YouTube Transcript Server

A Model Context Protocol server that enables retrieval of transcripts from YouTube videos. This server provides direct access to video captions and subtitles through a simple interface.

Components

$3

- get_transcript
- Extract transcripts from YouTube videos
- Inputs:
- url (string, required): YouTube video URL or video ID
- lang (string, optional, default: "en"): Language code for transcript (e.g., 'ko', 'en')

Key Features

- Support for multiple video URL formats
- Language-specific transcript retrieval
- Detailed metadata in responses

Configuration

To use with Claude Desktop, add this server configuration:

``json
{
"mcpServers": {
"youtube-transcript": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@kimtaeyoon83/mcp-server-youtube-transcript"]
}
}
}
`

Development

$3

- Node.js 18 or higher
- npm or yarn

$3

Install dependencies:
`bash
npm install
`

Build the server:
`bash
npm run build
`

For development with auto-rebuild:
`bash
npm run watch
`

$3

`bash
npm test
`

$3

Since MCP servers communicate over stdio, debugging can be challenging. We recommend using the MCP Inspector for development:

`bash
npm run inspector
`

Error Handling

The server implements robust error handling for common scenarios:
- Invalid video URLs or IDs
- Unavailable transcripts
- Language availability issues
- Network errors

Usage Examples

1. Get transcript by video URL:
`typescript
await server.callTool("get_transcript", {
url: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID",
lang: "en"
});
`

2. Get transcript by video ID:
`typescript
await server.callTool("get_transcript", {
url: "VIDEO_ID",
lang: "ko"
});
`

3. How to Extract YouTube Subtitles in Claude Desktop App
`
chat: https://youtu.be/ODaHJzOyVCQ?si=aXkJgso96Deri0aB Extract subtitles
``

Security Considerations

The server:
- Validates all input parameters
- Handles YouTube API errors gracefully
- Implements timeouts for transcript retrieval
- Provides detailed error messages for troubleshooting

License

This MCP server is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.