YouTube MCP - install, status & alternatives [2026]

01 · Install YouTube MCP

before you install - you'll need

Set GOOGLE_API_KEY, GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID, GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET before connecting.

Claude Code

claude mcp add mrsknetwork-ytmcp -- npx -y @mrsknetwork/ytmcp

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mrsknetwork-ytmcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@mrsknetwork/ytmcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions

license MIT - declared in the repository

npm package @mrsknetwork/ytmcp - published under the repo owner's npm scope (@mrsknetwork)

registry namespace io.github.mrsknetwork is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What YouTube MCP can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

What you can build

With this server connected, an agent can fetch title, description, tags, duration, and stats (views, likes, comments) for one or more videos by ID, fetch channel profile, subscriber count, video count, and upload playlist ID. Accepts a channel ID or @handle, fetch the most popular videos on YouTube for a given region_code and optional category_id. Supports pagination, and list playlists for a channel, or fetch specific playlists by ID. Returns title, description, and item count.

Capability map

Tools grouped from the project's README - what YouTube MCP lets an agent do.

read & search

7 tools - e.g. Search YouTube for videos, channels, or playlists. Filter by order, published_after, published_before, video_duration, video_definition, and region_code. Suppor; Fetch the most popular videos on YouTube…

search_content · list_trending_videos · list_playlists · list_playlist_items · list_comment_replies · list_subscriptions…

Video

5 tools - e.g. Download a full spoken transcript using yt-dlp. Specify language_code (e.g. en, es) and whether to prefer manual or auto-generated captions. Returns source meta; Fetch title, description, tags, duration…

get_video_transcript · get_video_metadata · list_video_comments · list_video_captions · list_video_categories

Channel

4 tools - e.g. Fetch channel profile, subscriber count, video count, and uploads playlist ID. Accepts a channel ID or @handle.; Fetch a channel's recent activity feed, including uploads and playlist additions.; List the…

get_channel_metadata · list_channel_activities · list_channel_sections · list_channel_members

Supported

2 tools - e.g. List all languages supported by YouTube, with language codes and localized names.; List all regions supported by YouTube, with region codes and names.

list_supported_languages · list_supported_regions

auth & access

1 tool - e.g. Sign out and permanently delete your stored Google credentials from the server.

revoke_oauth_token

Latest releases

v1.0.14 · 2026-07-23

Fixed · Output Schema Passthrough: Added .passthrough() to Zod output schemas allowing etag metadata without MCP schema validation errors. · Added · MCP Test Suite & Demo Scripts: Added scripts/test-client.js and…

v1.0.13 · 2026-07-23

Release Notes - Version 1.0.13 · Features & Enhancements · Local yt-dlp Binary: Added standalone executable in bin/yt-dlp for isolated transcript extraction. · User-Agent Anti-Blocking: Added browser User-Agent headers…

v1.0.12 · 2026-07-08

Added · Transcript segmenting - Added start_minutes and end_minutes optional parameters to get_video_transcript to support retrieving specific portions of a video transcript. · Transcript size limit - Added…

04 · Who maintains YouTube MCP

YouTube MCP is maintained by mrsknetwork. It's the only MCP server we track from this author; the repo dates to Mar 2026.

05 · Facts

repository: github.com/mrsknetwork/ytmcp
website: https://github.com/mrsknetwork/ytmcp
category: social media - ranked #16 of 46 actively-maintained social media servers as of 2026-08-25.
release cadence: 3 releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-07-23)
registry: io.github.mrsknetwork/ytmcp (active, first published 2026-03-02 · 10 versions)
packages: npm:@mrsknetwork/ytmcp

06 · YouTube MCP FAQ

Is YouTube MCP still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-07-23 and it shipped 3 releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

What can YouTube MCP do?

With this server connected, an agent can fetch title, description, tags, duration, and stats (views, likes, comments) for one or more videos by ID, fetch channel profile, subscriber count, video count, and upload playlist ID. Accepts a channel ID or @handle, fetch the most popular videos on YouTube for a given region_code and optional category_id. Supports pagination, and list playlists for a channel, or fetch specific playlists by ID. Returns title, description, and item count.

How do I install YouTube MCP?

Run `npx -y @mrsknetwork/ytmcp`. The README documents 3 environment variables (GOOGLE_API_KEY, GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID, GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET) to set first. Set GOOGLE_API_KEY, GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID, GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET before connecting. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does YouTube MCP run locally?

Yes - it's a stdio server: it runs on your machine (via npx) with your user's permissions. Your data stays local unless the server itself calls external APIs.

07 · Alternatives to YouTube MCP

Alternatives to YouTube MCP

Maintained social media servers if YouTube MCP isn't the fit.

More social media MCP servers · Reddit MCP Server (mypracticaltools) · Tweetkit X · Pendpost · Postfast MCP · Post Bridge

More TypeScript MCP servers · Rakuten MCP · Tabedata MCP · Glyphic · Smart Connections MCP · ConnectWise PSA · see all