YouTube MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT
Let your assistant read any YouTube video. Paste a link and ask anything: answers come from the real transcript, with timestamps you can click to check every claim.
https://vidskim.com/api/mcpFree: 30 videos a month · Google sign-in · No API keys
The video treats a network as layers of “neurons” that each hold a number between 0 and 1. The first layer is the 784 pixels of a 28×28 image 3:08.
The hope is that hidden layers pick up little edges, then loops and lines, and the last layer combines them into digits 6:53. Each connection has a weight and each neuron a bias, almost exactly 13,000 numbers in total 12:18.
Connect in about a minute
One URL works everywhere. Pick your app, follow two or three steps, sign in with Google, and press Allow.
- No API key, no JSON config, no credit card
- Works on the web, desktop, and mobile apps
- Disconnect anytime from your app’s settings
https://vidskim.com/api/mcp- Open Settings → Connectors and choose Add custom connector.
- Name it Vidskim and paste the URL above.
- Click Connect, sign in with Google, and press Allow. Works on claude.ai, Desktop, and mobile.
Ask the way you’d ask a friend who watched it
Click a prompt to copy it, then swap in your own link.
Learning and research
Someone sent you a 90-minute lecture and you need what matters for your work.
Content and marketing
You need a post, a newsletter, or a competitor teardown from a video.
Coding agents
Your agent should follow a tutorial or conference talk without you copying text.
Small on purpose
Assistants pick the right tool more often when there are few of them and each does one job. Your assistant calls these on its own when you mention a video.
- get_transcript
- Full transcript in Markdown with chapters and a clickable timestamp on every paragraph. Long videos come in parts; any time range on request.
- search_transcript
- Finds where a topic, name, or quote comes up inside one video and returns those passages with links.
- get_video_info
- Title, channel, date, views, description, and chapters, without spending a video from your allowance.
- search_youtube
- Finds videos on a topic when you don't have a link yet.
- list_channel_videos
- The latest uploads of a channel or the videos of a playlist.
Built so you can trust the answer
The point is not a summary. It’s an answer you can check in one click.
The assistant reads what was actually said, in the video’s own language, with YouTube’s chapters.
Paragraphs start with a link to that moment, so citations open the video right where it’s said.
No captions, private video, or limit reached: the assistant says so plainly instead of making things up.
Free for 30 videos a month
A video counts once a month, the first time your assistant opens it. Follow-up questions, searches inside it, and later parts of a long video don’t count again.
Need more videos for research or a team? A larger plan is coming. Tell us what you need.
Frequently asked questions
Can Claude read YouTube videos with this server?
Not by itself. Claude can't play a video and usually can't open a YouTube link, so without help it guesses from the title or says it can't access the page. What it can do is read a transcript. With Vidskim connected, Claude fetches the video's captions on its own when you paste a link, then answers from what was actually said and cites the moments with timestamps. Visuals that nobody describes out loud are not included.
Can ChatGPT watch YouTube videos?
Not reliably. ChatGPT doesn't play YouTube videos, and from a bare link it usually only sees the title and description. Add Vidskim as a connector in ChatGPT's developer mode and it reads the full transcript, so answers and quotes come from what is actually said in the video.
What is the YouTube MCP server URL?
https://vidskim.com/api/mcp. Add it as a custom connector in Claude or ChatGPT, or as a remote MCP server in Claude Code, Cursor, or VS Code. It uses Streamable HTTP and signs you in with OAuth, so there is no API key to paste.
Do I need an API key or any setup in JSON files?
No. You paste one URL and sign in with Google. The connector uses standard OAuth, the same way Claude and ChatGPT connect to Google Drive or Notion.
Why do other YouTube MCP servers stop working?
Most open-source YouTube MCP servers run on your computer or a cloud host and fetch captions straight from YouTube. YouTube often blocks those requests, especially from cloud IP addresses, so the tool returns errors. Vidskim is hosted, so nothing runs on your machine, and we're alerted the moment YouTube blocks a request so we can fix it.
Does it work with Claude Code, Cursor, and other MCP clients?
Yes. It is a standard remote MCP server over Streamable HTTP with OAuth sign-in, so it works in Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, and any other client that supports remote MCP servers. The setup steps for each app are above.
Which videos work?
Any public YouTube video that has captions, including YouTube's auto-generated ones, in any language. Videos without captions, private videos, and members-only videos can't be read; the assistant will tell you so instead of guessing.
Can it translate a transcript?
Yes. Ask for the transcript in another language and Vidskim returns YouTube's machine translation of the captions. The original language stays the most accurate.
What does the free plan include?
30 videos a month. Each video counts once, so follow-up questions, searching inside it, and reading more parts of it are free. Video details, YouTube search, and channel lists never count.
What data does Vidskim keep?
Your Google name and email, to keep track of your allowance, and the IDs of videos you opened this month. We don't see your chats with the assistant and we never touch your YouTube account.
More on how assistants handle video: can Claude watch YouTube videos and can ChatGPT summarize a YouTube video.
Your next YouTube link deserves a real answer
Connect once and every video you paste becomes something your assistant can read, quote, and cite.
https://vidskim.com/api/mcp