YouTube Data

kirbah/mcp-youtube

Connects to YouTube Data API v3 and exposes search, video details, channel statistics, transcripts, comments, and trending video discovery. Built with token optimization as a first principle, stripping YouTube's bloated JSON payloads down by 64-87% compared to raw API responses. Includes optional MongoDB caching to protect your daily API quota when agents re-query the same data. Ships with transcript fetching in zero-config mode if you want to skip the API key setup. Designed for production use with 97% test coverage and strict type safety via Zod. Reach for this when you need your LLM to analyze YouTube content, research channels, or extract insights from comments without burning through context windows or quota limits.

GitHub stars: 33
tools: 16
auth: Secret needed
transport: STDIO
env vars: 2
last updated: Nov 1, 2026

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Tools

16 tools

Public tool metadata for what this MCP can expose to an agent.

YOUTUBE_GET_CHANNEL_ACTIVITIESGets recent activities from a YouTube channel including video uploads, playlist additions, likes, and other channel events.6 params

Gets recent activities from a YouTube channel including video uploads, playlist additions, likes, and other channel events.

Parameters* required

channelIdstring

The YouTube channel ID to retrieve activities for. Channel IDs typically start with 'UC'.

maxResultsinteger

Maximum number of activities to return.default: 25

pageTokenstring

Pagination token from a previous response to get the next page of results.

partstring

Comma-separated list of activity resource properties to include (e.g., 'snippet', 'contentDetails', 'id').default: snippet,contentDetails

publishedAfterstring

Return activities published after this date-time (RFC 3339 format: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ).

publishedBeforestring

Return activities published before this date-time (RFC 3339 format: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ).

YOUTUBE_GET_CHANNEL_ID_BY_HANDLERetrieves the YouTube Channel ID for a specific YouTube channel handle.1 params

Retrieves the YouTube Channel ID for a specific YouTube channel handle.

Parameters* required

channel_handlestring

The YouTube channel handle (e.g., @Google) for which to retrieve the corresponding channel ID. This handle must start with an '@' symbol.

YOUTUBE_GET_CHANNEL_STATISTICSGets detailed statistics for YouTube channels including subscriber counts, view counts, and video counts.2 params

Gets detailed statistics for YouTube channels including subscriber counts, view counts, and video counts.

Parameters* required

idstring

Comma-separated list of YouTube channel IDs. Channel IDs typically start with 'UC'. This is a required field and must be non-empty

partstring

Comma-separated list of channel resource properties to include. Use 'statistics' for subscriber count.default: statistics

YOUTUBE_GET_VIDEO_DETAILS_BATCHRetrieves multiple YouTube video resource parts in a single batch call. Use when you need cohort-level metrics for many videos to reduce quota usage and latency.3 params

Retrieves multiple YouTube video resource parts in a single batch call. Use when you need cohort-level metrics for many videos to reduce quota usage and latency.

Parameters* required

hlstring

Language for localized metadata (snippet.localized); IETF language tag, e.g., 'en'.

idarray

List of YouTube video IDs to retrieve (comma-separated in request).

partsarray

Comma-separated list of video resource properties to include. Valid parts can be one or more of: snippet, contentDetails, statistics, status, player, topicDetails, recordingDetails, fileDetails, pr...

YOUTUBE_LIST_CAPTION_TRACKRetrieves a list of caption tracks for a YouTube video, returning an empty list if no captions exist or failing if the video ID is invalid or not found.2 params

Retrieves a list of caption tracks for a YouTube video, returning an empty list if no captions exist or failing if the video ID is invalid or not found.

Parameters* required

partstring

Specifies a comma-separated list of one or more caption resource parts that the API response will include. Valid parts are 'id' and 'snippet'.default: snippet

videoIdstring

The YouTube video ID for which the API should return caption tracks.

YOUTUBE_LIST_CHANNEL_VIDEOSLists videos from a specified YouTube channel, ensuring results are of `type: 'video'`.4 params

Lists videos from a specified YouTube channel, ensuring results are of `type: 'video'`.

Parameters* required

channelIdstring

The unique ID of the YouTube channel for which videos are to be retrieved.

maxResultsinteger

The maximum number of videos to return per page.default: 5

pageTokenstring

Token for pagination; use `nextPageToken` from a previous response for the next page, or `prevPageToken` for the previous page.

partstring

Specifies `search` resource properties to include; it must be `snippet` for this action. The `snippet` includes basic video details like ID, title, description, and thumbnails.default: snippet

YOUTUBE_LIST_PLAYLIST_ITEMSTool to list videos in a playlist, with pagination support. Use when walking through a channel's uploads playlist to enumerate all videos.7 params

Tool to list videos in a playlist, with pagination support. Use when walking through a channel's uploads playlist to enumerate all videos.

Parameters* required

fieldsstring

Selector specifying which fields to include in a partial response.

maxResultsinteger

The maximum number of items to return per page. Must be between 0 and 50.default: 50

onBehalfOfContentOwnerstring

Note: For YouTube content partners. Authorize using a properly scoped account.

pageTokenstring

The token for the page of results to retrieve. Obtained from a previous call's nextPageToken.

partstring

Comma-separated list of playlistItem resource parts to include in the response. Valid values: 'snippet', 'contentDetails', 'id', 'status'.default: snippet,contentDetails

playlistIdstring

The ID of the playlist for which to retrieve items. Typically a channel's uploads playlist ID.

videoIdstring

Filter results to only those containing the specified video ID.

YOUTUBE_LIST_USER_PLAYLISTSRetrieves playlists owned by the authenticated user, implicitly using mine=True.3 params

Retrieves playlists owned by the authenticated user, implicitly using mine=True.

Parameters* required

maxResultsinteger

Maximum number of playlists to return.default: 5

pageTokenstring

Token for pagination to retrieve a specific page of results.

partstring

Specifies a comma-separated list of one or more playlist resource properties to include in the response. Common values are 'snippet', 'id', and 'contentDetails'.default: snippet

YOUTUBE_LIST_USER_SUBSCRIPTIONSRetrieves the authenticated user's YouTube channel subscriptions, allowing specification of response parts and pagination.3 params

Retrieves the authenticated user's YouTube channel subscriptions, allowing specification of response parts and pagination.

Parameters* required

maxResultsinteger

Maximum number of subscription items to return per page.default: 5

pageTokenstring

Token for a specific page of results, obtained from a previous response. Omit for the first page.

partstring

Specifies the comma-separated subscription resource parts to include. Valid parts are `id`, `snippet`, `contentDetails`, and `subscriberSnippet`.default: snippet,contentDetails

YOUTUBE_LOAD_CAPTIONSDownloads a specific YouTube caption track, which must be owned by the authenticated user, and returns its content as text. Note: This action requires you to own the video (YouTube Data API v3 restriction). Non-owned videos will return 403 Forbidden errors, including many auto...2 params

Downloads a specific YouTube caption track, which must be owned by the authenticated user, and returns its content as text. Note: This action requires you to own the video (YouTube Data API v3 restriction). Non-owned videos will return 403 Forbidden errors, including many auto...

Parameters* required

idstring

Unique YouTube-assigned ID of the caption track to download.

tfmtstring

Desired format for the caption track. Supported formats: 'srt' (SubRip), 'sbv' (SubViewer), 'vtt' (WebVTT).default: srt

YOUTUBE_SEARCH_YOU_TUBESearches YouTube for videos, channels, or playlists using a query term, returning the raw API response.5 params

Searches YouTube for videos, channels, or playlists using a query term, returning the raw API response.

Parameters* required

maxResultsinteger

Maximum number of items to return per page.default: 5

pageTokenstring

Pagination token from a previous response's 'nextPageToken' or 'prevPageToken', used to retrieve a specific page of results.

partstring

Comma-separated list of search resource properties (e.g., 'id', 'snippet') to include in the API response.default: snippet

qstring

Search query term. Supports: - Basic text: 'machine learning' - Exact phrases: '"exact phrase"' - Exclusions: 'python -snake' - Multiple terms: 'AI OR ML' - Channel search: '@channelhandle' or chan...

typestring

Restricts search to 'video', 'channel', or 'playlist'; comma-separate for multiple types (e.g., 'video,channel').default: video

YOUTUBE_SUBSCRIBE_CHANNELSubscribes the authenticated user to a specified YouTube channel, identified by its unique `channelId` which must be valid and existing.1 params

Subscribes the authenticated user to a specified YouTube channel, identified by its unique `channelId` which must be valid and existing.

Parameters* required

channelIdstring

Unique identifier (ID) of the YouTube channel to subscribe to (typically starts with 'UC').

YOUTUBE_UPDATE_THUMBNAILSets the custom thumbnail for a YouTube video using an image from thumbnailUrl; the authenticated user must have permission to edit the video.2 params

Sets the custom thumbnail for a YouTube video using an image from thumbnailUrl; the authenticated user must have permission to edit the video.

Parameters* required

thumbnailUrlstring

Publicly accessible URL of the new thumbnail image. Must be JPG, GIF, or PNG; under 2MB. Recommended: 16:9 aspect ratio, 1280x720 resolution (minimum 640px width).

videoIdstring

Identifier of the YouTube video for which to update the thumbnail.

YOUTUBE_UPDATE_VIDEOUpdates metadata for a YouTube video identified by videoId, which must exist; an empty list for tags removes all existing tags.6 params

Updates metadata for a YouTube video identified by videoId, which must exist; an empty list for tags removes all existing tags.

Parameters* required

categoryIdstring

New YouTube category ID. No change if omitted or `None`.

descriptionstring

New video description. No change if omitted or `None`.

privacyStatusstring

New privacy status ('public', 'private', or 'unlisted'). No change if omitted or `None`.

tagsarray

New tags, replacing all existing. An empty list removes all. No change if omitted or `None`.

titlestring

New video title. No change if omitted or `None`.

videoIdstring

The video's unique YouTube ID, typically found in its URL.

YOUTUBE_UPLOAD_VIDEOUploads a video from a local file path to a YouTube channel; the video file must be in a YouTube-supported format.6 params

Uploads a video from a local file path to a YouTube channel; the video file must be in a YouTube-supported format.

Parameters* required

categoryIdstring

YouTube category ID (e.g., '22' for People & Blogs). See YouTube Data API docs for a full list of category IDs.

descriptionstring

Detailed description of the video content, optionally including keywords and context.

privacyStatusstring

Privacy status: 'public', 'private' (uploader/specified users only), or 'unlisted' (link accessible, not publicly listed).

tagsarray

List of keyword tags (strings) for the video, used to improve discoverability.

titlestring

The title for the video.

videoFilePathstring

Video file to upload. Provide a FileUploadable object with valid s3key, mimetype, and name.

YOUTUBE_VIDEO_DETAILSRetrieves specified information parts (e.g., snippet, contentDetails, statistics) for a YouTube video, identified by its ID.2 params

Retrieves specified information parts (e.g., snippet, contentDetails, statistics) for a YouTube video, identified by its ID.

Parameters* required

idstring

The YouTube video ID (typically an 11-character string) for which details are to be retrieved.

partstring

Comma-separated list of video resource parts that the API response will include. Valid parts: 'snippet' (title, description, thumbnails), 'contentDetails' (duration, definition, dimension), 'statis...default: snippet,contentDetails,statistics