YouTube Transcript AI
Fetch the full transcript of any YouTube video as clean text. No API key, no signup.
Open source Repository Open in the app JSON README (API)
About
Fetch the full transcript of any YouTube video as clean text. No API key, no signup.
Details
- Kind
- MCP servers
- Topic
- Social & content
- Publisher
- ai.youtube-transcript
- Origin
- official
- Category
- ferramentas
- Transport
- http
- Version
- 1.0.0
- Last push
- 2026-06-21T18:02:21Z
- Repository state
- ativo
- License
- MIT
- Added
- 2026-08-29 03:00:43
- Updated
- 2026-08-29 03:00:43
- Origin id
ai.youtube-transcript/youtube-transcript
README
# YouTube Transcript MCP Server
> Give Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and any MCP client the ability to read **YouTube transcripts** — free, no API key, no signup.
A hosted [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) server that exposes one tool, `get_youtube_transcript`, backed by [youtube-transcript.ai](https://youtube-transcript.ai). Paste a YouTube link mid-conversation and your AI reads the full transcript on demand — no copy-paste, no browser tab.
**Connector URL:**
```
https://youtube-transcript.ai/mcp
```
That's it. It's hosted — there's nothing to install or run. Add the URL to your client below.
---
## Why
- **Free & keyless** — no account, no token, no quota wall.
- **Actually reliable** — a hardened fetch pipeline with proxy fallback returns transcripts even on videos that block typical scrapers, so your model rarely comes back empty-handed.
- **Any language** — pick a caption track by language code (`en`, `zh-CN`, `es`, `ja`, …) or let it choose the default.
- **Built for agents** — one clean tool, plain-text output with title and metadata.
## Quick start
### Claude (web / desktop)
Settings → **Connectors** → **Add custom connector**
| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Name | `youtube-transcript.ai` |
| URL | `https://youtube-transcript.ai/mcp` |
Then ask: *“Summarize this video: https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ”*
### ChatGPT
In the custom connector / MCP server setup, add an MCP server with URL `https://youtube-transcript.ai/mcp` (transport: **Streamable HTTP**), enable it for your chat, then paste a YouTube link.
### Cursor / Windsurf / Cline / Claude Desktop (config file)
For clients that launch MCP servers via a config file, bridge the remote server with [`mcp-remote`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/mcp-remote):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"youtube-transcript": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://youtube-transcript.ai/mcp"]
}
}
}
```
Clients that support remote MCP URLs natively can use `https://youtube-transcript.ai/mcp` directly.
## Tool reference
### `get_youtube_transcript`
Fetch the full text transcript of a YouTube video.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `video` | string | yes | YouTube URL (watch, `youtu.be`, shorts, embed) or a bare 11-character video ID |
| `lang` | string | no | BCP-47 language code, e.g. `en`, `zh-CN`, `es`. Omit for the default track |
Returns plain text: the transcript with title, duration, and a list of available languages.
## Example prompts
- “Summarize the key points of `<link>` in 5 bullets.”
- “Pull the transcript of this video and translate it to Spanish.”
- “What does the speaker say about pricing in `<link>`? Quote the exact lines.”
## Programmatic use
The server speaks standard MCP over Streamable HTTP (JSON-RPC). A zero-dependency example is in [`examples/quickstart.mjs`](examples/quickstart.mjs):
```bash
node examples/quickstart.mjs https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ
```
## Notes
- **Fair use:** the endpoint is rate-limited per IP to keep it free for everyone. For heavy/automated workloads, get in touch.
- **Not affiliated** with YouTube or Google. Transcripts are fetched from publicly available captions.
## Links
- Web tool (no AI client needed): https://youtube-transcript.ai
- Connector landing page: https://youtube-transcript.ai/mcp
- Ready-made transcripts: https://youtube-transcript.ai/docs
## License
MIT