ytt

This MCP server provides access to YouTube transcripts via the MCP interface. Once running, it exposes an endpoint you can query to fetch transcripts for YouTube videos by URL or video ID, enabling downstream tooling, summarization, or analysis within your MCP-enabled tools. The repository’s guidance centers on running the server with uv/uvx, and there are examples for development testing using MCP Inspector, as well as integrations with Claude Desktop and Raycast to streamline fetch-and-analyze workflows. A common usage pattern is to invoke the server by its MCP name (ytt-mcp) and then issue requests to retrieve the transcript data for a given YouTube URL, which can then be transformed or summarized by your client prompts.

Prerequisites:

• Install the MVP platform Ubix/uv (uv) tooling as described in the uv documentation.
• Ensure you have Python installed if the server expects a Python runtime, or rely on uv/uvx to manage the runtime if using a multi-language setup.
• Have internet access for fetching YouTube transcripts and any dependencies.

Installation steps:

1. Install the uv toolchain (per the uv docs) and verify access to uvx.
2. Install the MCP package for the YouTube Transcript server by running: uvx ytt-mcp
3. Start the MCP server via the configured command, for example: uvx ytt-mcp
4. Open your MCP client (MCP Inspector, Claude Desktop, or Raycast) and connect to the server named ytt-mcp. You should see the server registered under the name in the configuration.

Optional development workflow:

• For quick testing and debugging, you can run an inspector session with a local URL using the MCP Inspector tooling as described in the repository: uv run fastmcp dev ytt_mcp.py (this is for development; your production flow uses uvx ytt-mcp).

Tips and notes:

• The server is typically exposed with the MCP name ytt-mcp and is invoked via uvx ytt-mcp as shown in the example config. If you change the server name, ensure your MCP clients reference the updated name.
• If you encounter authentication or network issues when fetching transcripts, verify your environment allows outbound HTTPS requests and that any required YouTube access is not restricted by region or policy.
• In Raycast and Claude Desktop integrations, you can refer to the server as @youtube-transcript or the configured name, then issue prompts like “fetch the YouTube transcript of the video: {clipboard}” to retrieve and manipulate transcripts. Ensure prompts respect the exact formatting rules used in your workflows.
• When testing locally, MCP Inspector can help you validate input/output behavior without needing to deploy the full stack.