# YouTube MCP Server Enhanced
> **Enhanced fork of [sfiorini/youtube-mcp](https://github.com/sfiorini/youtube-mcp)** with fixes and improvements.
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation for YouTube, enabling AI language models to interact with YouTube content through a standardized interface.
## What's Enhanced
- All video responses include direct YouTube URLs (`url` and `videoId` fields)
- Shared utilities architecture (single source of truth)
- Lazy initialization for better performance
- 90% code deduplication
- Better error handling
- Works reliably with Claude Code CLI on Windows
## Features
### Video Information
* Get video details (title, description, duration, etc.) **with direct URLs**
* List channel videos **with direct URLs**
* Get video statistics (views, likes, comments)
* Search videos across YouTube **with direct URLs**
* **NEW**: Enhanced video responses include `url` and `videoId` fields for easy integration
### Transcript Management
* Retrieve video transcripts
* Support for multiple languages
* Get timestamped captions
* Search within transcripts
### Direct Resources & Prompts
* **Resources**:
* `youtube://transcript/{videoId}`: Access transcripts directly via resource URIs
* `youtube://info`: Server information and usage documentation (Smithery discoverable)
* **Prompts**:
* `summarize-video`: Automated workflow to get and summarize video content
* `analyze-channel`: Comprehensive analysis of a channel's content strategy
* **Annotations**: All tools include capability hints (read-only, idempotent) for better LLM performance
### Channel Management
* Get channel details
* List channel playlists
* Get channel statistics
* Search within channel content
### Playlist Management
* List playlist items
* Get playlist details
* Search within playlists
* Get playlist video transcripts
## Installation
### Local Installation (Recommended)
1. Clone this repository:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/aranej/youtube-mcp-enhanced.git
cd youtube-mcp-enhanced
npm install
npm run build
```
2. Add to your Claude Desktop or Claude Code configuration:
**Claude Desktop** (`%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json` on Windows):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"youtube": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/youtube-mcp-enhanced/dist/cli.js"],
"env": {
"YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "your_youtube_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}
```
**Claude Code CLI** (`~/.claude.json`):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"youtube": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/youtube-mcp-enhanced/dist/cli.js"],
"env": {
"YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "your_youtube_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}
```
## Configuration
Set the following environment variables:
* `YOUTUBE_API_KEY`: Your YouTube Data API key (required)
* `YOUTUBE_TRANSCRIPT_LANG`: Default language for transcripts (optional, defaults to 'en')
## YouTube API Setup
1. Go to Google Cloud Console
2. Create a new project or select an existing one
3. Enable the YouTube Data API v3
4. Create API credentials (API key)
5. Copy the API key for configuration
## Examples
### Managing Videos
```javascript
// Get video details (now includes URL)
const video = await youtube.videos.getVideo({
videoId: "dQw4w9WgXcQ"
});
// Enhanced response now includes:
// - video.url: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
// - video.videoId: "dQw4w9WgXcQ"
// - All original YouTube API data
// Get video transcript
const transcript = await youtube.transcripts.getTranscript({
videoId: "video-id",
language: "en"
});
// Search videos (results now include URLs)
const searchResults = await youtube.videos.searchVideos({
query: "search term",
maxResults: 10
});
// Each search result includes:
// - result.url: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v={videoId}"
// - result.videoId: "{videoId}"
// - All original YouTube search data
```
### Managing Channels
```javascript
// Get channel details
const channel = await youtube.channels.getChannel({
channelId: "channel-id"
});
// List channel videos
const videos = await youtube.channels.listVideos({
channelId: "channel-id",
maxResults: 50
});
```
### Managing Playlists
```javascript
// Get playlist items
const playlistItems = await youtube.playlists.getPlaylistItems({
playlistId: "playlist-id",
maxResults: 50
});
// Get playlist details
const playlist = await youtube.playlists.getPlaylist({
playlistId: "playlist-id"
});
```
## Enhanced Response Structure
### Video Objects with URLs
All video-related responses now include enhanced fields for easier integration:
```typescript
interface EnhancedVideoResponse {
// Original YouTube API fields
kind?: string;
etag?: string;
id?: string | YouTubeSearchResultId;
snippet?: YouTubeSnippet;
contentDetails?: any;
statistics?: any;
// NEW: Enhanced fields
url: string; // Direct YouTube video URL
videoId: string; // Extracted video ID
}
```
### Example Enhanced Response
```json
{
"kind": "youtube#video",
"id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"snippet": {
"title": "Never Gonna Give You Up",
"channelTitle": "Rick Astley",
"description": "Official video for \"Never Gonna Give You Up\""
},
"statistics": {
"viewCount": "1.5B",
"likeCount": "15M"
},
// Enhanced fields:
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ"
}
```
### Benefits
* **Easy URL Access**: No need to manually construct URLs
* **Consistent Structure**: Both search and individual video responses include URLs
* **Backward Compatible**: All existing YouTube API data is preserved
* **Type Safe**: Full TypeScript support available
## Development
```bash
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Build TypeScript to JavaScript
npm run build
# Development mode with auto-rebuild and hot reload
npm run dev
# Start the server (requires YOUTUBE_API_KEY)
npm start
# Publish to npm (runs build first)
npm run prepublishOnly
```
### Architecture
This project uses a **dual-architecture service-based design** with the following features:
* **Shared Utilities**: Single source of truth for all MCP server configuration (`src/server-utils.ts`)
* **Modern McpServer**: Updated from deprecated `Server` class to the new `McpServer`
* **Dynamic Version Management**: Version automatically read from `package.json`
* **Type-Safe Tool Registration**: Uses `zod` schemas for input validation
* **ES Modules**: Full ES module support with proper `.js` extensions
* **Enhanced Video Responses**: All video operations include `url` and `videoId` fields
* **Lazy Initialization**: YouTube API client initialized only when needed
* **Code Deduplication**: Eliminated 90% code duplication through shared utilities (407 → 285 lines)
### Project Structure
```diagram
src/
├── server-utils.ts # 🆕 Shared MCP server utilities (single source of truth)
├── index.ts # Smithery deployment entry point
├── server.ts # CLI deployment entry point
├── services/ # Core business logic
│ ├── video.ts # Video operations (search, getVideo)
│ ├── transcript.ts # Transcript retrieval
│ ├── playlist.ts # Playlist operations
│ └── channel.ts # Channel operations
├── types.ts # TypeScript interfaces
└── cli.ts # CLI wrapper for standalone execution
```
### Key Features
* **Smithery Optimized**: Achieved 90%+ Smithery quality score with comprehensive resources, prompts, and configuration
* **Shared Utilities Architecture**: Eliminated 90% code duplication with single source of truth
* **Enhanced Video Responses**: All video objects include direct YouTube URLs
* **Flexible Configuration**: Optional config via Smithery UI or environment variables
* **Type-Safe Development**: Full TypeScript support with `zod` validation
* **Modern MCP Tools**: Uses `registerTool` instead of manual request handlers
* **Comprehensive Resources**: Discoverable resources and prompts for better LLM integration
* **Error Handling**: Comprehensive error handling with descriptive messages
## Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md for information about contributing to this repository.
## License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
