What is Yt Mcp Server

yt-mcp-server is a specialized MCP server designed to provide various utility functions for handling YouTube data, including tools for managing YouTube URLs, video IDs, and thumbnails.

Use cases

Use cases for yt-mcp-server include building applications that display YouTube videos, creating analytics tools for YouTube content, and developing services that require interaction with YouTube’s API.

How to use

To use yt-mcp-server, first install the UV package manager and then install the server either from GitHub or set it up for local development. Configure your MCP client with the appropriate settings to connect to the server.

Key features

Key features of yt-mcp-server include the ability to retrieve YouTube watch URLs, manage video IDs, and handle thumbnails, making it a versatile tool for developers working with YouTube data.

Where to use

yt-mcp-server can be used in various fields such as web development, data analysis, and application development where integration with YouTube data is required.

yt-mcp-server

MCP server with various utility functions for dealing with YouTube data. This server provides tools for working with YouTube URLs, video IDs, and thumbnails.

📖 Resources

• Model Context Protocol

Prerequisites

• Python 3.12 or higher
• UV package manager

Setup

1. Install UV

If you haven’t installed UV yet, you can install it using:

brew install uv
# alternatively curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

2. Installation Methods

Method 1: Install from GitHub (Recommended)

This is the simplest way to install and run the server:

uvx --from git+https://github.com/kdr/yt-mcp-server.git server

Method 2: Local Development Setup

If you want to modify the code locally:

git clone https://github.com/kdr/yt-mcp-server.git
cd yt-mcp-server
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Unix/macOS
# or
.venv\Scripts\activate  # On Windows
uv pip install -e .

3. Configure MCP Client

Add the following configuration to your MCP client settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "yt-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/kdr/yt-mcp-server.git",
        "server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For local development (Method 2), use this configuration instead:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "yt-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PARENT/FOLDER/yt-mcp-server/yt_mcp_server",
        "run",
        "main.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

The following tools are available to the LLM:

• get_watch_url: Returns the YouTube watch URL for a given video ID, optionally starting at a specific time

  • Parameters:
    • video_id: The YouTube video ID
    • start_time: (Optional) The start time in seconds

• get_thumbnail_url: Returns the thumbnail URL for a given YouTube video ID

  • Parameters:
    • video_id: The YouTube video ID

• get_normalized_url: Normalizes various YouTube URL formats to the canonical watch URL and extracts the video ID

  • Parameters:
    • url: The YouTube URL to normalize