Hosted on Cloudflare Workers platform providing zero-setup remote access with built-in caching using Cloudflare KV and global availability
Enables extraction of transcripts from YouTube videos with support for multiple languages, various URL formats, and smart caching for fast responses
YouTube Transcript Remote MCP Server
The first remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables Claude AI to extract transcripts from YouTube videos. This server offers zero-setup access for users on any platform including mobile devices.
🌟 Features
Zero Local Setup: No installation required - works directly from the cloud
Universal Access: Works on desktop, mobile, and web versions of Claude
Smart Caching: Efficient caching system using Cloudflare KV for fast responses
Multi-language Support: Extract transcripts in different languages
Error Handling: Robust error handling with user-friendly messages
Analytics: Built-in request tracking and usage analytics
URL Flexibility: Handles all YouTube URL formats (youtube.com, youtu.be, m.youtube.com, etc.)
🚀 Quick Start
Option 1: Use Our Hosted Server (Recommended)
The easiest way to get started - just add our public server to your Claude Desktop:
For Claude Desktop Users
Open Claude Desktop Settings
Click on "Claude" in the menu bar → "Settings"
Navigate to "Developer" tab
Click "Edit Config"
Add the MCP Server Configuration
Add this to your
claude_desktop_config.json
:{ "mcpServers": { "youtube-transcript": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://youtube-transcript-mcp.ergut.workers.dev/sse" ] } } }Restart Claude Desktop
After saving the config file, restart Claude Desktop to load the server.
Verify Installation
Look for the tools icon (🔧) in the chat interface. You should see the
get_transcript
tool available.
Option 2: Deploy Your Own
Want to run your own instance? Deploy to Cloudflare Workers in one click:
Or manually:
For Other MCP Clients
The server supports the standard MCP protocol and can be used with any compatible client:
Public Server URL:
https://youtube-transcript-mcp.ergut.workers.dev/sse
Transport: Server-Sent Events (SSE) or HTTP
Authentication: None required (public server)
📖 Usage Examples
Basic Transcript Extraction
Multi-language Support
Supported URL Formats
The server automatically handles all YouTube URL formats:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
https://www.youtube.com/live/VIDEO_ID
https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID
International domains (
youtube.co.uk
,youtube.de
, etc.)
All tracking parameters (like ?si=
, &t=
, etc.) are automatically removed.
🛠 Available Tools
get_transcript
Extracts the transcript from a YouTube video URL.
Parameters:
url
(required): YouTube video URL in any formatlanguage
(optional): Language code for the transcript (e.g., 'en', 'es', 'fr'). Defaults to 'en'.
Example Usage:
🔧 Advanced Configuration
Debug Logging
To enable detailed logging for troubleshooting:
Debug logs will be created in ~/.mcp-auth/{server_hash}_debug.log
.
HTTP Transport Only
To force HTTP transport instead of SSE:
📊 Server Information
Hosting: Cloudflare Workers
Caching: Cloudflare KV with 7-day cache for successful transcripts
Rate Limiting: Built-in retry logic with exponential backoff
Uptime: 99.9%+ availability through Cloudflare's global network
Response Time: Typically <3 seconds for cached content, <10 seconds for new requests
🚨 Error Handling
The server provides clear error messages for common issues:
"Invalid YouTube URL provided": The URL format is not recognized
"No transcript available for this video": Video has no captions/transcript
"Video not found or private": Video is private, deleted, or doesn't exist
"Service temporarily busy, try again in a few minutes": Rate limiting from YouTube
"Transcripts are disabled for this video": Creator has disabled captions
🌍 Language Support
The server supports any language that YouTube provides transcripts for. Common language codes:
en
- English (default)tr
- Turkishes
- Spanishfr
- Frenchde
- Germanit
- Italianpt
- Portugueseja
- Japaneseko
- Koreanzh
- Chinese
🔒 Privacy & Security
No Authentication Required: Public server for ease of use
No Data Storage: Transcripts are cached temporarily for performance only
No Personal Information: Only YouTube video IDs and transcripts are processed
HTTPS Only: All communications are encrypted
CORS Enabled: Supports web-based MCP clients
🚀 API Endpoints
For developers who want to integrate directly:
HTTP POST /mcp
Standard MCP JSON-RPC endpoint for direct integration.
Server-Sent Events /sse
MCP SSE transport endpoint for real-time communication.
Info /
Server information and status endpoint.
Example Direct API Call:
🐛 Troubleshooting
Common Issues
"Connection Error" in Claude Desktop
Ensure you have the latest Claude Desktop version
Check that
mcp-remote
is properly configuredTry adding
--debug
flag to see detailed logs
"Could not attach to MCP server"
Verify your internet connection
Check the server URL is correct
Restart Claude Desktop after config changes
No transcript returned
Verify the YouTube URL is valid and accessible
Check if the video has captions enabled
Try a different language code if available
Getting Help
Check logs: Look in
~/.mcp-auth/
for debug logsTest direct connection: Use
npx -p mcp-remote@latest mcp-remote-client https://youtube-transcript-mcp.ergut.workers.dev/sse
Verify server status: Visit
https://youtube-transcript-mcp.ergut.workers.dev/
Open an issue: GitHub Issues
🤝 Contributing
This is an open-source project. Contributions are welcome!
Report Issues: Found a bug? Please open an issue
Feature Requests: Have ideas for improvements? Let us know!
Code Contributions: PRs welcome for enhancements
Development Setup
📜 License
This project is open source and available under the MIT License.
🙏 Acknowledgments
Built with the Model Context Protocol by Anthropic
Hosted on Cloudflare Workers
Uses the youtube-transcript library
Inspired by the MCP community and existing local transcript servers
Ready to supercharge Claude with YouTube transcript extraction? Add this server to your Claude Desktop configuration and start extracting transcripts from any YouTube video instantly! 🎉
This server cannot be installed
remote-capable server
The server can be hosted and run remotely because it primarily relies on remote services or has no dependency on the local environment.
Enables Claude AI to extract transcripts from YouTube videos with zero setup required. Works on all platforms including mobile, supports multiple languages, and handles all YouTube URL formats through a cloud-hosted service.