VidCap YouTube API

You run an MCP server that acts as a proxy to the VidCap YouTube API, letting your AI assistants access YouTube video data and functions through a stable, reusable interface. This server also serves as a boilerplate for building custom MCP servers, with a focus on practical, production-ready usage and secure key management.

How to use

You’ll connect your MCP client to the VidCap YouTube API MCP server to perform tasks like fetching video metadata, discovering media formats, extracting captions, generating summaries, taking screenshots, fetching comments, and performing YouTube searches. Use the standard MCP client workflow to register the VidCap server, then invoke tools such as youtube_getInfo, youtube_getMedia, youtube_getCaption, youtube_getSummary, youtube_getScreenshot, youtube_getScreenshotMultiple, youtube_getComments, and youtube_search. Provide your VidCap API key as an environment variable when you configure the server, and use the client’s transport (stdio for local use or http for remote/web use) to communicate with the server.

How to install

Prerequisites you need before installation are Node.js version 18 or newer and Git. You will also need access to an VidCap API key to enable YouTube data access.

Step-by-step setup you can follow now:

# Step 1: Clone the project repository
git clone https://github.com/mrgoonie/vidcap-mcp-server.git
cd vidcap-mcp-server

# Step 2: Install dependencies
npm install

# Step 3: Run the development server (stdio transport by default)
npm run dev:server

# Optional: run the HTTP transport variant for web-based clients
npm run dev:server:http

Configuration and usage notes

1. Set your VidCap API key in the environment where the server runs. You can provide it in a local environment file or directly in the MCP client configuration as VIDCAP_API_KEY. 2) If you plan to expose the server over HTTP, ensure you configure the HTTP transport endpoint and, if needed, set an Authorization header on the client side. 3) For debugging and development, you can start the server with debugging enabled to get verbose logs.

// HTTP transport configuration (remote server)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vidcap-youtube-api-remote": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://your-domain.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer your_token_here"
      },
      "env": {
        "VIDCAP_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

// STDIO local server configuration (CLI/SDK usage)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vidcap-youtube-api": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["vidcap-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "VIDCAP_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Security and maintenance

Protect your VidCap API key by storing it in environment variables rather than hard-coding in files. Use project-wide configurations for team access and user-level configurations for personal credentials. Rotate keys regularly and monitor access with your MCP client’s logging features.

If you expose the server over HTTP, consider applying proper authentication and network controls to prevent unauthorized access.

Troubleshooting

If the server does not start, ensure Node.js is installed (version 18 or newer) and that you ran the build or start script required by your configuration. Check that VIDCAP_API_KEY is properly set in the environment and review logs for any error messages.

Common issues include missing commands, misconfigured environment variables, or network connectivity problems when reaching the VidCap API.

Available tools

youtube_getInfo

Fetches video metadata such as title, description, duration, and other details for a given YouTube URL.

youtube_getMedia

Retrieves available media formats (video and audio) and quality options for a YouTube video.

youtube_getCaption

Obtains captions or transcripts for a video with optional locale and format parameters.

youtube_getSummary

Generates an AI-assisted summary of the video content, with optional model and screenshot parameters.

youtube_getScreenshot

Captures a screenshot from the video at a specified timestamp.

youtube_getScreenshotMultiple

Captures multiple screenshots from the video at different timestamps in a single request.

youtube_getComments

Fetches YouTube video comments with optional pagination, order, and reply inclusion.

youtube_search

Searches YouTube videos using advanced filters like duration, date, quality, and sort order.