What is YouTube-DLP MCP Server?

This is a service based on the Model Context Protocol (MCP) that allows you to easily download YouTube video and audio content via an AI assistant. It uses the popular yt-dlp tool to handle download tasks in the background.

How to use YouTube-DLP MCP Server?

You can send simple commands via an AI assistant to download YouTube content without directly operating the command line. The system will automatically handle the download and save the files to the specified location.

Use cases

This tool is especially useful when you want to save tutorial videos, music, or speech content from YouTube for offline viewing. Educators, music lovers, and content creators will find it practical.

Main features

Video downloadDownload YouTube videos as high-quality MP4 format files

Audio extractionExtract audio from YouTube videos and save it as MP3 format

AI assistant integrationInteract with the AI assistant via natural language commands to use the download function

🚀 MCP YouTube-DLP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides tools to download YouTube videos and audio using yt-dlp.

🚀 Quick Start

This MCP server offers tools to download YouTube videos and audio. It integrates with MCP to support AI assistant integration, allowing seamless access to YouTube content downloading features.

✨ Features

Download YouTube videos in MP4 format.
Download YouTube audio in MP3 format.
Integrate with MCP to support AI assistant integration.

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

Python 3.13 or higher.
yt-dlp installed on the system.

Steps

Clone this repository.
Install the dependencies:

pip install -e .

Or use uv:

uv pip install -e .

💻 Usage Examples

Running the Server

Start the MCP server:

python main.py

The server will run in standard input-output mode with debugging enabled.

Environment Variables

YT_DLP_PATH: The path to the yt-dlp executable (default: /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp).
DEFAULT_DOWNLOAD_DIR: The default directory for downloading videos (default: ~/Downloads/youtube_downloads).

MCP Configuration

Add the following configuration to your MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp_youtube_dlp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp[cli]",
        "run",
        "<install path>/mcp_youtube_dlp/main.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "YT_DLP_PATH": "/usr/local/bin/yt-dlp",
        "DEFAULT_DOWNLOAD_DIR": "~/Downloads/youtube_downloads"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace <install path> with the actual path where you installed this package.

Available Tools

download_youtube_video

Download a YouTube video in MP4 format.

Parameters:

url: The YouTube video URL.

Returns:

A success or error message.

download_youtube_audio

Download the audio of a YouTube video in MP3 format.

Parameters:

url: The YouTube video URL.

Returns:

A success or error message.

📚 Documentation

This server implements the Model Context Protocol, allowing AI assistants to access tools for downloading YouTube content. It can connect to any MCP-compatible client.