YouTube Transcript

Provides YouTube video transcripts via MCP for Claude Code, with language options and timestamp control.

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5 months ago

First Indexed

2 months ago

Catalog Refreshed

Documentation & install

Readme and setup notes from the catalogue, plus a client-ready config you can copy for your MCP host.

Installation

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.

Configuration

View docs

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hancengiz-youtube-transcript-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@fabriqa.ai/youtube-transcript-mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

This YouTube Transcript MCP Server lets you fetch full transcripts from YouTube videos for Claude Code. It simplifies extracting captions for analysis, summaries, or research without downloading video data, saving you time and keeping context focused.

How to use

After you configure the MCP server, you can ask Claude Code to retrieve transcripts or languages for YouTube videos. Use get-transcript to fetch a transcript, optionally selecting a language and choosing whether to include timestamps. Use get-transcript-languages to see which languages are available for a given video. These tools let you analyze video content, pull quotes, or summarize key points without watching the full video.

How to install

Prerequisites: you need Node.js installed and access to the terminal. You will also use Claude Code to register the MCP server.

npm install -g @fabriqa.ai/youtube-transcript-mcp

After installation the server becomes available globally. You can configure it with Claude Code to register this MCP server for your usage.

## Configuration and setup

Configure a machine-wide MCP server using the following command so it is available in all projects. This is the recommended approach.

claude mcp add --scope user youtube-transcript npx @fabriqa.ai/youtube-transcript-mcp@latest


This registers the server under the name youtube-transcript with the npm package executed via npx.

Basic configuration example

If you prefer a manual JSON setup, you can add the MCP server to your Claude configuration. The following example uses npx to run the MCP package.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@fabriqa.ai/youtube-transcript-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

This configuration lets Claude Code launch the MCP tool when you request transcripts.

## Usage examples

Once the MCP server is configured, you can perform common actions like getting a transcript or listing available languages for a video.

## Advanced: quick setup script

If you installed via npm, you can automatically update your Claude configuration with the quick setup script.

npx @fabriqa.ai/youtube-transcript-mcp/update-config.js


Or, if you installed from source, run:

node update-config.js


This updates your configuration to expose the MCP server machine-wide.

Troubleshooting and notes

Common issues include the MCP token limit for long transcripts when timestamps are included. If you hit limits, disable timestamps or use shorter videos. Ensure the video has captions and is publicly accessible. If the server does not appear, verify your configuration and restart Claude Code.

Development and testing

To modify or extend the server, adjust the source files, register new tools in the tool list, and run tests to validate JSON schemas and transcript fetching.

Available tools

get-transcript

Fetches the transcript for a YouTube video URL or ID, with optional language and timestamp settings.

get-transcript-languages

Lists available transcript languages for a given YouTube video URL or ID.