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YouTube Transcript Server

Source

This is an MCP server that allows you to directly download transcripts of YouTube videos.

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Overview

The YouTube Transcript Server is an MCP server that allows users to directly download transcripts of YouTube videos, providing easy access to captions and subtitles.

To utilize this server, you simply need to provide the YouTube video URL or video ID and optionally specify the language for the transcript. You can then call the 'get_transcript' tool.

  • Supports multiple video URL formats for transcript retrieval. - Allows language-specific transcript extraction. - Returns detailed metadata in its responses.
  1. Extracting transcripts for educational YouTube videos for study purposes.
  2. Retrieving subtitles for videos in different languages for broader accessibility.
  3. Analyzing video content through transcripts for research or content creation.

Add to your AI client

Use these steps to connect YouTube Transcript Server in Cursor, Claude, VS Code, and other MCP-compatible apps. The same JSON appears in the Use with menu above for one-click copy.

Cursor

Add this to your .cursor/mcp.json file in your project root, then restart Cursor.

.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-server-youtube-transcript-kimtaeyoon83": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-mcp-server-youtube-transcript-kimtaeyoon83"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add this server entry to the mcpServers object in your Claude Desktop config, then restart the app.

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-server-youtube-transcript-kimtaeyoon83": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-mcp-server-youtube-transcript-kimtaeyoon83"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

Add this to your project's .mcp.json file. Claude Code will detect it automatically.

.mcp.json (project root)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-server-youtube-transcript-kimtaeyoon83": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-mcp-server-youtube-transcript-kimtaeyoon83"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Code (Copilot)

Add this to your .vscode/mcp.json file. Requires the GitHub Copilot extension with MCP support enabled.

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "mcp-server-youtube-transcript-kimtaeyoon83": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-mcp-server-youtube-transcript-kimtaeyoon83"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add this to your Windsurf MCP config file, then restart Windsurf.

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-server-youtube-transcript-kimtaeyoon83": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-mcp-server-youtube-transcript-kimtaeyoon83"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Cline

Open Cline settings, navigate to MCP Servers, and add this server configuration.

Cline MCP Settings (via UI)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-server-youtube-transcript-kimtaeyoon83": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-mcp-server-youtube-transcript-kimtaeyoon83"
      ]
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Can this server extract transcripts from any YouTube video?

Yes, as long as the video has available transcripts or subtitles, the server can retrieve them.

What languages are supported for transcripts?

The server defaults to English but allows users to specify other languages as needed.

Is there any limit on the number of requests?

The server does not impose specific limits, but it's advisable to follow the YouTube API usage guidelines.

Research and data