About YouTube MCP Server
YouTube MCP Server is an MCP server that uses the locally installed yt-dlp tool to download YouTube subtitles. It lets Claude read and summarize video content from claude.ai.
Key features
- 01Downloads YouTube video subtitles
- 02Relies on a local yt-dlp installation
- 03Installable through mcp-installer
Use cases
- 01Asking Claude to summarize a given YouTube video
- 02Extracting key points from video subtitles
MCP support
This project is an MCP server that exposes subtitle content retrieved with yt-dlp to MCP-compatible clients such as claude.ai.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
We haven’t collected a package or remote endpoint for this server. Follow the instructions in the project README.
Tools
Local servers expose tools only once running on your machine, and the maintainer has not provided a tool list.
Details
From the project READMEYouTube MCP Server
Uses yt-dlp to download subtitles from YouTube and connects it to claude.ai via Model Context Protocol. Try it by asking Claude, "Summarize the YouTube video <>". Requires yt-dlp to be installed locally e.g. via Homebrew.
How do I get this working?
- Install
yt-dlp(Homebrew and WinGet both work great here) - Now, install this via mcp-installer, use the name
@anaisbetts/mcp-youtube
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.