YouTube MCP server: setup, API quota and transcripts

Setup, step by step

1. Step 1

   Get a YouTube Data API key

   In the Google Cloud console, create a project, enable the YouTube Data API v3 for it, and create an API key. A key covers public data. Methods such as captions.download need OAuth.

2. Step 2

   Add the community server to your MCP client

   This is the npx config from the project README. Put your key in YOUTUBE_API_KEY. The server also reads YOUTUBE_TRANSCRIPT_LANG for the default transcript language.

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "youtube": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": ["-y", "zubeid-youtube-mcp-server"],
         "env": { "YOUTUBE_API_KEY": "your_youtube_api_key" }
       }
     }
   }

3. Step 3

   Restart the client and check the tools

   You should see 10 tools, such as videos_searchVideos, channels_listVideos and transcripts_getTranscript.

Is there an official YouTube MCP server?

No. Google's supported products page lists official MCP servers for Cloud, Maps, Workspace and other products, but none for YouTube.

Every YouTube MCP server is a community project. Most call the official YouTube Data API with your key, so they inherit its quota and its policies.

How does the YouTube Data API quota work?

By default, a project gets 100 search.list calls, 100 videos.insert calls and 10,000 units a day for all other methods combined. Each request costs units, and invalid requests cost at least 1. Quota resets at midnight Pacific time.

• Each extra page of search results is another call, so paging through results eats the 100-search allowance fast.
• To get more quota, complete the YouTube API Compliance Audit and name your use case. The ZubeidHendricks server can switch to a second or third key when one runs out, but the audit is the route the policies describe.
• Data fetched without the owner's authorization, such as a channel's subscriber count, may be stored for at most 30 days before you delete or refresh it.

What does the YouTube Data API return, and what does it not?

It returns video metadata and statistics, channel details, playlists, comments and search results. That covers most research questions about what exists on YouTube and how it performs.

It does not give you transcripts of other people's videos. captions.download needs permission to edit the video, which in practice means the owner's permission. YouTube's developer policies also ban scraping, using scraped data, and downloading audiovisual content.

The policies also say API clients must not directly or indirectly obtain scraped YouTube data or content. If your agent uses the official API, check how any community server or paid endpoint gets its transcripts before you mix the two.

• YouTube transcript API options

How do you get YouTube data through Locus Pro?

The Locus Pro catalog has YouTube search, channel and transcript endpoints from third-party sellers, paid per call from one credit balance with no Google project or key. 1,000 credits cost $1, and catalog search and describe are free. Prices checked November 10, 2026.

Rows marked not reviewed are x402 seller listings: Locus has not reviewed them and cannot promise they stay available. Locus marks the youtube-web and youtube-mobile endpoints as built over youtube.com, so they can break when the site changes and the site terms may restrict automated access.

• Use transcripts for videos you own or have rights to use. For your own channel, the official captions route works.
• MCP URL: https://api.paywithlocus.com/api/credits/mcp

• Transcribe audio cheaply
• Add Locus to Cursor

How far does the daily quota go for 100 lookups?

With the Data API, 100 searches use the whole default daily search allowance. 100 video detail reads use 100 of 10,000 units.

Listing caption tracks for 100 videos uses 5,000 units, half the daily quota, and you can only download the tracks for videos you can edit.

Locus Pro endpoints have no daily quota. Each call is charged its catalog price, and the only cap is your plan's calls per minute.

Which route should you use?

For metadata, stats, comments and search under 100 a day, use a community MCP server with your own API key. It is free and it is the official API.

For more searches than the default allows, or transcripts of videos you have rights to, a paid endpoint skips the quota extension form. Read the listing status first, and keep within YouTube's policies.

• Locus Pro tool catalog
• Locus Pro for individuals