Search videos; read channels, playlists, comments and popular videos in YouTube. For creators and marketers who research videos and channels on YouTube. Hosted by usefulapi — connect from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any MCP client.
Team and Enterprise: an Owner adds the connector for the organization first.
Run this command, then run /mcp in Claude Code to log in:
Add to Cursor or add this to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"youtube-data": {
"url": "https://youtube-data.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}Add to VS Code or add this to .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"youtube-data": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://youtube-data.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}No Add custom MCP server option? It depends on your account or workspace settings: see OpenAI's guide.
Run these commands. The second one opens the login page:
Other MCP clients (Windsurf, Cline, Zed and more): add the URL as a remote MCP server (Streamable HTTP). The client then opens the login page in your browser. Do not add an Authorization header: see Before you connect.
Search for videos on a topic and read the statistics of the best results.
youtube_search youtube_get_videos
Read the data of a channel and list its playlists and the videos in one playlist.
youtube_get_channels youtube_list_playlists youtube_list_playlist_items
List the comment threads of a video and the replies to one comment.
youtube_list_comment_threads youtube_list_comment_replies
List the most popular videos and the video categories of a region.
youtube_list_popular_videos youtube_list_video_categories
The login page asks for your YouTube Data API key.
Create a key in Google Cloud Console → APIs & Services → Credentials, and enable YouTube Data API v3 for the project. The key is used only to call the API for you and to derive a private account id. Usage counts against your own project quota.
Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config. The server signs you in with OAuth: the login page asks for your YouTube Data API key. If the config has such a header, remove it: some clients then send that header instead of the login token, and every call fails with 401.
Turn on the YouTube Data connector, then ask in plain words. The AI picks the tools.
| Tool | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
youtube_search | read | Search YouTube Search public videos, channels or playlists by keyword. COSTS 100 quota units per call (the default daily quota is 10,000 units), so prefer the get/list tools when you have ids. Returns ids and snippets; call youtube_get_videos for statistics. API: GET /search. |
youtube_get_videos | read | Get videos Get details for up to 50 videos by id: title, description, tags, publish date, duration, view/like/comment counts and privacy status. 1 quota unit per call. API: GET /videos?id=. |
youtube_list_popular_videos | read | List most popular videos List the most popular videos of a region, optionally within one video category. 1 quota unit per call. API: GET /videos?chart=mostPopular. |
youtube_get_channels | read | Get channels Get public channel details (title, description, custom URL, country, subscriber/view/video counts, uploads playlist id) by channel ids, by @handle or by legacy username. Give exactly one of channel_ids, handle, username. 1 quota unit. API: GET /channels. |
youtube_list_playlists | read | List playlists List the public playlists of a channel, or get playlists by id (give exactly one of channel_id, playlist_ids). 1 quota unit. API: GET /playlists. |
youtube_list_playlist_items | read | List playlist items List the videos in a playlist. Use the uploads playlist id from youtube_get_channels (contentDetails.relatedPlaylists.uploads) to list all uploads of a channel for 1 quota unit instead of a 100-unit search. API: GET /playlistItems. |
youtube_list_comment_threads | read | List comment threads List top-level public comments (with reply counts and a few replies) of one video, or of all videos of one channel. Give exactly one of video_id, channel_id. Fails with HTTP 403 when comments are disabled. 1 quota unit. API: GET /commentThreads. |
youtube_list_comment_replies | read | List comment replies List all replies to one top-level comment (use the comment id of a thread from youtube_list_comment_threads). 1 quota unit. API: GET /comments?parentId=. |
youtube_list_video_categories | read | List video categories List the video categories (id and title) that exist in a region. Use the ids to filter youtube_list_popular_videos. 1 quota unit. API: GET /videoCategories. |
youtube_usage_status | Usage status (free-tier meter) Report the caller's current usage: the plan, calls used this month, the limit of the plan (the free monthly cap or the Pro fair use limit), remaining, and whether the limit is reached. Read-only; does not count against the meter. | |
youtube_request_feature | Request a missing feature Tell usefulapi that the user needs something the YouTube Data tools cannot do yet (a missing tool, field or filter). Call it only when the user asks for something none of the tools can do, and tell the user that you send the request. Do not call it for errors or for normal requests. Do not include personal data, credentials or customer records. Stored with the product name and the client type (for example Claude or Cursor), without the user's account. At most 5 requests per day. Does not count against the meter. | |
youtube_upgrade | Upgrade to Pro (unlimited*) Get Pro: unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 a month) on YouTube Data (the free tier caps monthly usage). Plans: "monthly" — $9/month; "yearly" — $90/year (2 months free). Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period, so it also suits a one-time job. *A fair use limit applies. For heavy use (near Pro's limit): "plus" or "plus_yearly" — Pro+, $39/month or $390/year, unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 100,000 a month); an existing Pro subscription changes to Pro+ in place (needs confirm: true; the price difference for the rest of the period is charged at once). Otherwise returns a short link to open in your browser (it opens Stripe Checkout); after payment the account upgrades automatically. Does not count against the meter. | |
youtube_cancel_subscription | Cancel the Pro subscription Cancel the caller's YouTube Data Pro subscription at the end of the paid period (no refund for the current period; Pro continues until then, then the free tier applies). Requires confirm: true. Run youtube_upgrade later to undo the cancel before the period ends. Does not count against the meter. |
| Plan | Price | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 tool calls / month |
| Proper user | $9/mo · $90/yr | Unlimited* |
*Pro fair use limit: 10,000 tool calls a month on this server. For more, write to [email protected].
Pro covers this YouTube Data server only. Subscribe with youtube_upgrade (it returns a Stripe Checkout link). Cancel any time with youtube_cancel_subscription: Pro continues to the end of the paid period, with no refund for the current period, and running youtube_upgrade before then undoes the cancel. Or write to [email protected].
Research a topic. Study a channel. Read the comments on a video. See what is popular. See what you can do for the details.
No. usefulapi is an independent service. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by YouTube Data. The server calls the YouTube Data API with your own YouTube Data access, so it sees only the data that your account can see.
Yes. In Claude, add this server's URL as a custom connector. In ChatGPT, add it as a custom MCP server in Plugins. Then log in once. Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code and Codex work too. See the setup steps.
The login page asks for your YouTube Data API key. See Before you connect for where to find it.
No. Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config. The server signs you in with OAuth: the login page asks for your YouTube Data API key. If the config has such a header, remove it: some clients then send that header instead of the login token, and every call fails with 401.
The login stores them encrypted in the authorization grant of your connection. The server uses them to call the YouTube Data API for you and to derive a private account id for usage metering. usefulapi does not show them on any page or in any reply. To stop all access, remove the connector and change or delete these credentials in YouTube Data.
All 9 YouTube Data tools are marked read-only.
The Free plan gives 50 tool calls / month. Pro costs $9/mo or $90/yr, with unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 tool calls a month), for this YouTube Data server only. Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period. Run youtube_usage_status to see how many calls you used.
Ask the AI to run youtube_upgrade: it returns a Stripe Checkout link. To cancel, run youtube_cancel_subscription. Pro continues to the end of the paid period.
Tell the AI what you wanted to do. It can send the request with youtube_request_feature. We store the text with the server name, the type of AI client and the tool you tried, not with your account, and read every request when we plan new tools. You can send up to 5 requests per day.
Any client that supports remote MCP servers (Streamable HTTP) with OAuth login: Claude (web and desktop), Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf and others.
This is a Model Context Protocol endpoint — meant to be connected from an AI client, not opened in a browser. An invalid_token response at the URL is the auth gate working as designed; clients authenticate automatically.
Need a tool this server does not have, or a connection to another system? We build custom integrations and MCP servers.