# Does YouTube have an MCP server?

**Sort of — Community only.** YouTube does not maintain an official MCP server. Community-built servers exist.

> Google ships 50+ official MCP servers for its services — YouTube is not among them.

## Facts

- Verdict: Community only (Sort of)
- Access: Local server — Runs on your machine over stdio, launched by your MCP client.
- Repository: [ZubeidHendricks/youtube-mcp-server](https://github.com/ZubeidHendricks/youtube-mcp-server) — ★ 561, last push 2026-08-08, MIT
- Maintainer: Zubeid Hendricks
- Language: TypeScript
- Category: [Social Media](https://mcpyet.com/category/social-media/)
- Verified against vendor docs: 2026-08-10
- GitHub data refreshed: 2026-08-11 (re-checked every 6 hours)

## What it does

> MCP Server for YouTube API, enabling video management, Shorts creation, and advanced analytics
> — how [ZubeidHendricks/youtube-mcp-server](https://github.com/ZubeidHendricks/youtube-mcp-server) describes itself

Project site: <https://zubeidhendricks.github.io/youtube-mcp-server/>

## The receipts

- **Top community server:** [ZubeidHendricks/youtube-mcp-server](https://github.com/ZubeidHendricks/youtube-mcp-server) — ★ 561, pushed 2026-08-08, MIT (active)

## How to connect it

Runs on your machine over stdio, launched by your MCP client.

### Claude Code

```sh
claude mcp add youtube -- npx -y <package-from-readme>
```

Swap in the exact package and flags from the repo README — most servers need an API key passed as an environment variable. Add `--scope user` to make it available in every project.

### Claude Desktop

Open **Settings → Developer → Edit Config** and add the server to `claude_desktop_config.json`, then restart Claude Desktop:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "<package-from-readme>"
      ],
      "env": {
        "API_KEY": "…"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### Cursor

Add to `.cursor/mcp.json` in your project, or `~/.cursor/mcp.json` for every project:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "<package-from-readme>"
      ],
      "env": {
        "API_KEY": "…"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

Add to `.vscode/mcp.json`, then pick the server from Copilot's agent-mode tools menu:

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "youtube": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "<package-from-readme>"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### ChatGPT

ChatGPT connects to **remote servers only**, and this one runs on your machine. Either expose it through an MCP gateway that gives it a public URL, or use a client with native local support (Claude or Cursor).

## Before you connect this

A community server is unaudited third-party code that will hold your YouTube API credentials and see whatever data they unlock. Independent research puts SSRF vulnerabilities in roughly a third of public MCP servers, and 41% ship with no authentication at all.

- Read the source before running it — especially any network calls it makes.
- Check who maintains it and whether commits are recent (this one: last push 2026-08-08).
- Issue a scoped, revocable API key rather than an account-wide token.
- Prefer read-only credentials until you trust it with writes.

## How we know

Checked Google's official MCP support announcement and server list: no YouTube server. Strongest general-purpose community server: ZubeidHendricks/youtube-mcp-server (~561 stars). Seed OFFICIAL verdict (via an unrelated aggregator repo) was wrong.

- GitHub data refreshed 2026-08-11, then every 6 hours.
- Vendor docs verified on 2026-08-10.
- Corrections: hello@mcpyet.com.

## Also in Social Media

- [LinkedIn](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/linkedin.md) — Community only (Sort of)
- [Buffer](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/buffer.md) — Official (Yes)
- [Facebook](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/facebook.md) — Official (Yes)
- [TikTok](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/tiktok.md) — Official (Yes)
- [Instagram](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/instagram.md) — Community only (Sort of)
- [Reddit](https://mcpyet.com/mcp/reddit.md) — Community only (Sort of)

---

Source: https://mcpyet.com/mcp/youtube/ — data refreshed 2026-08-11