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YouTube Transcript MCP Server

Source

MCP server retrieving transcripts of YouTube videos

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Overview

The Youtube Transcript MCP Server is a tool that retrieves transcripts for given YouTube video URLs, making it easier to access the spoken content of videos.

To use the server, you need to configure it in your application (Goose CLI, Goose Desktop, or Claude Desktop) by adding the appropriate settings in the configuration files. You can also install it via Smithery for automatic setup.

  • Retrieves transcripts for YouTube videos. - Supports multiple languages for transcripts. - Easy integration with various desktop applications.
  1. Extracting transcripts for educational YouTube videos for study purposes.
  2. Creating subtitles for video content.
  3. Analyzing video content for research or content creation.

Add to your AI client

Use these steps to connect YouTube Transcript MCP 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-youtube-transcript-jkawamoto": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-mcp-youtube-transcript-jkawamoto"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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

Claude Code

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

.mcp.json (project root)

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

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

Windsurf

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

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

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

Cline

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

Cline MCP Settings (via UI)

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

FAQ

Can I retrieve transcripts in different languages?

Yes! You can specify the desired language for the transcript.

Is there a limit to the number of videos I can retrieve transcripts for?

No, you can retrieve transcripts for as many videos as you need, as long as you provide the correct URLs.

What is the license for this project?

The project is licensed under the MIT License.

Research and data