YouTube Research MCP server

YouTube Research MCP

Turn YouTube videos into citation-ready research for Codex, Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients. Paste a video URL and get transcript evidence with timestamps and links that open at the exact quoted moment.

Input:  https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ
Output: [01:05] ...evidence text...
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&t=65s

No YouTube API key is required for transcript research.

Why this server

• Citation-ready research — every transcript segment includes a timestamp and source URL.
• Zero-key quick start — transcripts work immediately; add an API key only for search and analytics.
• URL-first input — accepts normal, short, Shorts, embed, live, and raw video-ID formats.
• Agent-efficient filtering — search inside transcripts and return nearby context instead of spending tokens on the entire video.
• Full YouTube intelligence — optional API mode adds comments, video/channel statistics, trends, and comparisons.
• Remote-native MCP — Streamable HTTP transport at /mcp, plus Docker and Smithery support.

Architecture and trust boundary

flowchart LR
    C[MCP client] -->|stdio or Streamable HTTP| T[Transport]
    T --> R[Tool and resource registry]
    R --> S[YouTubeService]
    S --> K[(In-memory cache)]
    S -->|no key required| YT[Caption tracks]
    S -->|optional API key| API[YouTube Data API v3]

The MCP layer validates inputs and returns structured evidence; it does not ask a model to invent summaries or citations. Transcript tools derive timestamps and canonical links from caption segments. Data API tools return an explicit key-required error when YOUTUBEAPIKEY is unavailable, and remote authentication is enforced before MCP session handling.

Focused evidence, not a transcript dump

The included live smoke test asks a focused question about a public video and compares the response with the full timestamped transcript:

This measures response characters, not model-specific tokens. Reproduce it against the default public fixture—or substitute your own video and query:

npm run test:live
LIVE_TEST_VIDEO='https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID' LIVE_TEST_QUERY='evaluation' npm run test:live

Quick start — no API key

Requirements: Node.js 20 or newer.

The shortest local install uses stdio and needs no API key:

codex mcp add youtube-research -- npx -y @coyasong/youtube-mcp-server@latest

For Claude Desktop and other MCPB-compatible desktop clients, download the latest one-click MCP bundle and open it. The bundle vendors its runtime dependencies, starts locally over stdio, and asks for a YouTube API key only if you want the optional analytics tools.

Shortened. The full README is on GitHub.