About recapfy
recapfy is a local server for MCP clients that answers questions about YouTube videos and retrieves full transcripts. Each call is paid in USDC on Solana through x402, with pricing based on the tool or requested output tokens.
Key features
- 01Ask about YouTube video content
- 02Retrieve full timestamped transcripts
- 03Include title and channel details
- 04Pay per call in USDC automatically
Use cases
- 01Look up details from a video
- 02Get a transcript for further processing
MCP support
It exposes Recapfy's paid endpoints as MCP tools for clients. The server runs locally, uses the user's Solana wallet, and settles each call in USDC through x402.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
npx -y recapfy-mcpSVM_PRIVATE_KEYSecretBase58-encoded Solana secret key. Pays per call (dynamic USDC price). Keep it funded; use a dedicated low-balance wallet.RECAPFY_API_BASE_URLOverride the API base URL (defaults to https://api.recapfy.ai). For local dev only.RECAPFY_ALLOW_INSECURE_TLSSet to 1 to accept self-signed TLS (localhost dev over https only).Local servers need a runtime on your machine (e.g. Node.js 18+). Config file locations differ by client; see your client’s docs.
Tools
Local servers expose tools only once running on your machine, and the maintainer has not provided a tool list.
Details
From the project READMERecapfy MCP
An MCP server that exposes Recapfy's paid endpoints as tools — ask anything about a YouTube video and fetch a video's full transcript — straight from an MCP-capable agent like Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Cline. It runs locally — there's no hosted Recapfy MCP endpoint; you launch your own copy.
Each call is paid in USDC on Solana (dynamic price, scales with
maxOutputTokens), settled automatically via the x402
protocol. You bring your own wallet; you pay only for what you call.
📦 npm: recapfy-mcp
Prerequisites
- Node.js ≥ 20.
- A Solana wallet funded with USDC on mainnet. You do not need SOL for fees — the API's facilitator sponsors the network fee.
- That wallet's secret key, base58-encoded (the 64-byte form that Phantom's
"Export Private Key" gives you, or
solana-keygen).
⚠️ The key signs real payments. Use a dedicated low-balance wallet, never share it, and never commit it.
Install
No clone or build needed. Add this to your MCP client config (Claude Desktop:
claude_desktop_config.json) and restart the client:
{
"mcpServers": {
"recapfy": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "recapfy-mcp@latest"],
"env": {
"SVM_PRIVATE_KEY": "<your base58 Solana secret key>"
}
}
}
}
Always use
recapfy-mcp@latest. A barenpx -y recapfy-mcpreuses whatever is in npx's cache and never re-checks the registry, so you can stay pinned to an old build (and miss new tools) indefinitely. The@latesttag forces npx to resolve the newest published version on every launch.
Updating
New versions (including new tools/endpoints) are picked up automatically when two things happen, because of two independent caches:
- npx package cache — using
recapfy-mcp@latest(as above) makes npx fetch the newest published version each launch. Without@latest, npx serves the cached copy and you stay on an old build. - MCP client tool list — clients read the server's tool list once per session. New tools only appear after you fully restart the MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, …) so it relaunches the server and re-reads the tools.
So after a release: keep @latest and restart your client. If a brand-new
tool still doesn't show up, force a clean fetch:
npx clear-npx-cache # or: rm -rf "$(npm config get cache)/_npx"
then restart the client again.
Configuration
| Variable | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
SVM_PRIVATE_KEY | yes | Base58-encoded Solana secret key. Pays per call. Keep it funded. |
RECAPFY_API_BASE_URL | no | Override the API base URL (defaults to https://api.recapfy.ai). For local dev. |
RECAPFY_ALLOW_INSECURE_TLS | no | Set to 1 to accept self-signed TLS (local dev over https only). |
Tool: ask
| Input | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
videoUrl | string | yes | Absolute http(s) URL of the YouTube video. |
prompt | string | yes | What to ask about the video. |
maxOutputTokens | integer | no | Max tokens in the answer (default 1024). Drives the dynamic price. |
Returns the agent's answer as text. Payment is settled before the answer returns.
The per-call price is dynamic: the API quotes the USDC amount in the 402
challenge based on maxOutputTokens, and your wallet pays whatever is quoted — so
keep maxOutputTokens sensible.
Tool: get_transcript
| Input | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
videoUrl | string | yes | Absolute http(s) URL of the YouTube video. |
Returns the video's full transcript as timestamped segments, plus its title,
channelName, and durationSeconds. The text content is a readable, timestamped
transcript; the structured content carries the raw transcript array (each
segment is { timestampInSeconds, text }). The per-call price is flat USDC,
quoted in the 402 challenge and paid automatically.
How payment works
Built on the official Coinbase x402 v2 client packages (@x402/fetch,
@x402/svm, @x402/core) plus @solana/kit for signing:
- The tool POSTs to the matching endpoint under
${RECAPFY_API_BASE_URL}(/api/v1/agents/askor/api/v1/agents/get-transcript). - The API replies
402with requirements in thePAYMENT-REQUIREDheader (exactSVM scheme, USDC, dynamic amount, and a facilitatorfeePayerthat sponsors the network fee). - The wrapped fetch signs a gasless SPL-token transfer with your wallet and
retries with the
PAYMENT-SIGNATUREheader. - The API verifies, settles, and returns the answer plus a
PAYMENT-RESPONSEsettlement header.
Verify it works
Inspect the tools without spending anything using the MCP Inspector (it only signs a payment when you actually invoke a tool, so any key is fine just to browse):
SVM_PRIVATE_KEY=<key> npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector npx -y recapfy-mcp@latest
Open the printed URL → Tools → ask / get_transcript. Invoking a tool with a funded wallet performs a real paid call; verify the spend on a Solana explorer.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause / fix |
|---|---|
Missing required environment variable ... | SVM_PRIVATE_KEY not set. |
SVM_PRIVATE_KEY is not valid base58 | Needs base58 of the 64-byte secret key. |
400 ... maxOutputTokens must be greater than 0 | Pass a positive maxOutputTokens (the tool defaults to 1024). |
400 ... prompt | prompt is required and non-empty. |
| New tool/endpoint missing after an update | Pin recapfy-mcp@latest, restart the client, then clear the npx cache (see Updating). |
| 402 loop / "Failed to create payment payload" | Wallet has no USDC on mainnet, or wrong network. Fund it. |
| TLS error against a local API over https | Set RECAPFY_ALLOW_INSECURE_TLS=1 (localhost dev only). |
License
MIT
Comments
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