YouTubeTranscriptAPI MCP Server

by youtubetranscriptapi Your server? Claim it

answering

YouTubeTranscriptAPI is answering right now. Last checked 12 min ago.

YouTube transcripts, search, and channel and playlist listings for any AI app. Hosted.

Uptime history 7 days of history

7 days agonow

100.0%

Uptime 24h

91 of 91 checks

—

Tools

hidden behind auth

310 ms

Response time

average over 24h

OAuth sign-in

Access

streamable-http

Nothing serious here today

Today is the operative word: we check YouTubeTranscriptAPI every 15 minutes and re-read its code on every release. Watch it and you find out the day that stops being true.

Connect this server

Endpoint below is the one we actually reach during checks — not the one copied from a README. Last verified 12 min ago.

Claude Code Claude Desktop Codex Cursor VS Code

run in your terminal

claude mcp add youtube --transport http https://youtubetranscriptapi.com/mcp

Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, then paste this address

https://youtubetranscriptapi.com/mcp

~/.codex/config.toml

[mcp_servers.youtube]
url = "https://youtubetranscriptapi.com/mcp"

.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube": {
      "url": "https://youtubetranscriptapi.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "youtube": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://youtubetranscriptapi.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

This endpoint answered with an authorization challenge. The server is running, and it signs you in through your browser: there is no API key to paste.

Endpoints

URL	Transport	State	Latency	Checked
https://youtubetranscriptapi.com/mcp	streamable-http	sign-in	273 ms	12 min ago

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YouTubeTranscriptAPI — questions

Answers built from our own checks of this server.

Why is there no tool list for YouTubeTranscriptAPI?

The server answered our handshake with an authorization challenge, so it is running — but it will not describe its tools to an anonymous client. To see them you need to connect with your own credentials. We record it as alive, not as broken: 100.0% of checks in the last 24 hours got a reply.

Is YouTubeTranscriptAPI working right now?

We send a real MCP handshake every 15 minutes. Over the last 24 hours 91 of 91 checks got a reply (100.0%), average response time 310 ms. The bar chart above shows every period we have measured.

How do I connect YouTubeTranscriptAPI?

Copy the ready config from this page. We generate it for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex, Cursor and VS Code, each in the form that client actually reads. It is a remote server, so there is nothing to install — the client connects to the address. You sign in through your browser once and the client keeps the session: no key to copy, and it refuses anonymous clients.

How do you sign in to YouTubeTranscriptAPI?

No API key is involved. YouTubeTranscriptAPI answers our knock with an OAuth challenge, so you authorise it once in your browser and the client keeps the session. That is also why we see no tool list: it will not describe itself to an anonymous client, and that is the server working as intended, not a fault.

How fast is YouTubeTranscriptAPI?

It answers our handshake in 310 ms on average, which is faster than 53% of all working MCP servers we measure. The comparison comes from our own checks across the whole registry, every 15 minutes.