YTAPI
YouTube transcripts, video details, search, channels and playlists. OAuth sign-in or API key.
One address for any MCP client. You sign in at ytapi.dev once, after adding it.
What it does
- Reads
- Writes
- High impact
At most: only reads or looks up information.
What it costs
FreeOdel charges nothing per call. The publisher may charge for its own service.
What it asks for at sign-in
| Access to | Read | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Youtube | ||
| Stay signed in |
From the sign-in at ytapi.dev, as the endpoint publishes it. You approve it there.
Tools
None listed · checked 8 Oct 2026Odel could not list its tools without signing in.
YouTube skills for AI agents
Agent skills for YouTube transcripts, search, channels and playlists, powered by YTAPI. They work with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenClaw, Hermes Agent and any agent that reads Agent Skills.
Plain HTTPS calls with curl, nothing else to install. They also work where
fetching YouTube directly fails: on servers and cloud agents, tools like
yt-dlp often get HTTP 429, a bot check or an IP block.
Install
Claude plugin: the YTAPI MCP server plus skills for video summaries, channel digests and topic research. In Claude Code:
/plugin marketplace add ytapi/youtube-skills
/plugin install ytapi@ytapi
The first time Claude uses a YTAPI tool, run /mcp and sign in to your YTAPI
account (or create one: 200 free credits, no card). No API key needed. The
plugin lives in plugins/ytapi.
Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Cline and others (skills.sh):
npx skills add ytapi/youtube-skills
One skill only:
npx skills add ytapi/youtube-skills --skill ytapi-youtube-transcript
OpenClaw (ClawHub):
npx clawhub@latest install ytapi
Hermes Agent:
hermes skills install skills-sh/ytapi/youtube-skills/skills/ytapi
Not a developer? Paste this to your agent:
Install the YouTube skill from https://github.com/ytapi/youtube-skills and set up my YTAPI key.
Skills
| Skill | What it does |
|---|---|
ytapi | Everything below in one skill: transcripts, video details, search, channels, playlists, batches |
ytapi-youtube-transcript | Transcripts and subtitles: text, Markdown, timestamped JSON, SRT, VTT, any language |
ytapi-youtube-search | Search videos, channels, playlists and Shorts, then read the results |
ytapi-youtube-channels | Channel profiles, latest uploads, all videos, playlists |
ytapi-youtube-summarize | Summaries and notes of a video or a channel's new uploads, with timestamped links |
Install ytapi if you are unsure.
API key
The skills read the key from YTAPI_API_KEY. If it is not set, the agent
offers to create a free account for you: you give it your email address and
the 6-digit code we send you, and it stores the key. No browser and no card.
Or create a key yourself at ytapi.dev.
New accounts get 200 free credits. One successful request uses one credit (video basic info and search suggestions are free); failed requests are free. Until you buy a credit pack, a key can make 1 request per second and 100 per day. Packs start at $9 for 2,000 credits and never expire: pricing.
Examples
- "Summarize this video: https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ"
- "Get the Spanish subtitles of this talk as an SRT file."
- "Find this week's most-viewed videos about Rust async and tell me what they cover."
- "What has @mkbhd uploaded lately? Give me a two-line summary of each."
- "List every video in this playlist with its length."
Links
- Docs: https://docs.ytapi.dev (for agents: https://docs.ytapi.dev/llms-full.txt)
- Remote MCP server: https://docs.ytapi.dev/agent-setup/#mcp
- Agent sign-up API: https://docs.ytapi.dev/agent-signup/
- Support: hello@ytapi.dev
Contributing
Each skill carries a copy of shared/auth-setup.md in its references/
folder, because skills are installed one at a time. Edit the file in
shared/, then run ./scripts/sync-references.sh.
The Claude plugin in plugins/ytapi has its own skills, which use the MCP
tools and never handle an API key. When you change them, bump version in
plugins/ytapi/.claude-plugin/plugin.json: Claude Code keeps plugin users on
the version listed there.
Licensed MIT-0.
