YouTube transcripts, search, channel browsing, and playlists for AI agents via MCP.
Scored across 13 tools
Each tool targets a distinct resource plus action: transcript retrieval, language listing, channel banner, channel uploads, playlists, community posts, related videos, dislikes, credits, and two scopes of search. The only near-overlaps (get_channel_latest_videos vs list_channel_videos, search_youtube vs search_channel_videos, get_transcript_languages vs get_youtube_transcript) are explicitly resolved in the descriptions, which tell the agent when to prefer which.
Names follow a predictable get_/list_/search_ + noun pattern across all 13 tools, making intent readable at a glance. Minor deviations: get_channel_latest_videos is a list operation named with get_, and get_youtube_transcript carries a redundant 'youtube' qualifier that its siblings lack.
Thirteen tools sit comfortably in the well-scoped range for a YouTube research server. Every tool covers a distinct capability (transcript, search, channel browsing, playlists, posts, artwork, dislikes, quota) rather than duplicating another.
The lifecycle is well covered: discovery via search, drill-down via channel/playlist listings with continuation paging, and consumption via transcripts and related videos. The main gap is the absence of a standalone video-details tool (description, views, publish date, tags) — that metadata only leaks through search results or as a side effect of get_youtube_transcript.
Use this when the user wants a YouTube channel's banner or profile picture, for example to download the artwork or check how a channel presents itself. Accepts an @handle, channel URL, or UC... ID. Returns the uncropped banner URL, every crop size YouTube serves, and the avatar; has_banner is false when the channel has none.
Inputs: channel (required).
Use this when the user asks what a YouTube channel has posted recently, or wants a channel's details (name, handle, description, subscribers) with its 15 newest uploads. Accepts an @handle, channel URL, or UC... ID. For a channel's full upload history use list_channel_videos; to find a topic inside one channel use search_channel_videos.
Inputs: channel (required).
Use this when the user asks how many credits their getyoutubetranscript.com account has left, or after another tool reports the account has no credits remaining. Returns plan and top-up credit balances. Calling it does not use credits.
Inputs: no named parameters.
Use this when the user asks which caption or subtitle languages a YouTube video has, or before requesting a transcript in a non-English language when you don't know whether the video offers it. Returns each language with its code (pass it as language to get_youtube_transcript), whether it is creator-uploaded or auto-generated, and the default language. An empty list means the video has captions turned off. Costs 1 credit. Not needed for an ordinary transcript request: get_youtube_transcript already reports which language it returned.
Inputs: video_url (required).
Use this when the user asks how many dislikes a YouTube video has, or how well liked it is. YouTube no longer publishes dislikes, so this returns estimates from Return YouTube Dislike: likes, dislikes, a star rating and the view count. Say that the numbers are estimates.
Inputs: video_url (required).
Use this when the user shares a YouTube video link or ID, or asks to summarize, explain, quote, translate, take notes on, or chat about a specific YouTube video, lecture, podcast, or talk. Returns the full spoken text (captions) as one block, plus the title and channel. Set timestamps to true when the user wants timestamps, wants to find or quote where something is said, or wants a timeline or chapter breakdown: each caption line then starts with its [m:ss] time. Accepts watch, youtu.be, Shorts, and live URLs. Do not use for non-YouTube videos or for files the user uploads. If a video has no captions, this returns an error: tell the user instead of guessing what the video says.
Inputs: video_url (required), language, translate, timestamps, +1 more.
Use this when the user wants to see the playlists a YouTube channel has published, for example a creator's course series or show seasons. Returns each playlist's id, title, link and video count, one page at a time. Pass a playlist's id to list_playlist_videos to see its videos. Pass continuation from a previous response for the next page.
Inputs: channel, continuation.
Use this when the user wants a YouTube channel's community posts: announcements, polls and updates a creator posts outside of videos. Returns each post's text, links, likes, comments and attached image, one page at a time. Pass continuation from a previous response for the next page.
Inputs: channel, continuation.
Use this when the user wants to browse a YouTube channel's uploads beyond its latest videos, for example to see a creator's older episodes, its most popular videos, its Shorts, or its past live streams. Returns the channel's uploads one page at a time. tab picks Videos (default), Shorts or Live; sort picks latest (default), popular or oldest. Both apply to the first page only. Pass continuation from a previous response for the next page.
Inputs: tab, sort, channel, continuation.
Use this when the user shares a YouTube playlist, or wants to work through a course, lecture series, or podcast playlist video by video (for example to build study notes for each lecture). Returns the videos in playlist order, one page at a time. Pass continuation from a previous response for the next page.
Inputs: playlist, continuation.
Use this when the user wants videos from one specific YouTube channel about a topic, for example 'what has @hubermanlab said about sleep' or 'find the MIT OpenCourseWare videos on recursion'. Searches only inside that channel. Pass continuation from a previous response for the next page.
Inputs: query, channel, continuation.
Use this when the user wants to find YouTube videos or channels on a topic, for example 'find lectures on linear algebra' or 'popular videos about the Apollo missions', before reading or comparing them. Returns each result's title, video ID, link, channel, views, length, and upload date. Pass continuation from a previous response for the next page. Does not return what a video says: call get_youtube_transcript with a result's video ID for that.
Inputs: query, search_type, continuation.
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YouTube transcripts, search, channel/playlist listings and upload tracking for AI agents.
YouTube for AI agents: transcripts, comments, video stats, channel monitor, Shorts captions.
YouTube transcripts, search, channels, playlists and bulk transcript jobs for AI agents. 14 tools.
Real-time YouTube transcripts, comments, channels & video search MCP. Local npx or hosted OAuth.
Add one secure layer between your agents and this server.
