YouTube Transcription MCP server

This MCP server enables easy YouTube video transcription capabilities. It lets you integrate transcript extraction from YouTube videos into your applications with a simple API interface, providing a straightforward way to access video content in text form.

Installation

You can install the YouTube Transcription Server using npm:

npm install @seanlee10/server-youtube-transcription

Alternatively, you can run it directly using npx:

npx @seanlee10/server-youtube-transcription

Usage

Basic Server Setup

To start the server, run the installed package:

npx @seanlee10/server-youtube-transcription

By default, the server will run on port 3000. You can specify a different port using the PORT environment variable:

PORT=8080 npx @seanlee10/server-youtube-transcription

Transcribing Videos

The server exposes an API endpoint for transcribing YouTube videos. You can make requests to the server using:

POST /api/transcribe

Request Format

Send a POST request with a JSON body containing the YouTube video URL:

{
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"
}

Response Format

The server will respond with the transcription in JSON format:

{
  "transcript": "The full transcription of the video content...",
  "videoId": "VIDEO_ID",
  "title": "Video Title"
}

API Example

Here's an example of how to use the API with curl:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/transcribe \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"}'

Using in JavaScript Applications

const response = await fetch('http://localhost:3000/api/transcribe', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    url: 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ'
  }),
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data.transcript);

Error Handling

The server returns appropriate HTTP status codes for different error scenarios:

• 400 - Invalid request (missing URL or invalid YouTube URL)
• 404 - Video not found or no transcription available
• 500 - Server error during transcription process

If an error occurs, the response will include an error message:

{
  "error": "Description of the error"
}

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "youtube-transcription" '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@seanlee10/server-youtube-transcription"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "youtube-transcription": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@seanlee10/server-youtube-transcription"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "youtube-transcription": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@seanlee10/server-youtube-transcription"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect