MCP Youtube Transcript MCP Server

A server built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP) that enables direct downloading of YouTube video transcripts, supporting AI and video analysis

Local serverstdio

What is the MCP Youtube Transcript MCP server?

MCP Youtube Transcript becomes available to MCP clients through the mcp youtube transcript mcp server. A server built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP) that enables direct downloading of YouTube video transcripts, supporting AI and video analysis workflows.

What MCP Youtube Transcript does

A Model Context Protocol server that enables retrieval of transcripts from YouTube videos. This server provides direct access to video transcripts through a simple interface, making it ideal for content analysis and processing.

Key capabilities

  • Extract transcripts from YouTube videos
  • Support for multiple languages
  • Format text with continuous or paragraph mode
  • Retrieve video titles and metadata
  • Automatic paragraph segmentation
  • Text normalization and HTML entity decoding
  • Robust error handling
  • Timestamp and overlap detection

Tools it exposes

Once connected, the assistant can call these 4 tools directly:

  • Prerequisites — The Prerequisites tool exposed by this server
  • Installation — The Installation tool exposed by this server
  • Testing — The Testing tool exposed by this server
  • get_transcripts — The get_transcripts tool exposed by this server

Installing the mcp youtube transcript mcp server

The server is distributed via npm as @smithery/cli, so most clients can run it without a manual build step. Add it to your MCP client's configuration and restart the client to pick it up — the copy-paste configs for Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor are on this page.

Requirements

  • Node.js 18 or higher

Where it fits

Developer-tool servers are usually the first ones people connect, because they turn "help me with this code" into an assistant that can actually read the repo and act on it. MCP Youtube Transcript sits in that group, and the shape of its toolset — Prerequisites, Installation, Testing among others — tells you what it is really for. Worth comparing against the other developer tools servers in this directory before you commit to one, since several overlap in scope but differ sharply in setup cost and permissions.

Practical notes

  • This server runs locally, so it operates with whatever access your machine and its credentials already have. Scope that deliberately rather than by default.
  • Maintained by lnmunhoz.
  • MCP clients ask for confirmation before each tool call by default. Keep that on while you learn what the mcp youtube transcript mcp server actually does with your data.
  • Every entry in this directory is reviewed by hand before it goes live, and details are checked against the project's own documentation.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
PrerequisitesThe Prerequisites tool exposed by this server.
InstallationThe Installation tool exposed by this server.
TestingThe Testing tool exposed by this server.
get_transcriptsThe get_transcripts tool exposed by this server.

How to install the MCP Youtube Transcript MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@sinco-lab/mcp-youtube-transcript"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.

Configuration

  • Node.js 18 or higher

Example prompts to try

  • Use MCP Youtube Transcript to Prerequisites.
  • Use MCP Youtube Transcript to Installation.
  • Use MCP Youtube Transcript to Testing.

Frequently asked questions

It connects MCP Youtube Transcript to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 4 tools (Prerequisites, Installation, Testing, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with MCP Youtube Transcript directly.