Integration guide

Use YouTube transcripts in Claude Code

One command gives Claude Code real YouTube access — summarize videos, research channels, and monitor uploads from inside your terminal.

Free tier: no signup, no card. Full reference: /docs

Option 1 — MCP server (recommended)

claude mcp add --transport http bulktranscripts https://bulktranscripts.co/mcp

That's it. Run /mcp inside a session to confirm the connection; seven tools appear (get_transcript, search_youtube, search_channel, get_channel_videos, get_playlist_videos, get_transcripts, get_latest_videos).

Have a license key? Attach it so paid credits are used:

claude mcp add --transport http bulktranscripts https://bulktranscripts.co/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_LICENSE_KEY"

Option 2 — agent skill

Prefer a skill Claude Code loads on demand? Install the SKILL.md once:

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/youtube-transcripts
curl -fsSL https://bulktranscripts.co/skill.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/youtube-transcripts/SKILL.md

Set BULKTRANSCRIPTS_API_KEY in your environment when you have a license key. Details: the agent skill page.

Try asking

• Summarize this video and pull the key quotes: https://youtube.com/watch?v=…
• What has @TED published about AI? Fetch the three most relevant transcripts.
• Check if @mkbhd uploaded anything this week and brief me on it.
• Get every transcript in this course playlist and turn it into study notes.

Notes

The connection works immediately on the free tier — no account, no OAuth. Buying a one-time credit pack gets you a license key that doubles as the API key; credits never expire and cached transcripts are always free.

If tools don't appear, start a new session (MCP servers are read at session start) and check claude mcp list.

Other clients

Go deeper