get_transcript
Extract transcripts from YouTube videos in multiple formats (text, JSON, SRT, WebVTT) for accessibility, content analysis, or subtitles.
Instructions
Fetch a YouTube video's transcript.
Args: url: YouTube video URL or video ID languages: Preferred languages in priority order (e.g. ["en", "de"]). Defaults to English. format: Output format — one of: text, json, pretty, webvtt, srt preserve_formatting: Keep HTML formatting tags in the transcript text
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| url | Yes | ||
| languages | No | ||
| format | No | text | |
| preserve_formatting | No |
Implementation Reference
- main.py:91-120 (handler)The main get_transcript tool implementation that fetches YouTube video transcripts. It takes URL, optional languages list, format (text/json/pretty/webvtt/srt), and preserve_formatting flag. It extracts the video ID, fetches the transcript using YouTubeTranscriptApi, formats it using the specified formatter, and handles errors gracefully.@mcp.tool() def get_transcript( url: str, languages: list[str] | None = None, format: str = "text", preserve_formatting: bool = False, ) -> str: """Fetch a YouTube video's transcript. Args: url: YouTube video URL or video ID languages: Preferred languages in priority order (e.g. ["en", "de"]). Defaults to English. format: Output format — one of: text, json, pretty, webvtt, srt preserve_formatting: Keep HTML formatting tags in the transcript text """ try: video_id = extract_video_id(url) except ValueError as e: return f"Error: {e}" langs = languages or ["en"] try: transcript = api.fetch( video_id, languages=langs, preserve_formatting=preserve_formatting, ) return _format_transcript(transcript, format) except Exception as e: return _handle_transcript_error(e, video_id, langs)
- main.py:91-97 (schema)Schema definition for the get_transcript tool via function signature with type hints. Parameters: url (str), languages (list[str] | None), format (str, default 'text'), preserve_formatting (bool, default False). Returns str.@mcp.tool() def get_transcript( url: str, languages: list[str] | None = None, format: str = "text", preserve_formatting: bool = False, ) -> str:
- main.py:37-47 (helper)Helper function extract_video_id that parses YouTube video URLs or bare IDs. Uses regex patterns to extract the 11-character video ID from various YouTube URL formats or validates a bare ID string.def extract_video_id(url_or_id: str) -> str: """Extract a YouTube video ID from a URL or bare ID string.""" url_or_id = url_or_id.strip() if BARE_ID_REGEX.match(url_or_id): return url_or_id match = VIDEO_ID_REGEX.search(url_or_id) if match: return match.group(1) raise ValueError( f"Could not extract a YouTube video ID from: {url_or_id}" )
- main.py:50-55 (helper)Helper function _format_transcript that formats the fetched transcript using one of the available formatters (JSON, PrettyPrint, Text, WebVTT, SRT). Returns an error message if the format is unknown.def _format_transcript(transcript, fmt: str) -> str: """Format a FetchedTranscript using the specified formatter.""" formatter = FORMATTERS.get(fmt) if formatter is None: return f"Error: Unknown format '{fmt}'. Choose from: {', '.join(FORMATTERS)}" return formatter.format_transcript(transcript)
- main.py:58-88 (helper)Helper function _handle_transcript_error that converts various youtube_transcript_api exceptions (TranscriptsDisabled, NoTranscriptFound, VideoUnavailable, InvalidVideoId, AgeRestricted, IpBlocked, RequestBlocked) into user-friendly error messages.def _handle_transcript_error(e: Exception, video_id: str, languages: list[str] | None = None) -> str: """Convert youtube_transcript_api exceptions into user-friendly error strings.""" from youtube_transcript_api import ( AgeRestricted, InvalidVideoId, IpBlocked, NoTranscriptFound, RequestBlocked, TranscriptsDisabled, VideoUnavailable, ) if isinstance(e, TranscriptsDisabled): return f"Error: Transcripts are disabled for video '{video_id}'." if isinstance(e, NoTranscriptFound): lang_str = ", ".join(languages) if languages else "any" return ( f"Error: No transcript found for video '{video_id}' " f"in language(s): {lang_str}. Use list_transcripts to see available languages." ) if isinstance(e, VideoUnavailable): return f"Error: Video '{video_id}' is unavailable." if isinstance(e, InvalidVideoId): return f"Error: '{video_id}' is not a valid YouTube video ID." if isinstance(e, AgeRestricted): return f"Error: Video '{video_id}' is age-restricted and cannot be accessed." if isinstance(e, IpBlocked): return "Error: YouTube is blocking requests from this IP address." if isinstance(e, RequestBlocked): return "Error: The request to YouTube was blocked." return f"Error fetching transcript for '{video_id}': {e}"