YouTube (TranscriptAPI)

This plugin bundles the hosted transcriptapi MCP server (https://transcriptapi.com/mcp). Its 12 tools are the only data path: never scrape youtube.com and never call the REST API directly from this skill.

Authentication is automatic. The MCP server uses OAuth: the first tool call prompts the user to sign in (or create a free account, 100 credits, no card). There is no API key to configure. If tools fail with an auth error, tell the user to complete the sign-in prompt in their client, or re-enable the transcriptapi MCP server in settings.

When to use

DO use when the user:

• Pastes a YouTube link or 11-character video ID, or asks to summarize, quote, transcribe, translate or fact-check a video → get_youtube_transcript
• Asks what a video says, or wants the spoken content, even without saying "transcript" → get_youtube_transcript
• Wants to know what transcript languages are available before spending a credit → get_youtube_video_info (free)
• Wants view/like counts, publish date, description, duration, tags, or related videos for a video → get_video_metadata
• Wants to find videos, channels, playlists, or movies on a topic → search_youtube
• Wants a channel's profile (subscriber count, description, tabs, etc.) → get_channel_info
• Names a creator, pastes an @handle or channel URL, or asks what a channel posted recently → get_channel_latest_videos (free)
• Wants to search within a channel → search_channel_videos
• Wants a channel's full upload history, Shorts, or live streams → list_channel_videos
• Wants the list of playlists on a channel → list_channel_playlists
• Wants a channel's community posts → list_channel_posts
• Wants a channel's curated Home/podcasts/releases shelves → get_channel_sections
• Pastes a playlist link, or wants every video in a series or course → list_playlist_videos
• Is researching a topic where talks, lectures, tutorials or reviews are good sources → search_youtube, then transcripts of the best hits

Do NOT use when:

• A YouTube link appears incidentally (an email signature, an unrelated citation)
• The user is discussing YouTube as a platform rather than asking about specific content
• The user wants to upload, comment, or manage an account: this plugin is read-only

Tools (exact MCP surface)

get_youtube_transcript: 1 credit

• video_url (string, required): full URL (youtube.com/watch?v=ID), short URL (youtu.be/ID), shorts URL, or a bare 11-character video ID.
• format (string, default "text"): "text" for markdown, "json" for per-segment objects with start and duration.
• include_timestamp (boolean, default true), send_metadata (boolean, default true): metadata adds title, author and thumbnail.
• Use format="json" only when you need to cite or seek to exact timestamps; "text" is cheaper to reason over.

get_youtube_video_info: FREE

• video_url (string, required): full URL, short URL, or 11-character video ID.
• Returns basic metadata (title, author, thumbnail) plus available transcript languages. Call this before get_youtube_transcript to pick a language.
• For counts, publish date, description, duration, tags, or related videos, use get_video_metadata instead.

get_video_metadata: 1 credit

• video_url (string, required); include (string array, optional): "details" (duration, category, tags, caption tracks) and/or "related" (related videos).
• Rich metadata without needing captions: view/like-count text, publish date, structured description, channel summary, thumbnails.

search_youtube: 1 credit per page

• query (string, required on first call), search_type (string, default "video"): "video", "channel", "playlist", or "movie" (first call only).
• sort (string, default "relevance"): "relevance" or "views". upload_date (string, optional, videos only): hour, today, week, month, year. duration (string, optional, videos only): short, medium, long.
• continuation (string, optional): token from a prior call for the next page. Filters apply to the first call only.
• Search returns metadata only. Pick the best results, then pull transcripts for those. Don't transcribe everything.

get_channel_info: 1 credit

• channel (string, required): @handle, channel URL, or UC… channel ID.
• Returns the channel's profile (title, handle, verified flag, counts, description, tags, tabs). Check the returned tabs before calling get_channel_sections or list_channel_videos with a tab.

get_channel_latest_videos: FREE

• channel (string, required): @handle, channel URL, or UC… channel ID. No need to resolve a handle first.
• Prefer it over list_channel_videos when recent uploads are enough, and use it freely to check what a creator posted.

search_channel_videos: 1 credit

• channel (string, required), query (string, required), continuation (string, optional).
• Much better than fetching a whole channel and filtering yourself.

list_channel_videos: 1 credit per page

• channel (string, required on first call), tab (string, default "videos"): videos (uploads), shorts, or streams. sort (string, optional): latest, popular, or oldest. Repeat the same tab AND sort when paginating. continuation (string, optional).
• Paginated full upload history. Use only when the user genuinely wants the whole catalogue.
• Sorting. Add sort=latest, popular, or oldest to channel/videos to get a channel's videos in the order you want, for example its most-popular uploads first. A sorted page returns about 30 videos (an unsorted page returns about 100), and every page costs the same 1 credit. Sorted results come from YouTube's Videos tab (long-form only); Shorts have their own tab=shorts feed. When paging, send the same sort on each request.
• Every item carries members_only, true only when YouTube badges it "Members only", and those items have no viewCountText. tab: "streams" items carry lengthText and publishedTimeText; tab: "shorts" returns null for both.

list_channel_playlists: 1 credit per page

• channel (string, required on first call), continuation (string, optional).
• Returns a channel's playlists (id, title, URL, video-count text). Pass an id to list_playlist_videos to get its videos.

list_channel_posts: 1 credit per page

• channel (string, required on first call), continuation (string, optional).
• Returns community (Posts tab) content. Channels without a community tab return an empty list, not an error.

get_channel_sections: 1 credit

• channel (string, required), tab (string, default "featured"): featured (Home), podcasts, or releases.
• Curated, grouped shelves in the channel's own order. podcasts/releases return empty results on channels that don't have them.

list_playlist_videos: 1 credit per page

• playlist (string, required on first call): playlist URL or ID. continuation (string, optional).

Credit hygiene

• get_channel_latest_videos is free: reach for it first when checking a channel.
• Successful calls cost 1 credit unless a tool states otherwise below. Failed and rate-limited calls do not consume credits.
• Search first, then transcribe only the videos you actually need. Transcribing a page of search results is the most common way to waste credits.
• Paginate with continuation only while the user still needs more.

Trademark

TranscriptAPI is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by YouTube or Google LLC. "YouTube" is a trademark of Google LLC.