How to integrate Youtube MCP with Claude Code

Manage your Youtube directly from Claude Code with zero worries about OAuth hassles, API-breaking issues, or reliability and security concerns. You can do this in two different ways: Via Composio Connect - Direct and easiest approach Via Composio SDK - Programmatic approach with more control

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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

Manage your Youtube directly from Claude Code with zero worries about OAuth hassles, API-breaking issues, or reliability and security concerns.

You can do this in two different ways:

  1. Via Composio Connect - Direct and easiest approach
  2. Via Composio SDK - Programmatic approach with more control

Also integrate Youtube with

Why use Composio?

  • Only one MCP URL to connect multiple apps with Claude Code with zero auth hassles.
  • Programmatic tool calling allows LLMs to write its code in a remote workbench to handle complex tool chaining. Reduces to-and-fro with LLMs for frequent tool calling.
  • Handling Large tool responses out of LLM context to minimize context rot.
  • Dynamic just-in-time access to 20,000 tools across 1000+ other Apps for cross-app workflows. It loads the tools you need, so LLMs aren't overwhelmed by tools you don't need.

Connecting Youtube to Claude Code using Composio

1. Add the Composio MCP to Claude

Terminal

2. Start Claude Code

bash
claude

3. Open your MCP list

bash
/mcp

4. Select Composio and click on Authenticate

Select Composio and click Authenticate

5. This will redirect you to the Composio OAuth page. Complete the flow by authorizing Composio and you're all set.

Composio OAuth authorization page
Composio authorization complete
Ask Claude to connect to your account and authenticate via the link

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.

Connecting Youtube via Composio SDK

Composio SDK is the underlying tech that powers Rube. It's a universal gateway that does everything Rube does but with much more programmatic control. You can programmatically generate an MCP URL with the app you need (here Youtube) for even more tool search precision. It's secure and reliable.

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 step10 STEPS
1

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:
  • Claude Pro, Max, or API billing enabled Anthropic account
  • Composio API Key
  • A Youtube account
  • Basic knowledge of Python or TypeScript
2

Install Claude Code

bash
# macOS, Linux, WSL
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

# Windows PowerShell
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

# Windows CMD
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.cmd -o install.cmd && install.cmd && del install.cmd

To install Claude Code, use one of the following methods based on your operating system:

3

Set up Claude Code

bash
cd your-project-folder
claude

Open a terminal, go to your project folder, and start Claude Code:

  • Claude Code will open in your terminal
  • Follow the prompts to sign in with your Anthropic account
  • Complete the authentication flow
  • Once authenticated, you can start using Claude Code
Claude Code initial setup showing sign-in prompt
Claude Code terminal after successful login
4

Set up environment variables

bash
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_composio_api_key_here
USER_ID=your_user_id_here

Create a .env file in your project root with the following variables:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY authenticates with Composio (get it from Composio dashboard)
  • USER_ID identifies the user for session management (use any unique identifier)
5

Install Composio library

npm install @composio/core dotenv

Install the Composio TypeScript library to create MCP sessions.

  • @composio/core provides the core Composio functionality
  • dotenv loads environment variables from your .env file
6

Generate Composio MCP URL

import 'dotenv/config';
import { Composio } from '@composio/core';

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 composioClient = new Composio({ apiKey: COMPOSIO_API_KEY });

const composioSession = await composioClient.create(USER_ID, {
  toolkits: ['youtube'],
});

const composioMcpUrl = composioSession?.mcp.url;

console.log(`MCP URL: ${composioMcpUrl}`);
console.log(`\nUse this command to add to Claude Code:`);
console.log(`claude mcp add --transport http youtube-composio "${composioMcpUrl}" --headers "X-API-Key:${COMPOSIO_API_KEY}"`);

Create a script to generate a Composio MCP URL for Youtube. This URL will be used to connect Claude Code to Youtube.

What's happening

  • We import the Composio client and load environment variables
  • Create a Composio instance with your API key
  • Call create() to create a Tool Router session for Youtube
  • The returned mcp.url is the MCP server URL that Claude Code will use
  • The script prints this URL so you can copy it
7

Run the script and copy the MCP URL

node --loader ts-node/esm generate_mcp_url.ts
# or if using tsx
tsx generate_mcp_url.ts

Run your TypeScript script to generate the MCP URL.

  • The script connects to Composio and creates a Tool Router session
  • It prints the MCP URL and the exact command you need to run
  • Copy the entire claude mcp add command from the output
8

Add Youtube MCP to Claude Code

bash
claude mcp add --transport http youtube-composio "YOUR_MCP_URL_HERE" --headers "X-API-Key:YOUR_COMPOSIO_API_KEY"

# Then restart Claude Code
exit
claude

In your terminal, add the MCP server using the command from the previous step. The command format is:

  • claude mcp add registers a new MCP server with Claude Code
  • --transport http specifies that this is an HTTP-based MCP server
  • The server name (youtube-composio) is how you'll reference it
  • The URL points to your Composio Tool Router session
  • --headers includes your Composio API key for authentication

After running the command, close the current Claude Code session and start a new one for the changes to take effect.

9

Verify the installation

bash
claude mcp list

Check that your Youtube MCP server is properly configured.

  • This command lists all MCP servers registered with Claude Code
  • You should see your youtube-composio entry in the list
  • This confirms that Claude Code can now access Youtube tools

If everything is wired up, you should see your youtube-composio entry listed:

Claude Code MCP list showing the toolkit MCP server
10

Authenticate Youtube

The first time you try to use Youtube tools, you'll be prompted to authenticate.

  • Claude Code will detect that you need to authenticate with Youtube
  • It will show you an authentication link
  • Open the link in your browser (or copy/paste it)
  • Complete the Youtube authorization flow
  • Return to the terminal and start using Youtube through Claude Code

Once authenticated, you can ask Claude Code to perform Youtube operations in natural language. For example:

  • "List my most recent uploaded videos"
  • "Get subscriber count for my channel"
  • "Search YouTube for trending tutorials"

Complete Code

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

import 'dotenv/config';
import { Composio } from '@composio/core';

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 composioClient = new Composio({ apiKey: COMPOSIO_API_KEY });

const composioSession = await composioClient.create(USER_ID, {
  toolkits: ['youtube'],
});

const composioMcpUrl = composioSession?.mcp.url;

console.log(`MCP URL: ${composioMcpUrl}`);
console.log(`\nUse this command to add to Claude Code:`);
console.log(`claude mcp add --transport http youtube-composio "${composioMcpUrl}" --headers "X-API-Key:${COMPOSIO_API_KEY}"`);

Conclusion

You've successfully integrated Youtube with Claude Code using Composio's MCP server. Now you can interact with Youtube directly from your terminal using natural language commands.

Key features of this setup:

  • Terminal-native experience without switching contexts
  • Natural language commands for Youtube operations
  • Secure authentication through Composio's managed MCP
  • Tool Router for dynamic tool discovery and execution

Next steps:

  • Try asking Claude Code to perform various Youtube operations
  • Add more toolkits to your Tool Router session for multi-app workflows
  • Integrate this setup into your development workflow for increased productivity

You can extend this by adding more toolkits, implementing custom workflows, or building automation scripts that leverage Claude Code's capabilities.

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.

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 Code 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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