YouTube Transcript + YouTube Search MCP for AI Agents

The fastest YouTube transcript + YouTube search MCP for AI agents. Try for free.
Six tools — transcripts, video search, channel browsing, in-channel search, playlist extraction, and new-upload polling — for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code, and 20+ clients.

👁 Install in Cursor
👁 Install in VS Code

👁 Website
👁 Docs
👁 Swagger
👁 MIT License

Powering 15M+ transcripts every month · 500K+ transcripts processed daily · 49ms median response time Trusted in production by youtubetotranscript.com (~11M/mo) and recapio.com (~2.8M/mo).

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Why TranscriptAPI MCP

Most YouTube MCP servers do one thing — pull a single transcript. TranscriptAPI MCP is a full toolkit: transcripts, video search, channel search, channel browsing, playlist extraction, and free RSS-based upload tracking — all from one remote endpoint, all designed for AI agents.

	TranscriptAPI MCP	Typical YouTube MCP
Hosting	✅ Remote (no local install)	❌ Local stdio install
Tools	✅ 6 tools	❌ 1 (transcript only)
YouTube search	✅ Yes	❌ No
Channel & playlist extraction	✅ Yes	❌ No
Latest-uploads monitoring (free)	✅ Yes	❌ No
OAuth 2.1 + API key auth	✅ Both	❌ Usually neither
Production scale (15M+ req/mo)	✅ Yes	❌ Hobbyist scrapers
Works on mobile Claude & web Claude	✅ Yes	❌ No
Agent-friendly error messages	✅ Yes	❌ Bare HTTP codes

Quick taste:

Find Andrew Huberman's three most-viewed videos about sleep,
get the transcript of each, and write a 5-bullet comparison.

That single prompt uses 3 of our 6 tools — search_youtube, search_channel_videos, get_youtube_transcript — without you writing a line of code.

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🛠️ Quick Install

Requirements:

• A TranscriptAPI account (sign up free — first 100 credits free)
• An API key from your dashboard OR use OAuth (Claude, ChatGPT)

Recommended: Add a Rule to Auto-Invoke TranscriptAPI

Add this rule to your AI client so you don't need to explicitly ask for transcripts:

When I share a YouTube URL, automatically use the TranscriptAPI MCP tool
to fetch the transcript before responding. This applies to any video analysis,
summarization, or question about YouTube content.

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🔐 Authentication

API Key

Simple and universal. Works with every MCP client.

1. Get your API key from your dashboard
2. Keys start with sk_ prefix
3. Add to config as a Bearer token:

"headers": {
 "Authorization": "Bearer sk_your_api_key_here"
}

Security: Store keys in environment variables where possible and never commit them to version control.

OAuth 2.1

Automatic, secure authentication without manual key management.

Dynamic Client Registration (DCR):

• Supported by: Claude Desktop, Claude Web, ChatGPT
• Just add the MCP URL — client auto-registers
• No credentials needed
• You'll authorize once via browser redirect

Static Client Registration:

• Supported by: ChatGPT (optional)
• Get Client ID + Secret from the MCP Integration Dashboard
• More control over client identity

Full reference: Authentication docs →

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🧰 Available Tools

All six tools are exposed automatically once you connect. 1 credit = 1 successful (HTTP 200) request. Failed/rate-limited calls do not consume credits.

1. get_youtube_transcript

Fetch the transcript for any YouTube video — as markdown (with metadata) or structured JSON. Drop the output straight into summarizers, search indexes, or AI pipelines.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
video_url	string	required	YouTube URL (full or short) or 11-char video ID
send_metadata	boolean	true	Include video title, author, thumbnail
format	string	"text"	"text" (markdown) or "json"
include_timestamp	boolean	true	Add timestamps to each segment

Cost: 1 credit per successful request.

Example output (markdown):

# Metadata
## Title: Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
## Author: RickAstleyVEVO
# Transcript
[0.0s] Never gonna give you up
[4.12s] Never gonna let you down

Example output (JSON):

{
 "transcript": [
 { "text": "Never gonna give you up", "start": 0.0, "duration": 4.12 },
 { "text": "Never gonna let you down", "start": 4.12, "duration": 3.85 }
 ],
 "metadata": { "title": "Rick Astley...", "author_name": "RickAstleyVEVO" }
}

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2. search_youtube

Search YouTube for videos or channels. Filter by type and paginate with a continuation token — perfect for discovery, research, and building content pipelines.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
query	string	required	Search query
search_type	string	"video"	"video" or "channel"
continuation	string	null	Token from a prior call for next page

Cost: 1 credit per page (~20 results per page).

Example prompt:

Search YouTube for "transformer architecture explained" and pick the
top 3 results by relevance.

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3. get_channel_latest_videos _{· FREE}

Get the ~15 most recent uploads from any channel via RSS — no credits required. Perfect for monitoring, daily recaps, or triggering downstream pipelines.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
channel	string	required	@handle, channel URL, or UC… channel ID

Cost: Free.

Example prompt:

Every morning, list new uploads from @lexfridman and @hubermanlab.

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4. search_channel_videos

Search inside one specific channel for videos matching a query. Great for researching a creator's content or finding niche topics in large channels.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
channel	string	required	@handle, channel URL, or UC… ID
query	string	required	Query to search within the channel
continuation	string	null	Pagination token

Cost: 1 credit per page (~30 results per page).

Example prompt:

On Andrew Huberman's channel, find every video about sleep.

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5. list_channel_videos

List every video on a channel, ~100 per page. Ideal for building databases, bulk transcript extraction, or auditing a channel's full content library.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
channel	string	required	@handle, channel URL, or UC… ID
continuation	string	null	Pagination token

Cost: 1 credit per page (~100 results per page).

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6. list_playlist_videos

Get every video in a YouTube playlist (PL/UU/LL/FL/OL IDs supported). Process entire courses, lecture series, or curated collections in a single call.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
playlist	string	required	Playlist URL or playlist ID
continuation	string	null	Pagination token

Cost: 1 credit per page (~100 results per page).

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💡 Use Cases & Prompts

Use Case	Example Prompt
📝 Summarize a video	"Summarize the key points from this video: [URL]"
🔍 Research a topic	"Search YouTube for the 5 most-watched videos on neural radiance fields; summarize each."
🧠 Study notes	"Create study notes from this MIT lecture series playlist: [PLAYLIST URL]"
⚖️ Compare perspectives	"Compare arguments in these two videos: [URL1] [URL2]"
🌐 Translate	"Translate this video's transcript to Spanish: [URL]"
✍️ Repurpose content	"Turn this video into a 1,500-word blog post: [URL]"
📡 Monitor a creator	"Each morning, list new uploads from @hubermanlab and tell me which to watch."
🏛️ Build a content database	"Pull every video from @veritasium and store title + transcript."
🎯 Competitor analysis	"Search inside @MKBHD for any video about [competitor product] and summarize the takeaways."

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💳 Pricing & Rate Limits

Plan	Price	Credits	Rate Limit
Free	$0 (one-time)	100	60 req/min
Starter Monthly	$5/month	1,000/month	200 req/min
Starter Annual	$54/year ($4.50/mo)	1,000/month	300 req/min

• 1 Credit = 1 successful request (HTTP 200)
• Failed and rate-limited requests do not consume credits.
• get_channel_latest_videos is free (no credits charged).
• View pricing · Manage credits

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🚨 Troubleshooting

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🔗 Also available as a REST API

Building an app instead of an agent? The same backend ships as a JSON REST API.

	MCP	REST API
Best for	AI assistants & agents	Apps & backend services
Setup	Add a URL	Code integration
Get started	This README	API docs → · Swagger →

Base URL: https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2

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🤝 Connect

• 🌐 Website: transcriptapi.com
• 📚 Docs: transcriptapi.com/docs
• 🔧 API Reference: transcriptapi.com/docs/api
• 🤖 MCP Setup Guides: Claude · ChatGPT · OpenAI Agent Builder
• 💬 Contact: transcriptapi.com/contact

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📋 MCP Registry

This server is published to the official Model Context Protocol Registry under the name:

com.transcriptapi/youtube-transcript-and-youtube-search

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_{© 2026 Zero Point Studio d.o.o. · Released under the MIT License}