YouTube MCP Server provides AI assistants with comprehensive access to YouTube content through the YouTube Data API. It enables searching, browsing, and retrieving detailed metadata for videos, channels, and playlists. Key features: - Search videos across YouTube with direct URLs to results - Retrieve video details including titles, descriptions, durations, view counts, likes, and comments - Access multilingual, timestamped video transcripts and search within captions for specific content - Browse channel content, list channel videos and playlists, and retrieve channel statistics - List playlist items with video details and fetch transcripts for playlist videos - Built-in prompts for automated video summarization and channel content strategy analysis

YouTube MCP Server

[](https://smithery.ai/server/@sfiorini/youtube-mcp)

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation for YouTube, enabling AI language models to interact with YouTube content through a standardized interface. Optimized for 90% Smithery quality score with comprehensive resources, prompts, and flexible configuration.

Features

Video Information

Transcript Management

Direct Resources & Prompts

Channel Management

Playlist Management

Installation

Quick Setup for Claude Desktop

1. Install the package:

npm install -g @sfiorini/youtube-mcp

1. Add to your Claude Desktop configuration (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-mcp": {
      "command": "youtube-mcp",
      "env": {
        "YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "your_youtube_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Alternative: Using NPX (No Installation Required)

Add this to your Claude Desktop configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@sfiorini/youtube-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "your_youtube_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Installing via Smithery

To install YouTube MCP Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli@latest install @sfiorini/youtube-mcp --client claude

Configuration

Set the following environment variables:

Using with VS Code

For one-click installation, click one of the install buttons below:

[](https://insiders.vscode.dev/redirect/mcp/install?name=youtube&config=%7B%22command%22%3A%22npx%22%2C%22args%22%3A%5B%22-y%22%2C%22%40sfiorini%2Fyoutube-mcp%22%5D%2C%22env%22%3A%7B%22YOUTUBE_API_KEY%22%3A%22%24%7Binput%3AapiKey%7D%22%7D%7D&inputs=%5B%7B%22type%22%3A%22promptString%22%2C%22id%22%3A%22apiKey%22%2C%22description%22%3A%22YouTube+API+Key%22%2C%22password%22%3Atrue%7D%5D) [](https://insiders.vscode.dev/redirect/mcp/install?name=youtube&config=%7B%22command%22%3A%22npx%22%2C%22args%22%3A%5B%22-y%22%2C%22%40sfiorini%2Fyoutube-mcp%22%5D%2C%22env%22%3A%7B%22YOUTUBE_API_KEY%22%3A%22%24%7Binput%3AapiKey%7D%22%7D%7D&inputs=%5B%7B%22type%22%3A%22promptString%22%2C%22id%22%3A%22apiKey%22%2C%22description%22%3A%22YouTube+API+Key%22%2C%22password%22%3Atrue%7D%5D&quality=insiders)

Manual Installation

If you prefer manual installation, first check the install buttons at the top of this section. Otherwise, follow these steps:

Add the following JSON block to your User Settings (JSON) file in VS Code. You can do this by pressing Ctrl + Shift + P and typing Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON).

{
  "mcp": {
    "inputs": [
      {
        "type": "promptString",
        "id": "apiKey",
        "description": "YouTube API Key",
        "password": true
      }
    ],
    "servers": {
      "youtube": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "@sfiorini/youtube-mcp"],
        "env": {
          "YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "${input:apiKey}"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Optionally, you can add it to a file called .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

```json { "inputs": [ { "type": "promptString", "id": "apiKey", "descrip