mcp-server-youtube

A Rust MCP server for YouTube. Search videos, read channels, browse playlists, fetch comments, and get transcripts — all from your AI assistant.

Why this one?

• Full YouTube Data API v3 coverage — videos, channels, playlists, comments, categories, trending, search with all filters and sorting options
• Working transcripts — uses rustypipe (InnerTube API) for reliable subtitle/caption extraction, including auto-generated captions. No API key quota consumed for transcripts
• Single binary, zero runtime dependencies — written in Rust, starts instantly
• Typed filter enums — search filters (duration, definition, license, etc.) are exposed as typed enums in the JSON schema, so AI models know exactly which values are valid without guessing

Tools

Videos

Channels

Playlists

Comments

Transcripts & Captions

Setup

Get a YouTube API Key

1. Go to Google Cloud Console
2. Create a project (or select an existing one)
3. Enable the YouTube Data API v3
4. Create an API key under Credentials

Configuration

The API key is stored as a SecretString and never appears in logs or debug output.

Usage

Claude Desktop / Claude Code

With uvx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-youtube"],
      "env": {
        "YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

With rvx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube": {
      "command": "rvx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-youtube"],
      "env": {
        "YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

nix run github:vaporif/mcp-server-youtube

cargo install mcp-server-youtube

HTTP Transport

YOUTUBE_API_KEY=your_key mcp-server-youtube --transport streamable-http --port 3000

The server listens on http://127.0.0.1:3000/mcp.

Debugging

Enable debug logging to see tool invocations:

RUST_LOG=debug mcp-server-youtube

Development

# Enter dev shell (requires Nix)
nix develop

# Build
cargo build

# Test
cargo test

# Lint
cargo clippy --workspace -- -D warnings

# Format
cargo fmt --all

License

GPL-3.0-or-later