YouTube MCP Server

Connect YouTube to Claude, Cursor or any other MCP client and it stops being a tab you switch to. A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for YouTube videos with caption extraction and markdown conversion capabilities. The youtube mcp server is what makes that connection.

What the server does

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for interacting with YouTube videos. This server provides tools for extracting video metadata, captions, and converting them to markdown format with various templates.

• Video Metadata — Fetch comprehensive video information
• Caption Extraction — Support for auto-generated and manual captions
• Multiple Languages — Built-in support for English and French
• Template System — Three built-in markdown templates:
• Basic: Simple transcript format
• Detailed: Full metadata with timestamps

Installation

Setup follows the usual MCP pattern — install or clone the server, register it in your client's configuration file, restart the client.

Credentials and setup notes

Configuration is passed through the environment: YOUTUBE_API_KEY, YOUTUBE_CLIENT_ID, YOUTUBE_CLIENT_SECRET, YOUTUBE_REFRESH_TOKEN, VIDEO_ID. Treat anything key-shaped as a real credential — scope it to the minimum the server needs, and rotate it if it ever lands in a shared config.

• Node.js (v16 or higher) - npm or yarn - A YouTube Data API key and/or OAuth2 credentials

Worth knowing first

• It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
• Missing credentials fail quietly in some clients — if no tools show up, check the environment block first.
• Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Where it fits

Among the developer tooling options, the useful question is rarely "what can it do" but "what does it cost you to run" — permissions, credentials, and how much of your context its toolset consumes. It is maintained by nattyraz; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

SyncDev reviews every entry in this directory against the project's own documentation before publishing, and revisits them as servers change.