How do I install the yt dlp mcp server?

Use a recorded configuration for your client, replace example credential values and paths, and verify the documented runtime. Restart or reconnect the client, then inspect the available tools.

What credentials does it need?

It reads `YTDLP_PATH`, `FFMPEG_PATH` from the environment. Store these in your client's env block or a secrets manager — never commit them to a repository — and grant the narrowest scope that still covers your use case.

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Yt Dlp MCP Server

Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server for yt-dlp

Local serverstdio

What is the Yt Dlp MCP Server?

Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server for yt-dlp

The short version

An MCP server implementation that integrates with yt-dlp, providing video and audio content download capabilities from YouTube and other platforms for LLMs.

Video Download — Save videos to your specified folder with quality control
Audio Download — Extract and save audio in various formats (mp3, m4a, ogg, opus)
Video Information — Get metadata about videos without downloading
Privacy-Focused — Direct download without tracking
MCP Integration — Works with Claude Desktop and other MCP-compatible LLMs
Flexible Output — Customizable output paths and file formats

What it needs from you

Install yt-dlp based on your operating system: ```bash

More MCP options

Compare MCP servers by category, or browse hosted MCP servers if you prefer an endpoint over a local process.

Maintainer setup documentation.

Recorded tools

Check the linked publisher documentation and your connected client's tool list. Names and availability can vary with the server version and account permissions.

Tool	What it does
Inputs	url (string, required): URL of the video
quality_preference	string, optional): Video quality preference
video_container_preference	string, optional): Preferred video format
audio_container_preference	string, optional): Preferred audio format (mp3, m4a, ogg, opus)
output_path	string, optional): Custom output path with filename template
extract_audio_only	boolean, optional): Extract audio only. Defaults to false

How to install the Yt Dlp MCP Server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "yt-dlp-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@gtvar/yt-dlp-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

From the project documentation. Replace placeholders and example paths before connecting.

Configuration

Install yt-dlp based on your operating system: ```bash

Example prompts to try

“Use Yt Dlp MCP to Prerequisites.”

Frequently asked questions

Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server for yt-dlp Confirm the tools offered by your installed version in the connected client. Tool availability and permissions depend on the server and account configuration.