, mcp-youtube-transcript]
    enabled: true
    type: stdio

For Goose Desktop

Add a new extension with the following settings:

Type: Standard IO
ID: youtube-transcript
Name: Youtube Transcript
Description: Retrieve transcripts of YouTube videos
Command: uvx --from git+https://github.com/jkawamoto/mcp-youtube-transcript mcp-youtube-transcript

For more details on configuring MCP servers in Goose Desktop, refer to the documentation: Using Extensions - MCP Servers.

For Claude Desktop

To configure this server for Claude Desktop, edit the claude_desktop_config.json file with the following entry under mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/jkawamoto/mcp-youtube-transcript",
        "mcp-youtube-transcript"
      ]
    }
  }
}

After editing, restart the application. For more information, see: For Claude Desktop Users - Model Context Protocol.

Installing via Smithery

To install Youtube Transcript for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @jkawamoto/mcp-youtube-transcript --client claude

Using Proxy Servers

In environments where access to YouTube is restricted, you can use proxy servers.

When using Webshare, set the username and password for the Residential Proxy using either the environment variables WEBSHARE_PROXY_USERNAME and WEBSHARE_PROXY_PASSWORD, or the command line arguments --webshare-proxy-username and --webshare-proxy-password.

When using other proxy servers, set the proxy server URL using either the environment variables HTTP_PROXY or HTTPS_PROXY, or the command line arguments --http-proxy or --https-proxy.

For more details, please visit: Working around IP bans - YouTube Transcript API.