Get transcripts, subtitles, video metadata, playlists, and downloads from supported platforms through your AI assistant.
Included in Developer Plan. API and MCP share your quota.
“Get the transcript of my product walkthrough, with timestamps.”
get_transcriptEnglish · Manual captionsWelcome. Here is how to get your first project running.
Connect your account, then choose a workspace.
You can now review the results with your team.
Readable text for your assistant to summarize, reference, or discuss.
Give your assistant the words behind a video. Use the MCP tools to retrieve YouTube captions and turn them into a readable transcript, with timestamps when you need to reference a moment.
The same tools work with other platforms supported by the service when captions are available. Your AI assistant handles summaries and questions using the returned text. Available tools vary by platform; use media you own or are authorized to process.
Retrieve a transcript in your selected language. Long transcripts are split into pages, with a continuation ID for the next part.
Get SRT or VTT subtitle text for a player, an editor, or your own workflow.
Check video information and playlist entries, or create an MP4 video or MP3 audio download.
Ask in plain language. Your assistant chooses the tool and works with the result.
get_transcript
Returns readable text with timestamps. The summary is written by your AI client.
get_subtitles
Returns SRT or VTT subtitle text from manual or platform-generated captions.
get_playlist_info
Returns up to 200 entries without downloading any videos.
get_video_infocreate_downloadget_download_status
Inspects the video, creates a background task, and returns an authenticated file URL when ready.
Choose the result you need. Authentication stays in your client's connection settings.
get_transcriptReadable transcriptsTurn existing captions into readable text, with optional timestamps. No audio transcription.
get_video_infoVideo metadata & formatsInspect a video before reading or downloading it.
get_subtitlesSRT & VTT subtitlesRetrieve manual captions or platform-generated captions in the requested language.
get_playlist_infoPlaylist informationRead a flat list of videos without downloading a playlist.
create_downloadVideo & audio downloadsCreate a background download of a single video or its audio.
get_download_statusTask progress & resultsCheck a task owned by your account. Poll no more often than every five seconds.
get_account_statusPlan & shared allowanceCheck your Developer entitlement before starting a workflow.
Use a client that supports remote MCP over Streamable HTTP and a custom Authorization header. This version uses your Developer API key; browser-based OAuth sign-in is not available.
Open your account's Developer section, activate the plan, and copy your API key.
Set the endpoint and authentication header below in your MCP client's settings. Keep the key out of chat messages and shared configuration files.
Call get_account_status first. Then ask your assistant to get a transcript or inspect a video you can access.
https://ytdlp.online/mcpStreamable HTTPAuthorization: Bearer YOUR_DEVELOPER_API_KEYAdd this server to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, merging it with any existing servers. Set YTDLP_API_KEY to your Developer API key in the environment used to launch Cursor, then restart Cursor.
{
"mcpServers": {
"ytdlp": {
"url": "https://ytdlp.online/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer ${env:YTDLP_API_KEY}"
}
}
}
}See the Cursor MCP configuration guide.
Run this command in your terminal, replacing YOUR_DEVELOPER_API_KEY with your key. The user scope makes this server available across your projects. Then use /mcp in Claude Code to check the connection.
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user ytdlp https://ytdlp.online/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_DEVELOPER_API_KEY"See the Claude Code MCP setup guide.
Add this entry to ~/.codex/config.toml. Set YTDLP_API_KEY to your Developer API key in the environment used to launch Codex, then restart Codex. The tool timeout allows time for video information and subtitle extraction.
[mcp_servers.ytdlp]
url = "https://ytdlp.online/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "YTDLP_API_KEY"
tool_timeout_sec = 150See the Codex MCP configuration guide.
REST API and MCP share your allowance, with no separate MCP access fee.
Direct connection to ChatGPT is not currently supported. Use Cursor, Claude Code, or Codex with your Developer API key.
No. It exposes the hosted yt-dlp service for supported platforms. YouTube transcripts are one use case; video information, subtitles and downloads depend on the source platform's capabilities and availability.
get_transcript turns subtitle cues into readable text, removes overlapping repeated words, and optionally includes timestamps. get_subtitles preserves SRT or VTT text for subtitle workflows.
The tool returns an unavailable result. It prefers manual captions in the requested language and can use platform-generated captions when available. It does not perform speech recognition or translate captions into another language.
No. Media processing runs on our service. You need a supported MCP client and an active Developer plan.
Your assistant can summarize or answer questions using the transcript returned by the tools. Summarization is performed by your AI client, not by a separate service included in this plan.
get_download_status returns a file URL. Retrieve it with your Developer key in the Authorization header. The URL requires authentication; it is not a public share link. Files are temporary, so retrieve them promptly.
The REST API is for direct HTTP integrations. MCP describes the same operations as tools your assistant can discover and call. Both use the same Developer entitlement and request allowance.