Use it inside your AI assistant

Why connect it rather than use a free one

There are free YouTube transcript connectors, and for one or two videos they work fine. They fetch from YouTube using your own internet connection, which YouTube starts blocking after a handful of requests. That is the point at which they stop working and there is nothing you can do about it.

This one fetches through rotating residential proxies with an automatic fallback chain, which is why it keeps going on the fiftieth video and through whole playlists. It also covers 19 caption languages in their own script, and never translates.

Two ways to connect

The server address is the same either way:

https://freeytbulktranscripts.com/api/mcp

Sign in is the simpler route, and the one to use if your assistant offers it: you paste that address, we ask you to approve the connection, and there is no key to copy or keep safe. A key is for command-line tools and your own code, where there is no browser to sign in with.

Either way you need an account. A free one starts with 25 credits.

Connecting by signing in

Works with the Claude desktop app, ChatGPT in developer mode, and other assistants that support remote MCP servers. Some of them require a paid plan for custom connectors — that is their rule, not ours.

1. In your assistant, add a custom connector (sometimes called an MCP server) and paste the address above.
2. It will send you here to sign in. You will see exactly what you are approving: which app is asking, where it will send you, and what it can do.
3. Choose Allow. That is the whole setup — no key, nothing to paste back.
4. Ask for a transcript: “get me the transcript of this video”.

You can see everything you have connected, and disconnect any of it, under Connected apps in your account menu. Disconnecting takes effect on the app’s very next request — there is no waiting period.

Connecting with a key

For tools that send a header rather than opening a browser. Sign in, open the menu at the top right, choose API keys, and generate one. It is shown once, so copy it then.

Claude Code

One command, no file to edit:

claude mcp add --transport http free-yt-bulk-transcripts https://freeytbulktranscripts.com/api/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer fyt_live_YOUR_KEY_HERE"

Cursor, VS Code and most SDKs

These take the address and the header directly. In Cursor’s mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "free-yt-bulk-transcripts": {
      "url": "https://freeytbulktranscripts.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer fyt_live_YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code uses the same fields, but nests them under servers and also wants "type": "http" beside the address.

Gemini CLI

Goes in ~/.gemini/settings.json. Note the field is httpUrl, not url — the shape above will not work here:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "free-yt-bulk-transcripts": {
      "httpUrl": "https://freeytbulktranscripts.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer fyt_live_YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Run /mcp inside Gemini CLI to check it connected.

A key is a password for your credits. Don’t paste it into a chat, a public repository or a screenshot — and note that a command containing it goes into your shell history. If one ever gets out, revoke it on the API keys screen and generate another; revoking takes effect on the very next request.

What the assistant can do

• get_transcript — one video, by link or id. Optionally in one of 19 caption languages. Uses one credit, and only when a transcript is actually delivered.
• get_playlist_videos — expands a playlist or channel into its video links, which it can then fetch one at a time. Uses no credits itself, and needs a paid pack.
• check_credits — how many credits are left. Free.

Worth knowing

• There is no free tier here. The ten free videos a day are for the website, where we can tell one browser from another. A connector has no browser, so it needs an account either way — by signing in or with a key. A free account’s 25 credits work through a connector exactly as they do on the site.
• A connection reaches only its own account, and only this service. A connected app can fetch transcripts and read your credit balance. It cannot change your account, create API keys, see your payment details, or reach anything else here — those need a sign-in on the website. The same limits apply to a key.
• Videos with no captions are reported as such and never use a credit.
• We read the captions YouTube already has. We do not transcribe audio, and we do not translate.
• Playlists and channels need a paid pack, up to 250 videos per run.