YouTube Transcript Downloader MCP server

Which servers in the official MCP registry are YouTube Transcript Downloader's own, whether they answer, and what they offer. A program checked each of these, nobody copied them from a product page.

read 2026-10-19

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Whose server it is

Registry namecom.youtubetranscriptdownload/transcriptsverified in the MCP registry

The registry name sits under youtubetranscriptdownload.com. The registry only lets a publisher use that namespace after proving control of the domain through DNS or HTTP.

When we asked itchecked 2026-10-19

Stateanswerschecked 2026-10-19
Tools4
Server calls itselfyoutube-transcript-downloader
Server version1.0.0
Protocol version2025-06-18

On 2026-10-19 the server answered initialize and tools/list without a sign-in. First answer in 149 ms.

Measured dailydaily checks: 2, the first on 2026-10-19

Answeredmeasuring2 of the 7 daily checks it takes to print a share
Median first answer430 ms
Space in an agent's context≈ 899 tokensthe definitions of all its tools (4), which an agent carries on every turn
Tool definitionsA · 100 of 100

Every tool passes all six checks.

Worth a look

None of the five warning signs in these definitions.

A program checks the server once a day: initialize and tools/list, no model. Tokens are the definitions' length at about four characters a token. The grade averages six checks of every tool's name, description, schema and annotations; it says how well the tools are described, not whether they work. The state of vendors' MCP servers: method and numbers →

Tools it offers4 tools · read 2026-10-19

get_transcript
Get the full transcript of a single YouTube video as timestamped markdown. Read-only: fetches existing captions, modifies nothing. Requires an API key; each successful call charges 1 credit, including repeat calls for the same video, so…
polish_transcript
Get a cleaned-up transcript of a YouTube video's auto-generated captions: punctuation and capitalisation restored, filler and false starts removed, paragraphs added, misheard names fixed, faithful to what was said. Use when raw captions…
get_channel_transcripts
Get transcripts for a YouTube channel's most recent videos (newest first) as timestamped markdown, one section per video. Use for research across a creator's recent output; for one known video use get_transcript. Read-only; requires an…
get_playlist_transcripts
Get transcripts for the videos in a YouTube playlist (in playlist order) as timestamped markdown, one section per video. Use for working through a course, series, or curated list; for one known video use get_transcript. Read-only…

How to connect

Add the server to your MCP client config. Claude Desktop, Cursor and most other clients read this shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "transcripts": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://youtubetranscriptdownload.com/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Each line is something a program found when it went looking: the registry entry, the server's own answer, a spec that parses. A missing line means we did not find it, not that it does not exist.