YouTube MCP

YouTube MCP server for Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot and five more AI agents. Connect YouTube to Claude, Copilot, Cursor, Codex, Gemini, Windsurf, Continue.dev and Cline. One extension, 8 agents, no config files to edit.

Install. Sign in with Google. Ask your AI agent about YouTube.

Quick Start

Install from the VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX
Authenticate: the setup wizard appears on first launch
Ask your AI agent anything about YouTube

"How did my last five videos perform this month?"
"Search YouTube for recent talks about MCP servers"
"List the comments on my newest video"

Prerequisites

You need one of these (the wizard will guide you):

Method	Best For	What You Need
OAuth (recommended)	Personal Google accounts	A Google Cloud project with OAuth credentials
ADC	Developers with `gcloud` CLI	Run one terminal command
Service Account	Workspace admins and servers	A JSON key file

Go to Google Cloud Console
Create a project (or select an existing one)
Enable the YouTube Data API v3 and the YouTube Analytics API under APIs & Services > Library
Create OAuth credentials:
- Go to APIs & Services > Credentials
- Click Create Credentials > OAuth client ID
- Application type: Desktop app
- Copy the Client ID and Client Secret
Configure the OAuth consent screen (if prompted) and add yourself as a test user
In the extension wizard, select "OAuth" and paste your Client ID and Secret
A browser window opens: sign in with your Google account and authorize

Option B: Application Default Credentials

gcloud auth application-default login \
  --scopes=https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.readonly,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/yt-analytics.readonly,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.force-ssl

Option C: Service Account Key

Create a service account in Google Cloud Console and give it access to your YouTube data
Download the JSON key file
In the extension wizard, select "Service Account" and pick the file

YouTube Analytics reports cover the channel of the Google account you sign in with. Search and public video data work for any channel. Every call counts against your project's YouTube Data API quota (10,000 units a day by default; a search costs 100).

Available Tools (9)

Tool	What It Does	Example Prompt
`youtube_search`	Search videos, channels or playlists	"Find recent videos about MCP servers"
`youtube_get_videos`	Video details and view, like and comment counts	"How many views does this video have?"
`youtube_get_channel`	Channel details and statistics (yours by default)	"How many subscribers do I have?"
`youtube_list_playlists`	List a channel's playlists	"List my playlists"
`youtube_list_playlist_items`	List the videos in a playlist	"List the videos in my uploads"
`youtube_list_comments`	Read comment threads on a video	"What are people saying on my newest video?"
`youtube_analytics_report`	YouTube Analytics for your channel	"Watch time per day for the last 28 days"

Youtube Admin (`youtube_admin`)

One tool, called with an action and its params.

Action	Needs `confirm: true`
`update_video(video_id, title?, description?, tags?, privacy?, category_id?)`	No
`create_playlist(title, description?, privacy?)`	No
`add_to_playlist(playlist_id, video_id, position?)`	No
`remove_from_playlist(playlist_item_id)`	Yes
`reply_to_comment(comment_id, text)`	No
`delete_comment(comment_id)`	Yes

Safety

Actions that delete, remove, replace or publish need confirm: true in their params. Without it the server changes nothing and returns a warning, so your AI agent has to ask you and then call again with confirm: true.

Supported AI Agents

The extension auto-registers with every AI agent it detects:

Agent	How It Registers	Config File
VS Code Copilot	VS Code API (automatic)	--
Claude Code	`~/.claude.json`	JSON
Cursor	`~/.cursor/mcp.json`	JSON
OpenAI Codex	`~/.codex/config.toml`	TOML
Google Gemini	`~/.gemini/settings.json`	JSON
Windsurf	`~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json`	JSON
Continue.dev	`~/.continue/config.yaml`	YAML
Cline	VS Code globalStorage	JSON

You can toggle individual agents on/off in Settings > search youtubeMcp.agents.

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`youtubeMcp.authMethod`	`"oauth"`	Auth method: oauth, adc, serviceAccount
`youtubeMcp.agents.*`	`true`	Per-agent registration toggles
`youtubeMcp.registrationScope`	`"global"`	Global or workspace registration
`youtubeMcp.autoStart`	`true`	Auto-start server on VS Code launch
`youtubeMcp.serverLogLevel`	`"info"`	Server log verbosity

Commands

Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P) and search for:

Command	What It Does
`YouTube MCP: Setup Authentication`	Run the setup wizard
`YouTube MCP: Register with AI Agents`	Re-register with all detected agents
`YouTube MCP: Show Status`	Show auth method and server state
`YouTube MCP: Restart MCP Server`	Restart the background MCP server
`YouTube MCP: Check Authentication Status`	Verify credentials are valid
`YouTube MCP: View Server Logs`	Open the output channel for debugging
`YouTube MCP: Remove from All Agents`	Clean up all agent registrations

Troubleshooting

"YouTube MCP: Setup" in the status bar

Your credentials aren't configured. Click the status bar item or run YouTube MCP: Setup Authentication.

"Permission Denied" errors

Your credentials don't have access to the requested data. Make sure the YouTube Data API v3 and the YouTube Analytics API are enabled in your Google Cloud project.

Server keeps crashing

Run YouTube MCP: View Server Logs to see the error. Common causes:

Expired credentials: run the setup wizard again
Node.js not found: install Node.js 22 or newer

Uninstalling cleanly

Before uninstalling, run YouTube MCP: Remove from All Agents to clean up config files.

Privacy

This extension:

Does NOT collect telemetry or send data to third parties
Communicates only with Google APIs using your own credentials
Stores credentials in VS Code's built-in SecretStorage (encrypted, per-user)
OAuth refresh tokens never leave your machine

Links

By Renzo Johnson | Published by mercurial

YouTube MCP

Renzo

YouTube MCP

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Option A: OAuth 2.0 (Browser Login), recommended

Option B: Application Default Credentials

Option C: Service Account Key

Available Tools (9)

Youtube Admin (youtube_admin)

Safety

Supported AI Agents

Settings

Commands

Troubleshooting

"YouTube MCP: Setup" in the status bar

"Permission Denied" errors

Server keeps crashing

Uninstalling cleanly

Privacy

Links

Youtube Admin (`youtube_admin`)