youtube-insights-mcp 0.1.6

MCP server for YouTube transcript extraction and insight analysis

youtube-insights-mcp

An MCP server that fetches YouTube transcripts and extracts structured insights using Claude. Provides 4 MCP tools and a full CLI, with 6 focus area presets across 24 insight categories.

Features

• Transcript extraction with intelligent language fallback
• Structured insight analysis across 24 categories (business, investment, technical, YouTube growth, AI learning)
• 6 focus area presets: general, entrepreneurial, investment, technical, youtube-channel, ai-learning
• Multiple URL formats: youtube.com, youtu.be, embed links, or just a video ID
• Dual mode: MCP server for Claude Desktop + standalone CLI
• Claude Code skill: /yt-insights slash command for interactive insight extraction
• Smart chunking for long transcripts with overlap for context continuity
• Proxy support for environments with IP restrictions

Prerequisites

You need Python 3.10 or later. Check if it's installed:

python3 --version

If Python is not installed:

• macOS: brew install python (requires Homebrew) or download from python.org
• Windows: Download from python.org (check "Add to PATH" during install)
• Linux: sudo apt install python3 python3-pip (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo dnf install python3 python3-pip (Fedora)

Installation

We recommend installing in a virtual environment to avoid conflicts with other Python packages:

# Create and activate a virtual environment
python3 -m venv youtube-mcp-env
source youtube-mcp-env/bin/activate  # On Windows: youtube-mcp-env\Scripts\activate

# Install the package
pip install youtube-insights-mcp

Troubleshooting: If you see ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pip', your system Python is misconfigured. Create a virtual environment first (as shown above) — this gives you a clean, working pip.

Quick Start

Claude Desktop Configuration

After installing, find the absolute path to the command:

which youtube-insights-mcp

Then add to your Claude Desktop MCP configuration (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-insights-mcp": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/youtube-mcp-env/bin/youtube-insights-mcp",
      "env": {
        "LOG_LEVEL": "INFO"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace /absolute/path/to/youtube-mcp-env/bin/youtube-insights-mcp with the output from which youtube-insights-mcp.

Important: Claude Desktop does not use your shell's PATH or virtual environment. You must provide the full absolute path to the command. Using just "command": "youtube-insights-mcp" will fail unless it's installed globally on your system PATH.

Starting the Server

With Claude Desktop — no manual start needed. Claude Desktop automatically launches and manages the server process using the configuration above. Just restart Claude Desktop after adding the config.

Manual start (for testing or other MCP clients):

# Start the MCP server (stdio transport)
youtube-insights-mcp

# Or using Python module directly
python -m youtube_insights_mcp

The server communicates via stdin/stdout using the MCP JSON-RPC protocol. It is designed to be started by an MCP client (like Claude Desktop) rather than run interactively.

CLI Usage

# Health check
youtube-insights-mcp cli ping

# Fetch a transcript
youtube-insights-mcp cli get-transcript "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

# List available transcript languages
youtube-insights-mcp cli list-transcripts "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

# Extract insights (pipe transcript from stdin)
youtube-insights-mcp cli get-transcript VIDEO_ID --no-segments | \
  jq -r '.full_text' | \
  youtube-insights-mcp cli extract-insights - --focus "entrepreneurial,investment"

# List all focus areas and categories
youtube-insights-mcp cli list-focus-areas

MCP Tools

get_transcript

Fetch transcript for a YouTube video with intelligent language fallback.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
video_url	string	required	YouTube URL or video ID
language	string	"en"	Preferred language code

Fallback order: requested language > auto-generated version > any English variant > first available.

list_available_transcripts

List all available transcript languages for a video. Useful for checking what's available before fetching.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
video_url	string	required	YouTube URL or video ID

extract_insights

Prepare a transcript for structured insight extraction by Claude. Returns an extraction prompt, categories, and chunked transcript data.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
transcript	string	required	Full transcript text (min 100 chars)
focus_areas	string	"general"	Comma-separated focus areas
video_id	string	""	Optional video ID for tracking
max_insights	string	"10"	Maximum insights to extract

list_focus_areas

List all available focus area presets and their category definitions.

Focus Areas

Preset	Categories
general	Key points, action items, notable quotes, context
entrepreneurial	Business strategies, growth tactics, lessons learned, mistakes to avoid
investment	Market trends, opportunities, risks, recommendations
technical	Technologies, tools, best practices, pitfalls
youtube-channel	Channel strategy, content ideas, audience growth, production tips
ai-learning	AI concepts, AI tools, mental models, practical applications

Use "all" to extract across every category, or combine presets: "entrepreneurial,investment".

Example Prompts for Claude Desktop

Once the MCP server is configured, you can use these prompts directly in Claude Desktop:

Transcript & Summary

Get the transcript for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID and give me a concise summary

Fetch the transcript for this video and list the 5 most important takeaways: https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID

Business & Entrepreneurship

Get the transcript for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID and extract entrepreneurial insights - focus on actionable business strategies and growth tactics

Analyse this startup pitch and pull out the key business model, revenue strategy, and mistakes to avoid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID

Investment Analysis

Fetch the transcript for this market analysis video and extract investment insights including trends, opportunities, and risks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID

Technical Learning

Get the transcript for this tech talk and extract the key technologies mentioned, best practices, and common pitfalls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID

Summarise this programming tutorial and list the tools and frameworks recommended: https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID

YouTube Channel Growth

Analyse this video about growing a YouTube channel and extract content strategy tips, audience growth tactics, and production advice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID

AI & Machine Learning

Fetch the transcript for this AI talk and extract the key concepts, tools mentioned, and practical applications: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID

Multi-Focus Analysis

Get the transcript for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID and extract insights across both entrepreneurial and investment categories - I want business strategies AND market opportunities

Comparing Videos

Get the transcripts for these two videos and compare their advice on starting a business:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID_1
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID_2

Using with Claude Code & Cowork

The project includes a /yt-insights skill for Claude Code that provides an interactive workflow for extracting insights from YouTube videos. It works in both Claude Code (terminal) and Claude Cowork (collaborative mode).

Setup

1. Clone the repository and add the MCP server to your Claude Code config (.mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-insights-mcp": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/youtube-mcp-env/bin/youtube-insights-mcp",
      "env": {
        "LOG_LEVEL": "INFO"
      }
    }
  }
}

2. The /yt-insights skill is automatically available from the project's .claude/commands/ directory.

Usage

Run the skill in Claude Code or Cowork:

/yt-insights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID

Or just /yt-insights and it will prompt you for the URL.

The skill will:

1. Ask you to choose focus areas (general, entrepreneurial, investment, technical, youtube-channel, ai-learning, or all)
2. Fetch the video transcript
3. Extract structured insights using Claude
4. Save two markdown files:
   • Insights — structured analysis with key quotes, action items, and categorised insights
   • Transcript — full transcript text for future reference

Cowork Mode

In Cowork, the skill is automatically converted to a Cowork skill. It uses the MCP tools directly (rather than CLI commands), which means it connects to the youtube-insights-mcp server through the MCP protocol for a seamless experience.

Configuration

Proxy Support

If YouTube blocks your IP, configure a proxy via environment variables:

{
  "env": {
    "PROXY_URL": "http://user:pass@proxy:8080",
    "WEBSHARE_USERNAME": "",
    "WEBSHARE_PASSWORD": ""
  }
}

Priority: Webshare credentials > PROXY_URL > no proxy.

Requirements

• Python >= 3.10
• Dependencies: mcp, pydantic, youtube-transcript-api, yt-dlp

License

MIT