claude-youtube MCP — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

Channel-level audits (niche fit, release cadence, consistency)
Retention-driven script scaffolds with hooks and pattern interrupts
SEO title and description generation with keyword intent
Thumbnail briefs (composition, text, contrast) your designer can execute
Shorts derivatives from long-form videos

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

claude-youtube-skill.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude-youtube-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-youtube",
        "~/.claude/skills/claude-youtube"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude-youtube-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-youtube",
        "~/.claude/skills/claude-youtube"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude-youtube-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-youtube",
        "~/.claude/skills/claude-youtube"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude-youtube-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-youtube",
        "~/.claude/skills/claude-youtube"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "claude-youtube-skill",
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-youtube",
        "~/.claude/skills/claude-youtube"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "claude-youtube-skill": {
      "command": {
        "path": "git",
        "args": [
          "clone",
          "https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-youtube",
          "~/.claude/skills/claude-youtube"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add claude-youtube-skill -- git clone https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-youtube ~/.claude/skills/claude-youtube

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use claude-youtube

How to audit a YouTube channel and get a growth plan

👤 Creators plateauing or rebooting a channel ⏱ ~60 min intermediate

When to use: Views are flat and you don't know if the problem is niche, hooks, or cadence.

Prerequisites

Skill cloned — git clone https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-youtube ~/.claude/skills/claude-youtube
Channel URL and last 20 video titles / thumbnails / retention — YouTube Studio exports or manual paste

Flow

Dump the data

Audit channel <url>. Here's the last 20 videos with title, duration, views, and average retention %.✓ Copied

→ Findings on niche signal, hooks, thumbnails, cadence
Pick the biggest lever

Which one change would move views the most over the next 4 weeks?✓ Copied

→ One clear lever with justification
Turn it into a plan

Produce a 4-week content plan focused on that lever.✓ Copied

→ Video-by-video plan with titles and hooks

Outcome: A focused growth plan, not 'post more consistently' platitudes.

Pitfalls

Too many simultaneous changes — no signal — Change one variable at a time; measure for 2–4 weeks

Combine with: filesystem

Write a retention-optimized video script

👤 Creators scripting a long-form video ⏱ ~45 min intermediate

When to use: You have the video idea but writing retention-aware scripts is a weak spot.

Flow

Brief Claude on the video

Video idea: 'How Apple's M-series chips actually work'. Audience: curious but non-technical. Length: ~12 min.✓ Copied

→ Proposed structure with hook, promise, payoffs
Script with pattern interrupts

Write a full script with visual cues, B-roll callouts, and pattern interrupts every 45–60 seconds.✓ Copied

→ Paced script with timing anchors
Cold-open variants

Give me 3 cold-open variants optimized for 30-second hold.✓ Copied

→ 3 distinct hooks

Outcome: A production-ready script your editor can cut from.

Pitfalls

Pattern interrupts feel forced — Let them emerge from content shifts, not arbitrary timers

Iterate titles and thumbnails for a video

👤 Creators at post-production ⏱ ~20 min beginner

When to use: Video is done and you want to maximize CTR.

Flow

Generate title variants

Give me 10 title variants targeting curiosity, stakes, and specificity.✓ Copied

→ 10 distinct angles
Score for intent match

Which ones actually match the video's payoff? No clickbait.✓ Copied

→ Filtered list with reasoning
Thumbnail brief

Write a thumbnail brief (composition, text, emotion, contrast) for the best title.✓ Copied

→ Brief the designer can execute in 20 minutes

Outcome: A title + thumbnail pair that earns its CTR.

Pitfalls

Overpromising — high CTR, bad retention — Reject titles whose promise the video doesn't deliver

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

claude-youtube-skill + claude-shorts-skill

Strategy (this skill) plus automated cutting (claude-shorts)

Generate Shorts ideas for this episode, then hand them to claude-shorts for auto-rendering.✓ Copied

claude-youtube-skill + social-media-caption-generator-claude-skill

Turn YouTube video concepts into cross-platform posts

For this video, generate posting captions for Instagram Reels, TikTok, and LinkedIn.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call
channel-audit	channel data (videos, metrics)	Quarterly or after a plateau
retention-script	video brief	Pre-production
title-generation	video topic + stance	Before publish
thumbnail-brief	video + chosen title	Before publish
shorts-derivatives	long-form video	Post-publish multiplier

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: none beyond LLM
Tokens per call: ~5–20k per audit or script
Monetary: free
Tip: Batch all script tasks for a given video into one session to preserve context

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Credential storage: none

Data egress: none

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

Titles all sound like clickbait

Constrain to 'curiosity but delivers-on-promise'; provide the actual payoff

Audit is generic

Provide real per-video data (retention %, CTR) — audits need data to bite

Alternatives

claude-youtube vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
claude-shorts-skill	You want automated rendering, not strategy	Pipeline vs brain
aso-skill	You're in App Store optimization, not YouTube	Different platform

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

🔍 Browse all 400+ MCP servers and Skills