Best YouTube MCP Servers in 2026: 12 Compared by Whether They Upload
We found no official YouTube MCP server, so we checked 12 third-party ones against their own docs and YouTube's API rules: which upload videos, which only read transcripts, and which need your own Google Cloud project.
- 01We found no YouTube MCP server published by Google.
Every one here is third-party, built on the YouTube Data API or on yt-dlp.
- 02Eight of the twelve here can upload a video to your channel.
Six are hosted and sign you in with Google; two run on your machine and need your own Google Cloud project and OAuth client.
- 03
The other four read: transcripts, search results, channel data or your own channel's metadata and analytics. They cannot put a video on YouTube.
- 04YouTube caps uploads per API project.
Its upload method allows 100 calls a day per project, so a self-hosted server shares that daily allowance with nobody but you, and stops when it runs out.
- 05Uploads no longer land private by default.
Google's videos.insert page, updated on 8 October 2026, says 'Videos uploaded from unverified API projects are not restricted to private viewing mode.' Older guides that say otherwise are out of date.
- 06Ranking rule: servers that can upload come first.
Within each group, hosted servers before ones you run yourself, then alphabetical.
The 12 servers compared
Not stated= the vendor's page does not say| Server | Hosting | YouTube actions | Uploads | Analytics | Auth | Price, as the vendor states it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AntworkDocs ↗Ours | Hosted | Upload a video or Short as public, unlisted or private | Yes, when you ask | Per-post engagement | Google sign-in, no Google Cloud project | 2 accounts free, then $5 per account/month (pricing) |
| ComposioSource ↗ | Hosted | 57 tools, including Upload video, playlists, comments, captions and Query YouTube Analytics | Yes | Yes | Managed OAuth app | Not stated |
| MetricoolSource ↗ | Hosted | Schedules and updates posts to YouTube and 10 other networks | Yes | Yes | Sign-in | Works on Free (Metricool) |
| post bridgeSource ↗ | Hosted | Create, schedule and publish to YouTube and 9 other platforms | Yes | Views, likes and comments | Sign-in | Not stated |
| PostizSource ↗ | Hosted, or self-host | Drafts or scheduled posts to YouTube and 10 other networks | Yes | Yes | Sign-in | Hosted from $29/month, or self-host (pricing) |
| Zapier MCPSource ↗ | Hosted | Upload Video, Add Video to Playlist, Update Video Thumbnail | Yes | Get Report | Your Zapier account | Not stated |
| youtube-uploader-mcpSource ↗ | Your machine | Upload, schedule, playlists, thumbnails, subtitles | Yes | No | Your own Google OAuth client | Free, MIT |
| Joancesar/youtube-mcp-serverSource ↗ | Your machine | 40 tools, including upload, comments, Analytics and Reporting APIs | Yes | Yes | Your own Google OAuth client | Free, MIT |
| youtube-studio-mcpSource ↗ | Your machine | Metadata, thumbnails, comments, analytics | No | Yes | Your own Google OAuth client | Free, MIT |
| ZubeidHendricks/youtube-mcp-serverSource ↗ | Your machine | Search videos and channels, transcripts | No | No | YouTube API key | Free, MIT |
| mcp-youtubeSource ↗ | Your machine | Subtitles through yt-dlp | No | No | None; needs yt-dlp installed | Free, MIT |
| mcp-server-youtube-transcriptSource ↗ | Your machine | Transcripts of any video or Short | No | No | None | Free, MIT |
"Not stated" means the vendor's own page does not say. It does not mean the feature is missing. Vendors change fast in this space, so open the linked page before relying on any single cell.
We found no official YouTube MCP server. None of the ones we checked is made by Google, and most of what turns up when you search "YouTube MCP" reads transcripts so your AI can summarise a video. Fewer servers can do the other job, putting a video on your channel, and they differ in one thing that decides your setup: whether they use their own Google app or ask you to create yours.
This page sorts the twelve that come up most, using two sources only: each vendor's own documentation or README, and YouTube's own API documentation on Google for Developers. Everything was checked on 13 October 2026, and every row links to where the fact came from. For servers that post to every network, see social media MCP servers compared.
The three kinds of YouTube MCP server
- Hosted, with their own Google app. You sign in with your YouTube account once (OAuth) and the server uploads through the YouTube Data API. Nothing to install and no Google Cloud project. Antwork, Composio, Metricool, post bridge, Postiz and Zapier.
- Self-hosted uploaders. Open source, run on your machine, and connected to YouTube through your own OAuth client from a Google Cloud project. Free, with more setup. youtube-uploader-mcp and Joancesar/youtube-mcp-server.
- Readers. They fetch transcripts, search results or channel data, through yt-dlp or a YouTube API key, and cannot upload. ZubeidHendricks/youtube-mcp-server, youtube-studio-mcp, mcp-youtube and mcp-server-youtube-transcript.
What YouTube's API lets any MCP server do
Every upload server calls the same method, videos.insert. What its documentation says decides what any of them can do:
| Rule | What Google says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Daily uploads | "100 calls per day", 1 unit each "in the Video Uploads quota bucket" | videos.insert |
| File size | "Maximum file size: 256GB", any video/* type | videos.insert |
| Privacy | Defaults to public if you set nothing; "Videos uploaded from unverified API projects are not restricted to private viewing mode" | videos.insert |
| Permission | One of the youtube.upload, youtube, youtubepartner or youtube.force-ssl scopes | videos.insert |
| Shorts | A video "up to 3 minutes" long "with a square or vertical aspect ratio" | YouTube Help |
Three practical consequences:
- A self-hosted server is bounded by your own project's quota. The 100 daily upload calls belong to your Google Cloud project, so they are yours alone, and that is also the ceiling.
- There is no separate Shorts upload. A vertical or square video of three minutes or less becomes a Short; the server uploads it the same way as any other video.
- "Uploads land private" is old advice. Google's page, updated 8 October 2026, says uploads from unverified projects are not restricted to private.
Pick by job, not by star count
- Upload from Claude or ChatGPT with no setup. A hosted server: Antwork, Metricool, post bridge or Postiz. You sign in with YouTube and never create a Google Cloud project.
- Upload as one step of an automation (a finished edit, a new episode). Composio or Zapier, where YouTube is one toolkit among many.
- Free, and you do not mind setup. youtube-uploader-mcp: MIT, uploads and schedules with your own Google OAuth client.
- You only need to read videos. mcp-server-youtube-transcript or mcp-youtube for transcripts, ZubeidHendricks/youtube-mcp-server for search and channel data.
Upload servers, one by one
A hosted MCP server at https://api.antwork.io/mcp, added to Claude as a custom connector, to ChatGPT in developer mode, or to Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code by URL. YouTube connects with Google's own sign-in and no Google Cloud project of your own. Videos and Shorts upload the same way, landscape or vertical, as public, unlisted or private, and every post lands as a draft first: publishing is a step you ask for. The same account also posts to LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook Pages, Threads, TikTok and Pinterest. Walkthrough: Claude to YouTube.
Composio
Vendor docs ↗Composio's YouTube toolkit lists 57 tools, including "Upload video" and "Multipart upload video", playlists, comments, caption tracks and "Query YouTube Analytics". It uses a managed OAuth app, so you sign in with your normal YouTube account, and it refreshes tokens for you.
Metricool
Vendor docs ↗Metricool's MCP, listed in Claude's directory and in ChatGPT's, names YouTube among 11 networks. It creates, reads and updates scheduled posts, queries analytics and returns the best time to post. Metricool says its MCP works on any plan, including Free.
post bridge
Vendor docs ↗In ChatGPT's plugin directory, post bridge creates, schedules and publishes across 10 platforms, YouTube included, and its own example schedules one video to "TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts". It also pulls back views, likes and comments for published posts.
Postiz
Vendor docs ↗Open source, hosted or self-hosted. Its ChatGPT listing creates drafts or scheduled posts and names YouTube among 11 networks. Hosted plans start at $29 a month.
Zapier MCP
Vendor docs ↗Zapier's YouTube page lists "Upload Video", with a title, description and video file required and privacy status, scheduled publish time and thumbnail optional, plus "Add Video to Playlist" and "Update Video Thumbnail". The server is at mcp.zapier.com.
youtube-uploader-mcp
Vendor docs ↗An MIT-licensed Go binary with 59 GitHub stars when we checked. It uploads, sets public, private or unlisted, schedules publish times, and after upload adds videos to playlists, uploads thumbnails under 2 MB and attaches subtitles. Its installer helps you download your OAuth client secret file and updates Claude Desktop's config.
Joancesar/youtube-mcp-server
Vendor docs ↗A Python server with 40 tools across the YouTube Data, Analytics and Reporting APIs: uploads, playlists, comments, thumbnails, audience and retention analytics, bulk CSV reports and client-side quota tracking.
Servers that only read
- youtube-studio-mcp manages your own channel: metadata, thumbnails, comments and analytics, through your own Google OAuth desktop client. It does not upload videos.
- ZubeidHendricks/youtube-mcp-server, with 582 GitHub stars when we checked, exposes 10 tools for searching videos and channels, finding creators and getting transcripts, with a YouTube API key.
- mcp-youtube "uses yt-dlp to download subtitles from YouTube" so Claude can summarise a video.
- mcp-server-youtube-transcript gets the transcript of any video or Short URL, with an optional video-analysis tool that needs a TwelveLabs key.
How to connect a YouTube MCP server
- Hosted, in Claude: Customize, then Connectors, then Add custom connector, and paste the server's URL. For Antwork that is
https://api.antwork.io/mcp. - Hosted, in ChatGPT: turn on developer mode and create an app with the server's MCP URL and OAuth. See the best ChatGPT plugins for social media for which plugins are in ChatGPT's own directory.
- Self-hosted: create a Google Cloud project, enable the YouTube Data API, create an OAuth client, then add the server to Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code following its README.
Before you give an AI upload rights
- Keep the first upload private or unlisted. Check the title, description and thumbnail on YouTube before you make it public.
- Read the scope you grant.
youtube.uploadonly uploads;youtubeandyoutube.force-sslcan also manage your channel, comments and playlists. - Mind the daily ceiling. On a server you run yourself, 100 upload calls a day is all your project gets.
More on posting to YouTube from your AI: YouTube from Antwork.
Post from your AI, in your own voice.
Connect Claude or ChatGPT once. Drafts start from your recent posts, and nothing goes out until you approve it.
Start freeFree for 2 social accounts. No card, no API key.
YouTube MCP servers, answered
Is there an official YouTube MCP server?
Which YouTube MCP servers can upload videos?
Do I need my own Google Cloud project?
Are uploads from an MCP server forced to private?
Can I upload to YouTube from Claude or ChatGPT?
Is there a free YouTube MCP server?
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