LABSCO SUMMARY

Processing takes real time, and the docs say so.

The API works asynchronously — submit a video, then collect the transcript, translation, summary or subtitles as they become ready. The practical consequence is spelled out rather than hidden: these calls can run longer than a debugging tool's default timeout, which is exactly the kind of detail that costs an afternoon when it is not documented. Search within a video is the underrated tool here — it finds the moment instead of handing back the whole transcript.

What it is

An MCP server over the YouTube Translate API. It goes past the transcript: the same video can be translated into another language, rendered as subtitle files, summarised, or searched for a specific moment.

What you get

Transcripts of YouTube videos, pulled by URL or by the video ID directly
Translation of a transcript into another language
Subtitle generation in SRT or VTT format
Summaries of a video's content
Search within a video's content, for finding where something is said rather than reading the whole transcript

Requirements

An API key for the YouTube Translate API, supplied as YOUTUBE_TRANSLATE_API_KEY — required. Python 3.12 or higher; a Docker image is provided. Two transports: stdio by default, or --transport sse --port 8000. Note that video processing calls can outlast the MCP Inspector's built-in timeout, so debugging is easier against a real client and its logs. The pyproject names the package youtube-translate-mcp at 0.1.0, which PyPI does not have.

Setup effort

Run a container — build the image from the repository, then point your client at it

See installation options

USE CASES

01

Reading a talk instead of watching it

Pull the transcript for the video and work from the text.

02

Making a video watchable in another language

Translate the transcript, then generate SRT or VTT subtitles from it for the player or the editor.

03

Finding the one moment you need

Search within the video's content for the phrase, rather than scanning a full transcript.

04

Deciding whether a long video is worth the time

Request a summary first and open the full transcript only if it earns it.

BEFORE YOU INSTALL

What to know first

Requires

Docker
YOUTUBE_TRANSLATE_API_KEY in your environment

Where it runs

The documented client runs the server on your machine.

INSTALLATION

Connect your client

Build the image from the repository, then point your client at it.

Server setup

TERMINAL

git clone https://github.com/brianshin22/youtube-translate-mcp.git
cd youtube-translate-mcp
docker build -t youtube-translate-mcp .

Then add the block below; <YOUR_YOUTUBE_TRANSLATE_API_KEY> is your YouTube Translate API key from youtubetranslate.com.

MCP Clients

Claude Desktop

CLAUDE DESKTOP · JSON

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-translate": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "YOUTUBE_TRANSLATE_API_KEY",
        "youtube-translate-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "YOUTUBE_TRANSLATE_API_KEY": "<YOUR_YOUTUBE_TRANSLATE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

YouTube Translate MCP