YouTube MCP
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| YOUTUBE_MCP_HOST | No | Host interface for the MCP server. | 127.0.0.1 |
| YOUTUBE_MCP_PORT | No | Port for the MCP server. | 8083 |
| YOUTUBE_MCP_TRANSPORT | No | Transport type (stdio or streamable-http). | stdio |
| YOUTUBE_MCP_TIMEOUT_SECONDS | No | Timeout in seconds for backend requests. | 30 |
| YOUTUBE_MCP_INSTANCE_LIST_URL | No | URL to the TeamPiped public instance list. | |
| YOUTUBE_MCP_INVIDIOUS_INSTANCES | No | Comma-separated Invidious instance base URLs to override the default list, or empty string to disable fallback. | |
| YOUTUBE_MCP_HEALTH_CHECK_MINUTES | No | Interval in minutes for health-checking instances. | 5 |
| YOUTUBE_MCP_INSTANCE_REFRESH_MINUTES | No | Interval in minutes for refreshing the instance list. | 30 |
Instructions
Guidance the server publishes about itself, which clients place ahead of the tool catalog so the model reads it before choosing anything.
This server publishes no instructions, or was last inspected before Glama recorded them.
Capabilities
Features and capabilities supported by this server
Protocol revision2025-11-25
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| tools | {
"listChanged": true
} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| youtube_searchA | Search YouTube through Piped, with optional Invidious fallback. |
| youtube_videoB | Retrieve video metadata and streams through Piped, with optional Invidious fallback. |
| youtube_playC | Generate a browser-ready Piped or Invidious URL without launching a browser. |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No prompts | |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No resources | |
TDQS
Scored across 3 tools
Each tool serves a distinct purpose: youtube_search for searching, youtube_video for retrieving metadata, and youtube_play for generating playback URLs. No overlap or confusion exists between them.
All tools share a consistent 'youtube_' prefix, but the suffixes mix verbs (search, play) and a noun (video), which is a minor deviation from a strict verb_noun pattern. Still predictable and readable.
Three tools is lean but appropriate for a focused YouTube client covering search, metadata, and playback URL generation. It feels slightly thin but not underdeveloped for its stated scope.
The tool surface covers core operations (search, retrieve metadata, generate playable URL) but lacks common YouTube features like channel or playlist access, comments, or uploads. Some notable gaps exist for broader use cases.