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YouTube Transcript Server for Cursor: Setup & Config

Cursor: YouTube Transcript Server retrieves video captions through a single MCP tool.

What you can do with YouTube Transcript in Cursor

Pick it for focused YouTube caption access with language and timestamp controls.

  • Request subtitles in a preferred language with fallback
  • Retrieve unfiltered text by disabling promotional filtering

Before you start: YouTube Transcript in Cursor

  • Node.js 18 or later
  • npm or yarn
  • An MCP-compatible client

The server communicates over stdio. No runtime API key is specified for transcript retrieval.

YouTube Transcript Cursor configuration

  1. Choose Cursor configuration scope

    For YouTube Transcript Server, open Project: .cursor/mcp.json User: ~/.cursor/mcp.json. Merge into mcpServers at project or user scope.

  2. Add YouTube Transcript Server to Cursor

    Use the mcp-server-youtube-transcript entry below in mcpServers. Keep YouTube Transcript Server's documented stdio connection fields and your other Cursor entries.

  3. Check YouTube Transcript Server in Cursor

    YouTube Transcript Server: Enable in Cursor’s MCP settings; inspect tools.

Config file · Project: .cursor/mcp.json

User: ~/.cursor/mcp.json

JSON
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-server-youtube-transcript": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@kimtaeyoon83/mcp-server-youtube-transcript"
      ],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

YouTube Transcript tools available to Cursor

YouTube Transcript's stored tool list documents 1 tool; compare it with Cursor's connected tool list, because the stored list is not a live check.

get_transcript

Find get_transcript under YouTube Transcript in Cursor's MCP settings; inspect its arguments when the agent requests a call.

Retrieve video captions with language, timestamp, and chapter-based promotional-filter options.

YouTube Transcript: full stored tool descriptions

Troubleshooting YouTube Transcript in Cursor

  • Cursor must find npx @kimtaeyoon83/mcp-server-youtube-transcript (Node.js/npm) for YouTube Transcript Server. Enable the project/user entry in MCP settings and inspect its tools.
  • YouTube Transcript Server uses stdio here: Cursor must keep the configured process running; protocol output belongs on stdout and diagnostics on stderr.
  • Known limitation: Unavailable transcripts still produce errors
  • Known limitation: Promotional filtering depends on chapter markers
  • General Cursor troubleshooting lives in the /clients/cursor guide.

YouTube Transcript Server — details. Cursor guide

Frequently asked questions

Cursor's YouTube Transcript Server entry belongs under mcpServers in .cursor/mcp.json (project) or ~/.cursor/mcp.json (user). Confirm the active scope in MCP settings.

Cursor's mcp-server-youtube-transcript example uses stdio.

YouTube Transcript Server's Cursor configuration invokes npx @kimtaeyoon83/mcp-server-youtube-transcript (Node.js/npm).

YouTube Transcript Server's stored list contains 1 tool, including get_transcript. Compare those names with Cursor's connected tool list; the stored list is not a live check.

The server falls back to available transcript languages.

Yes. Set strip_ads to false. Filtering otherwise defaults to true and relies on chapter markers.