io.github.zlatkoc/youtube-summarize
MCP server that fetches YouTube video transcripts and optionally summarizes them
Open source Open in the app JSON README (API)
About
MCP server that fetches YouTube video transcripts and optionally summarizes them
Details
- Kind
- MCP servers
- Topic
- Social & content
- Publisher
- zlatkoc
- Origin
- official
- Category
- ferramentas
- Transport
- local
- Version
- 0.6.0
- Stars
- 5
- Forks
- 2
- Open pull requests
- 1
- Last push
- 2026-08-22T07:46:37Z
- Repository state
- ativo
- Language
- Python
- License
- MIT
- Added
- 2026-08-29 04:01:43
- Updated
- 2026-08-29 04:01:43
- Origin id
io.github.zlatkoc/youtube-summarize
README
# youtube-summarize
MCP server that fetches YouTube video transcripts and optionally summarizes them.
## Features
- **Fetch transcripts** in multiple formats (text, JSON, SRT, WebVTT, pretty-print)
- **Video metadata** — title, description, channel, upload date, duration, views, chapters (via yt-dlp)
- **Optional timestamps** in plain-text transcripts
- **Summarize videos** — returns transcript with the prompt clearly broken out for human review before the LLM acts on it
- **List playlist videos** — fast enumeration of any public playlist with optional sorting
- **Search videos** — clean ranked results with sort and filter options, without the ads, Shorts shelves, and personalized recommendations of the YouTube website
- **List available languages** for any video's transcripts
- **Flexible URL parsing** — accepts full YouTube URLs (`youtube.com/watch?v=`, `youtu.be/`, `youtube.com/embed/`, `youtube.com/shorts/`) or bare video IDs
- **Multi-language support** — request transcripts in specific languages with fallback priority
## Tools
### `get_transcript`
Fetch a YouTube video's transcript. By default the response is prefixed with a `[METADATA]` block (title, channel, published, duration, views, description); pass `include_metadata=false` for transcript-only output.
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|---------|-------------|
| `url` | string | *required* | YouTube video URL or video ID |
| `languages` | string[] | `["en"]` | Preferred languages in priority order |
| `format` | string | `"text"` | Output format: `text`, `json`, `pretty`, `webvtt`, `srt` |
| `preserve_formatting` | boolean | `false` | Keep HTML formatting tags in the transcript |
| `include_timestamps` | boolean | `false` | When `true` with `format="text"`, prefix each line with `[HH:MM:SS]`. Ignored for other formats (they already include timestamps). |
| `include_metadata` | boolean | `true` | Prepend a `[METADATA]` block before the transcript. Pass `false` for transcript-only output. |
### `summarize_transcript`
Fetch a transcript and return it with summarization instructions. The response is structured into clearly-labeled sections (`[INSTRUCTIONS]`, `[PROMPT_SOURCE]`, `[VIDEO]`, `[METADATA]`, `[TRANSCRIPT]`) so a human can review the prompt before letting the LLM act on it.
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|---------|-------------|
| `url` | string | *required* | YouTube video URL or video ID |
| `prompt` | string | *(default prompt)* | Custom summarization instructions |
| `languages` | string[] | `["en"]` | Preferred languages in priority order |
| `include_timestamps` | boolean | `false` | Prefix each transcript line with `[HH:MM:SS]`. |
| `include_metadata` | boolean | `true` | Include a `[VIDEO]` block with title, channel, published, duration, views, and description. |
### `get_video_metadata`
Fetch metadata (title, description, channel, upload date, duration, views, tags, chapters, etc.) for a YouTube video. Backed by yt-dlp.
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|---------|-------------|
| `url` | string | *required* | YouTube video URL or video ID |
### `list_playlist_videos`
List the videos in a YouTube playlist (title, ID, channel, duration, views, URL). Per-video metadata is intentionally lean so the call stays fast even for large playlists; call `get_video_metadata` with a specific video ID for full detail.
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|---------|-------------|
| `url` | string | *required* | YouTube playlist URL (with `?list=...`) or bare playlist ID |
| `limit` | integer | `500` | Maximum videos to return |
| `sort_by` | string | `"index"` | One of: `index` (playlist order), `title`, `duration`, `views`. `upload_date` is not supported. |
| `order` | string | `"asc"` | `asc` or `desc` |
### `search_videos`
Search YouTube for videos and return a clean ranked list (title, ID, channel, duration, views, URL) — only actual videos, with no ads, recommendation shelves, or personalization. Relevance ordering still comes from YouTube's backend. Pair with `get_transcript` or `summarize_transcript` on a result's ID or URL.
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|---------|-------------|
| `query` | string | *required* | Search terms |
| `limit` | integer | `10` | Maximum results to return |
| `sort_by` | string | `"relevance"` | One of: `relevance`, `date` (newest first), `views`, `rating` |
| `uploaded` | string | `"any"` | Filter by upload time: `any`, `hour`, `today`, `week`, `month`, `year` |
| `duration` | string | `"any"` | Filter by length: `any`, `short` (<4 min), `medium` (4–20 min), `long` (>20 min) |
### `list_transcripts`
List available transcript languages for a video.
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|---------|-------------|
| `url` | string | *required* | YouTube video URL or video ID |
## Installation
### Quick start (recommended)
```bash
uvx youtube-summarize
```
### Claude Desktop
Add to your `claude_desktop_config.json`:
- macOS: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
- Windows: `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"youtube-summarize": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["youtube-summarize"]
}
}
}
```
### Claude Code
```bash
claude mcp add youtube-summarize -- uvx youtube-summarize
```
### Other MCP clients
Run the server over stdio:
```bash
uvx youtube-summarize
```
## Prerequisites
- Python 3.13+
- [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) package manager
## Development
```bash
# Install dependencies
uv sync
# Launch the MCP inspector (web UI for testing tools)
uv run mcp dev main.py
```
## License
MIT
---
mcp-name: io.github.zlatkoc/youtube-summarize