How to integrate Youtube MCP with Claude Agent SDK

This guide walks you through connecting Youtube to the Claude Agent SDK using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Youtube agent that can list your most recent uploaded videos, get subscriber count for your channel, search youtube for trending tutorials through natural language commands. This guide will help you understand how to give your Claude Agent SDK agent real control over a Youtube account through Composio's Youtube MCP server. Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

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YouTube is a leading video-sharing platform for uploading, streaming, and discovering content. It empowers creators and businesses to reach global audiences and monetize their work.

47 Tools4 Triggers

Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Youtube to the Claude Agent SDK using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Youtube agent that can list your most recent uploaded videos, get subscriber count for your channel, search youtube for trending tutorials through natural language commands.

This guide will help you understand how to give your Claude Agent SDK agent real control over a Youtube account through Composio's Youtube MCP server.

Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

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TL;DR

Here's what you'll learn:
  • Get and set up your Claude/Anthropic and Composio API keys
  • Install the necessary dependencies
  • Initialize Composio and create a Tool Router session for Youtube
  • Configure an AI agent that can use Youtube as a tool
  • Run a live chat session where you can ask the agent to perform Youtube operations

What is Claude Agent SDK?

The Claude Agent SDK is Anthropic's official framework for building AI agents powered by Claude. It provides a streamlined interface for creating agents with MCP tool support and conversation management.

Key features include:

  • Native MCP Support: Built-in support for Model Context Protocol servers
  • Permission Modes: Control tool execution permissions
  • Streaming Responses: Real-time response streaming for interactive applications
  • Context Manager: Clean async context management for sessions

What is the Youtube MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Youtube MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Youtube account. It provides structured and secure access to your channel data, so your agent can perform actions like searching videos, managing playlists, retrieving channel insights, and handling subscriptions on your behalf.

  • Channel activity monitoring: Let your agent fetch and summarize recent channel activities, including uploads, likes, playlist additions, and more, to keep you up to date at a glance.
  • Automated video and playlist management: Easily list videos from any channel, retrieve your own playlists, and organize your content—all through AI-driven commands.
  • Channel analytics and statistics: Ask your agent to pull detailed channel metrics such as subscriber counts, total views, or video counts for quick reporting and insights.
  • Subscription management: Have your agent list your current subscriptions or even subscribe you to new channels based on your interests or instructions.
  • Search and caption handling: Empower your agent to search YouTube for videos, channels, or playlists, as well as retrieve and download caption tracks for accessible viewing and content repurposing.

What is the Composio tool router, and how does it fit here?

What is Composio SDK?

Composio's Composio SDK helps agents find the right tools for a task at runtime. You can plug in multiple toolkits (like Gmail, HubSpot, and GitHub), and the agent will identify the relevant app and action to complete multi-step workflows. This can reduce token usage and improve the reliability of tool calls. Read more here: Getting started with Composio SDK

The tool router generates a secure MCP URL that your agents can access to perform actions.

How the Composio SDK works

The Composio SDK follows a three-phase workflow:

  1. Discovery: Searches for tools matching your task and returns relevant toolkits with their details.
  2. Authentication: Checks for active connections. If missing, creates an auth config and returns a connection URL via Auth Link.
  3. Execution: Executes the action using the authenticated connection.

Step-by-step Guide

Step by step09 STEPS
1

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:
  • Composio API Key and Claude/Anthropic API Key
  • Primary know-how of Claude Agents SDK
  • A Youtube account
  • Some knowledge of Python
2

Getting API Keys for Claude/Anthropic and Composio

Claude/Anthropic API Key
  • Go to the Anthropic Console and create an API key. You'll need credits to use the models.
  • Keep the API key safe.
Composio API Key
  • Log in to the Composio dashboard.
  • Navigate to your API settings and generate a new API key.
  • Store this key securely as you'll need it for authentication.
3

Install dependencies

npm install @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk @composio/core dotenv

Install the Composio SDK and the Claude Agents SDK.

What's happening:

  • @composio/core provides Composio integration for Anthropic
  • @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk is the core agent framework
  • dotenv/config loads environment variables
4

Set up environment variables

bash
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_composio_api_key_here
USER_ID=your_user_id_here
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_api_key_here

Create a .env file in your project root.

What's happening:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY authenticates with Composio
  • USER_ID identifies the user for session management
  • ANTHROPIC_API_KEY authenticates with Anthropic/Claude
5

Import dependencies

import 'dotenv/config';
import readline from 'node:readline';
import { Composio } from '@composio/core';
import { query, type Options } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";

dotenv.config();
What's happening:
  • We're importing all necessary libraries including the Claude Agent SDK and Composio
  • The dotenv.config() function loads environment variables from your .env file
  • This setup prepares the foundation for connecting Claude with Youtube functionality
6

Create a Composio instance and Tool Router session

async function chat() {
  const { COMPOSIO_API_KEY, USER_ID } = process.env;
  if (!COMPOSIO_API_KEY || !USER_ID) {
    throw new Error('COMPOSIO_API_KEY and USER_ID required in .env');
  }

  const composio = new Composio({ apiKey: COMPOSIO_API_KEY });

  // Create Tool Router session for Youtube
  const session = await composio.create(USER_ID, {
    toolkits: ['youtube'],
  });
  const mcpUrl = session?.mcp.url;
What's happening:
  • The function checks for the required COMPOSIO_API_KEY environment variable
  • We're creating a Composio instance using our API key
  • The create method creates a Tool Router session for Youtube
  • The returned url is the MCP server URL that your agent will use
7

Configure Claude Agent with MCP

const options: Options = {
  permissionMode: 'bypassPermissions',
  mcpServers: {
    composio: {
      type: 'http',
      url: mcpUrl,
      headers: { 'x-api-key': COMPOSIO_API_KEY }
    }
  },
  systemPrompt: 'You are a helpful assistant with access to Youtube tools via Composio.',
  maxTurns: 10,
};
What's happening:
  • We're configuring the Claude Agent options with the MCP server URL
  • permissionMode: 'bypassPermissions' allows the agent to execute operations without asking for permission each time
  • The system prompt instructs the agent that it has access to Youtube
  • maxTurns: 10 limits the conversation length to prevent excessive API usage
8

Create client and start chat loop

const rl = readline.createInterface({
    input: process.stdin,
    output: process.stdout,
    prompt: 'You: '
  });

  console.log('\nChat started. Type "exit" to quit.\n');

  let isProcessing = false;

  async function ask(prompt: string) {
    isProcessing = true;
    rl.pause();

    process.stdout.write('Claude is thinking...');
    const stream = query({ prompt, options });

    let firstChunk = true;
    for await (const msg of stream) {
      const content = (msg as any).message?.content || (msg as any).content;
      if (Array.isArray(content)) {
        for (const block of content) {
          if (block.type === 'text' && block.text) {
            if (firstChunk) {
              process.stdout.write('\r\x1b[K');
              process.stdout.write('Claude: ');
              firstChunk = false;
            }
            process.stdout.write(block.text);
          }
        }
      }
    }
    process.stdout.write('\n\n');

    isProcessing = false;
    rl.resume();
    rl.prompt();
  }

  rl.on('line', async (line) => {
    if (isProcessing) return;

    const input = line.trim();
    if (input === 'exit') {
      rl.close();
      process.exit(0);
    }
    if (input) await ask(input);
    else rl.prompt();
  });

  await ask('What can you help me with?');
}
What's happening:
  • The readline interface is created to handle user input and output
  • The query function is used to send the user's input to the agent
  • The chat loop continues until the user types 'exit' or 'quit'
9

Run the application

try {
  await chat();
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error);
  process.exit(1);
}
What's happening:
  • The chat function is the entry point for the application
  • The try-catch block is used to handle any errors that occur

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Youtube and Claude Agent SDK:

import 'dotenv/config';
import readline from 'node:readline';
import { Composio } from '@composio/core';
import { query, type Options } from "@anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk";

async function chat() {
  const { COMPOSIO_API_KEY, USER_ID } = process.env;
  if (!COMPOSIO_API_KEY || !USER_ID) {
    throw new Error('COMPOSIO_API_KEY and USER_ID required in .env');
  }

  const composio = new Composio({ apiKey: COMPOSIO_API_KEY });
  const session = await composio.create(USER_ID, {
    toolkits: ['youtube']
  });
  const mcp_url = session?.mcp.url;

  const options: Options = {
    permissionMode: 'bypassPermissions',
    mcpServers: {
      composio: {
        type: 'http',
        url: mcp_url,
        headers: { 'x-api-key': COMPOSIO_API_KEY }
      }
    },
    systemPrompt: 'You are a helpful assistant with access to Youtube tools via Composio.',
    maxTurns: 10,
  };

  const rl = readline.createInterface({
    input: process.stdin,
    output: process.stdout,
    prompt: 'You: '
  });

  console.log('\nChat started. Type "exit" to quit.\n');

  let isProcessing = false;

  async function ask(prompt: string) {
    isProcessing = true;
    rl.pause();

    process.stdout.write('Claude is thinking...');
    const stream = query({ prompt, options });

    let firstChunk = true;
    for await (const msg of stream) {
      const content = (msg as any).message?.content || (msg as any).content;
      if (Array.isArray(content)) {
        for (const block of content) {
          if (block.type === 'text' && block.text) {
            if (firstChunk) {
              process.stdout.write('\r\x1b[K');
              process.stdout.write('Claude: ');
              firstChunk = false;
            }
            process.stdout.write(block.text);
          }
        }
      }
    }
    process.stdout.write('\n\n');

    isProcessing = false;
    rl.resume();
    rl.prompt();
  }

  rl.on('line', async (line) => {
    if (isProcessing) return;

    const input = line.trim();
    if (input === 'exit') {
      rl.close();
      process.exit(0);
    }
    if (input) await ask(input);
    else rl.prompt();
  });

  await ask('What can you help me with?');
}

try {
  await chat();
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error);
  process.exit(1);
}

Conclusion

You've successfully built a Claude Agent SDK agent that can interact with Youtube through Composio's Tool Router.

Key features:

  • Native MCP support through Claude's agent framework
  • Streaming responses for real-time interaction
  • Permission bypass for smooth automated workflows
You can extend this by adding more toolkits, implementing custom business logic, or building a web interface around the agent.
TOOLS & TRIGGERS

Supported Tools and Triggers

Every Youtube action and event your agent gets out of the box.

Add Video to Playlist

Tool to add a video to a playlist by inserting a playlist item.

Insert Channel Section

Tool to create a new channel section for the authenticated user's YouTube channel.

Insert Comment Reply

Tool to create a reply to an existing YouTube comment.

Create Playlist

Tool to create a new YouTube playlist on the authenticated user's channel.

Delete Channel Section

Tool to delete a YouTube channel section.

Delete Comment

Tool to delete a YouTube comment owned by the authenticated user or channel.

Delete Playlist

Tool to delete a YouTube playlist owned by the authenticated user/channel.

Delete Playlist Item

Tool to delete a playlist item (remove a video from a playlist).

Delete Video

Tool to delete a YouTube video owned by the authenticated user/channel.

Get Channel Activities

Gets recent activities from a YouTube channel including video uploads, playlist additions, likes, and other channel events.

Get channel ID by handle

Retrieves the YouTube Channel ID for a specific YouTube channel handle.

Get Channel Statistics

Gets detailed statistics for YouTube channels including subscriber counts, view counts, and video counts.

Video Details Batch

Retrieves multiple YouTube video resource parts in a single batch call.

Get Video Rating

Retrieves the ratings that the authorized user gave to a list of specified videos.

List captions

Retrieves a list of caption tracks for a YouTube video.

List Channel Sections

Tool to retrieve channel sections from YouTube.

List channel videos

Lists videos from a specified YouTube channel.

List Comments

List individual comments from YouTube videos.

List Comment Threads

Tool to retrieve comment threads from YouTube videos or channels matching API request parameters.

List I18n Languages

Returns a list of application languages that the YouTube website supports.

List I18n Regions

Tool to retrieve a list of content regions that the YouTube website supports.

List Live Chat Messages

Tool to list live chat messages for a specific chat.

List Playlist Images

Tool to retrieve playlist images associated with a specific playlist.

List Playlist Items

Tool to list videos in a playlist, with pagination support.

List Super Chat Events

Lists Super Chat events for a channel, showing supporter purchases during live streams.

List user playlists

Retrieves playlists owned by the authenticated user, implicitly using mine=True.

List user subscriptions

Retrieves the authenticated user's YouTube channel subscriptions, allowing specification of response parts and pagination.

List Video Abuse Report Reasons

Tool to retrieve a list of abuse report reasons that can be used to report abusive videos on YouTube.

List Video Categories

Tool to list YouTube video categories that can be associated with videos.

Download YouTube caption track

Downloads a specific YouTube caption track, which must be owned by the authenticated user, and returns its content as text.

Multipart upload video

Uploads a video to YouTube using multipart upload in a single request.

Post Comment on Video

Tool to post a new top-level comment on a YouTube video.

Rate Video

Tool to add a like or dislike rating to a YouTube video, or remove an existing rating.

Report Video for Abuse

Tool to report a YouTube video for containing abusive content.

Search YouTube

Searches YouTube for videos, channels, or playlists using a query term, returning the raw API response.

Set Comment Moderation Status

Tool to set the moderation status of one or more YouTube comments.

Subscribe to channel

Subscribes the authenticated user to a specified YouTube channel, identified by its unique `channelId` which must be valid and existing.

Unsubscribe from channel

Tool to unsubscribe the authenticated user from a YouTube channel by deleting a subscription.

Update caption track

Updates a YouTube caption track's metadata such as name, language, or draft status.

Update channel

Updates a channel's metadata including branding settings and localizations.

Update Channel Section

Tool to update an existing YouTube channel section by ID.

Update Comment

Tool to modify the text of an existing YouTube comment.

Update Playlist

Tool to modify an existing YouTube playlist's metadata (title, description, privacy status).

Update Playlist Item

Tool to modify a playlist item's properties such as position or note.

Update thumbnail

Sets the custom thumbnail for a YouTube video using an image from a URL.

Update video

Updates metadata for a YouTube video identified by videoId, which must exist; an empty list for tags removes all existing tags.

Upload video

Uploads a video from a local file path to a YouTube channel; the video file must be in a YouTube-supported format.

FRAMEWORKS

How to build Youtube MCP Agent with another framework

ChatGPT logo

ChatGPT

Use Youtube MCP with ChatGPT

OpenAI Agents SDK logo

OpenAI Agents SDK

Use Youtube MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK

Claude Code logo

Claude Code

Use Youtube MCP with Claude Code

Claude Cowork logo

Claude Cowork

Use Youtube MCP with Claude Cowork

Codex logo

Codex

Use Youtube MCP with Codex

Cursor logo

Cursor

Use Youtube MCP with Cursor

OpenClaw logo

OpenClaw

Use Youtube MCP with OpenClaw

Hermes logo

Hermes

Use Youtube MCP with Hermes

CLI logo

CLI

Use Youtube MCP with CLI

Google ADK logo

Google ADK

Use Youtube MCP with Google ADK

LangChain logo

LangChain

Use Youtube MCP with LangChain

Vercel AI SDK logo

Vercel AI SDK

Use Youtube MCP with Vercel AI SDK

Mastra AI logo

Mastra AI

Use Youtube MCP with Mastra AI

LlamaIndex logo

LlamaIndex

Use Youtube MCP with LlamaIndex

CrewAI logo

CrewAI

Use Youtube MCP with CrewAI

OpenCode logo

OpenCode

Use Youtube MCP with OpenCode

VS Code logo

VS Code

Use Youtube MCP with VS Code

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

With a standalone Youtube MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Youtube tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Youtube and many other apps based on the task at hand, all through a single MCP endpoint.

Yes, you can. Claude Agent SDK fully supports MCP integration. You get structured tool calling, message history handling, and model orchestration while Tool Router takes care of discovering and serving the right Youtube tools.

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Youtube scopes and actions are allowed when connecting your account to Composio. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials or API configuration so you keep full control over what the agent can do.

All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Youtube data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

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