YouTube Transcript MCP Server

This MCP server provides a tool to fetch and format transcripts from YouTube videos.

Features

• Fetch transcripts from YouTube videos using the video URL
• Support for language selection (optional)
• Formatted output with timestamps
• Error handling for invalid URLs or unavailable transcripts

Installation

1. Make sure you have Node.js installed
2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

3. Make the script executable:

   chmod +x index.mjs
   

Adding to MCP Settings

To add this server to your MCP settings, add the following configuration to your MCP settings file:

For Claude Desktop App (macOS)

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/youtube-transcript-server/index.mjs"],
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

For Claude VSCode Extension

Edit ~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/youtube-transcript-server/index.mjs"],
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

Replace /path/to/youtube-transcript-server with the actual path to where you've saved this project.

Usage

Once the server is added to your MCP settings, you can use it in Claude with the following tool:

get_transcript

Fetches the transcript of a YouTube video.

Parameters:

• url (required): The YouTube video URL (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID)
• language (optional): Language code for the transcript (e.g., "en" for English, "zh" for Chinese)

Example:

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>youtube-transcript</server_name>
<tool_name>get_transcript</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

To specify a language:

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>youtube-transcript</server_name>
<tool_name>get_transcript</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "language": "en"
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

Language Support

The YouTube Transcript API supports various languages for transcripts. The availability of languages depends on the specific video and what captions are available for it.

Supported Language Codes

• en - English
• zh - Chinese (Simplified/Mandarin)
• es - Spanish
• ar - Arabic
• ru - Russian
• ko - Korean
• And many more...

For Chinese language support, use the language code zh. Other variants like zh-CN, zh-TW, or zh-HK may not be supported for all videos.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Make sure the YouTube video has captions available
2. Check that the URL is correctly formatted
3. Verify that the MCP server is properly configured in your settings
4. Check the console output for any error messages
5. If a specific language isn't working, try using the base language code (e.g., use zh instead of zh-CN)