SubDownload MCP Server

SubDownload exposes YouTube as an MCP-native data source. Connect once via OAuth and your AI agent gets tools to summarize videos, fetch full transcripts (including videos without captions, via AI ASR), search channels and playlists, and save everything into a per-user knowledge base for cross-session recall.

• Hosted endpoint: https://api.subdownload.com/mcp
• Homepage: https://subdownload.com?utm_source=gthb_awesome_9jqqed&utm_medium=code&utm_campaign=Awesome
• Docs: https://api.subdownload.com/docs/mcp
• Glama (connector): https://glama.ai/mcp/connectors/com.subdownload.api/sub-download
• Glama (server): https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/SubDownload/subdownload-mcp

The recommended setup is to point your MCP client directly at the hosted endpoint above and authenticate via OAuth — see "Quick connect" below. This repo also ships a thin stdio proxy (Node + Docker) for environments that prefer a local subprocess.

Auth

OAuth 2.1 with Dynamic Client Registration (RFC 7591). No pre-shared client_id or client_secret — your MCP client registers itself on first connect.

Discovery (RFC 9728):

1. POST to /mcp without a token returns 401 plus a WWW-Authenticate header pointing to /.well-known/oauth-protected-resource
2. That document points to the authorization server (https://api.subdownload.com)
3. The MCP client follows the standard authorize → callback → token flow with PKCE

API-key alternative: every account at https://subdownload.com/account exposes a Bearer token for clients that don't support OAuth.

Tools

Tool	What it does
search_youtube	Keyword search across YouTube
fetch_video_info	Video metadata (title, channel, duration, view count)
fetch_transcript	Full transcript with timestamps
transcribe_video	Generate a transcript with AI ASR for videos that have no captions
get_asr_task	Poll an in-progress AI transcription job
resolve_channel	Look up a channel by handle, URL, or ID
list_channel_videos	List videos on a channel
get_channel_latest_videos	Latest videos for a channel
search_channel_videos	Search within a single channel
list_playlist_videos	List the contents of a playlist
save_to_library	Save a video summary or transcript to your personal knowledge base
list_library	Browse your saved knowledge base
get_library_item	Fetch a single saved item

Quick connect

Claude Desktop / Cursor / Windsurf / any OAuth-capable MCP client

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "subdownload": {
      "url": "https://api.subdownload.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

The first time you use it, the client triggers OAuth and you sign in with Google or LINUX DO. Free credits on signup — no card required.

Bearer-token clients

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "subdownload": {
      "url": "https://api.subdownload.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Grab your API key from your account page.

Local stdio proxy (Docker / npm)

For clients that prefer a subprocess transport, this repo ships a thin Node proxy that forwards tools/call to the hosted endpoint with your API key.

# Docker
docker build -t subdownload-mcp .
docker run --rm -i -e SUBDOWNLOAD_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY subdownload-mcp

# Or via Node directly
npm install
SUBDOWNLOAD_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY npm start

Client config example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "subdownload": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "--rm", "-i", "-e", "SUBDOWNLOAD_API_KEY", "subdownload-mcp"],
      "env": { "SUBDOWNLOAD_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Tool schemas are declared inline so introspection (initialize, tools/list) works without credentials; tools/call requires SUBDOWNLOAD_API_KEY.

Pricing

Free credits on signup. Pro: 5,000 credits per month. See https://subdownload.com/pricing.

Support

• Email: contact@subdownload.com
• Status: https://subdownload.com/status

License

MIT (applies to this documentation repository; the SubDownload service itself is hosted SaaS — see https://subdownload.com/terms).