Integration guide · 30 free credits

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.

Setup steps ↓

Works with

Codex Cursor GGrok Bot ChatGPT VS Code GGemini CLI CClaude Cowork PPerplexity Computer

Claude Code · setup

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

One Google sign-in, 30 free credits.

30free credits to startGoogle sign-in, no card

1,000videos per bulk joba whole channel or playlist

$0to read a video againyour library stays free

Nevercredits expireone-time packs, no subscription

00:20How it works

Two steps from install to answers

11 minute

Run one command

Add the server, then type /mcp and pick Authenticate. Sign in with Google; that includes 30 free credits.

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

210 seconds

Ask Claude Code in plain words

Claude Code picks the right tool by itself. You never name one.

Claude Code · BulkTranscripts connected

Read the last five videos on @AnthropicAI and write docs/ai-notes.md with what changed in each.

get_latest_videos15 recent uploadsfree

get_transcripts5 full transcripts5 credits

Wrote docs/ai-notes.md

One section per video, newest first
What changed, quoted from the transcript
A link and timestamp for every claim

00:30Setup

Step by step

Option 1 — MCP server (recommended)

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

Run /mcp inside a session and pick Authenticate — a BulkTranscripts sign-in page opens (Google or license key; signing in includes 30 free credits). Ten tools appear once connected (get_transcript, get_transcripts, search_youtube, search_channel, get_channel_videos, get_playlist_videos, get_latest_videos, and start_bulk_extract / get_bulk_status / list_bulk_results for whole channels).

Prefer skipping OAuth? Attach a license key as a header instead:

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

Connecting the MCP server takes one sign-in — Google or a license key — and includes 30 free credits, no card needed. Buying a one-time credit pack gets you a license key that doubles as the API key; credits never expire and repeat reads from your own library are free.

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

00:50Pick a way in

Which setup fits you

All of them share one account, one credit balance and one library.

Way in	How you connect	Sign-in	Best for
MCP server	`claude mcp add --transport http …`	Google, in the browser	Most people. Ten tools, nothing to manage
MCP with a key	The same command plus `--header`	API key or license key	Headless boxes, CI, shared machines
Agent skill	A SKILL.md in `~/.claude/skills`	`BULKTRANSCRIPTS_API_KEY`	Keeping MCP off; the skill loads only when needed

01:10Try asking

What to ask Claude Code

Paste any of these once the server is connected.

Docs from talks

“Read this conference talk and add its API changes to CHANGELOG-notes.md: https://youtube.com/watch?v=…”

Learn a library

“Find the three best tutorials on LangGraph on YouTube and write a cheat sheet from them.”

Research a repo

“What have the maintainers of this project said on YouTube about the roadmap?”

Course to notes

“Turn every lecture in this playlist into one Markdown file per lecture in notes/.”

Weekly digest

“Check @Fireship and @ThePrimeagen for new uploads and summarize anything about Rust.”

Quote check

“Did Andrej Karpathy say this in his last video? Quote the exact line and timestamp.”

01:30Which one

Claude Code, Claude Desktop or Claude.ai?

One BulkTranscripts account works in all three. Only the setup differs.

Claude Code

Your terminal. One claude mcp add command, or the agent skill. Best when the transcripts should end up in files or code.

Claude.ai and Desktop

Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector with https://bulktranscripts.co/mcp. Best for reading and chatting. Connector guide

Both at once

Connect it in each app with the same Google account. Credits and your transcript library are shared, so a video you read once is free everywhere.

01:50Other agents

Use it in your other tools too

Same account and credits everywhere. Your library follows you.

Codex

One config.toml block (MCP) or the skill

Cursor

One-click install button or mcp.json

Grok Bot

MCP server with OAuth

ChatGPT

Custom connector in Developer mode

VS Code

Copilot agent mode, one mcp.json entry

n8n

Community node or HTTP Request

Make

HTTP module with an API key

Gemini CLI

One extension install, or gemini mcp add

Claude Cowork

Custom connector, Google sign-in

Perplexity Computer

Custom remote connector, OAuth

Manus

Custom MCP connector, OAuth or Bearer key

OpenClaw

openclaw mcp add, or the ClawHub skill

Hermes Agent

hermes mcp add with OAuth

Kimi Code

One mcp.json entry, then /mcp-config login

NanoClaw

ncl add-mcp-server with an API key

Paperclip

Skill from the company Skills page

02:10Questions

Questions about Claude Code

How do I add BulkTranscripts to Claude Code?

Run claude mcp add --transport http bulktranscripts https://bulktranscripts.co/mcp, then type /mcp in a session, choose Authenticate and sign in with Google. Ten YouTube tools appear once you are signed in.

Do I need an API key for Claude Code?

Not for the MCP server: the Google sign-in is the credential. You need an API key only for the agent skill or for headless setups that pass an Authorization header. Creating a key is free in the app under MCP & API.

The BulkTranscripts tools don't show up in Claude Code. What now?

Start a new session, because MCP servers are read when a session starts. Then run claude mcp list to check the server is there, and /mcp to see whether it still needs authentication.

Is BulkTranscripts free to use in Claude Code?

You start with 30 free credits when you sign in with Google, no card needed. One credit fetches one new transcript. Reading a transcript that is already in your library is free, and checking a channel for new uploads is free. After that, one-time credit packs that never expire; there is no subscription.

Does every YouTube video have a transcript?

No. A transcript can only be fetched when the video has captions, either uploaded by the creator or generated by YouTube. Videos without captions are skipped and never charged.

Can Claude Code read a whole channel or playlist?

Yes. Ask for a channel or playlist and the server lists the videos, then fetches their transcripts. Large jobs of up to 1,000 videos run on the server in the background and report progress, so they survive a long conversation.

02:30Go deeper

Connect it in Claude Code

30 free credits, no card. One sign-in for the MCP connector, one free API key for the REST API.

Get your free credits