YouTube Live MCP

MCP server for controlling YouTube Live Streaming from Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or any MCP client.

Create broadcasts, go live, manage chat, and monitor stream health — all through the Model Context Protocol.

What it does

This server wraps the YouTube Live Streaming API v3 and exposes it as MCP tools. Combined with obs-mcp, you get fully automated live streaming from your AI assistant.

Tools

Broadcasts (8 tools)

• yt-create-broadcast — Create a new live broadcast
• yt-list-broadcasts — List broadcasts (filter by status)
• yt-get-broadcast — Get broadcast details
• yt-update-broadcast — Update title, description, privacy
• yt-delete-broadcast — Delete a broadcast
• yt-bind-stream — Bind a video stream to a broadcast
• yt-transition-broadcast — Go live, end broadcast (testing/live/complete)
• yt-insert-cuepoint — Insert ad break during live

Streams (4 tools)

• yt-create-stream — Create stream, get RTMP URL + key
• yt-list-streams — List your streams
• yt-get-stream — Get stream details + health
• yt-delete-stream — Delete a stream

Chat (6 tools)

• yt-list-chat-messages — Read live chat
• yt-send-chat-message — Post to live chat
• yt-delete-chat-message — Remove a message
• yt-list-moderators — List chat moderators
• yt-add-moderator — Add a moderator
• yt-remove-moderator — Remove a moderator

Status (2 tools)

• yt-get-broadcast-status — Broadcast lifecycle state
• yt-get-stream-health — Real-time stream health

Videos

• yt-search-videos — Search YouTube for videos by keyword. Params: query (required), maxResults (1–50, default 10), channelId (optional, restrict to one channel), order (relevance/date/viewCount/rating/title, default relevance). Returns { videoId, title, channelTitle, channelId, publishedAt, url, description } per result. Note: search.list costs 100 quota units per call (vs ~1 for list/get).

Prerequisites

1. Node.js 18+
2. Google Cloud project with the YouTube Data API v3 enabled
3. OAuth2 credentials (Desktop application type)

Setting up Google Cloud

1. Go to Google Cloud Console
2. Create a project (or use an existing one)
3. Enable the YouTube Data API v3
4. Go to Credentials → Create Credentials → OAuth 2.0 Client ID
5. Application type: Desktop app
6. Note your Client ID and Client Secret

Installation

Claude Desktop / Claude Code

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-live": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "youtube-live-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "YOUTUBE_CLIENT_ID": "your-client-id.apps.googleusercontent.com",
        "YOUTUBE_CLIENT_SECRET": "your-client-secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Manual

npm install -g youtube-live-mcp
YOUTUBE_CLIENT_ID="..." YOUTUBE_CLIENT_SECRET="..." youtube-live-mcp

Authentication

On first run, the server opens your browser for Google OAuth consent. After authorizing, tokens are stored in ~/.youtube-live-mcp/tokens.json and refreshed automatically.

Required scope: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube

Usage: Go Live in 7 Steps

With both youtube-live-mcp and obs-mcp installed:

1. yt-create-broadcast     → Create the YouTube event
2. yt-create-stream        → Get RTMP URL + stream key
3. obs-set-stream-settings → Configure OBS with RTMP details
4. yt-bind-stream          → Connect stream to broadcast
5. obs-start-stream        → Start sending video from OBS
6. yt-transition-broadcast → testing → validate feed
7. yt-transition-broadcast → live → YOU'RE LIVE

To end: yt-transition-broadcast complete + obs-stop-stream

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
YOUTUBE_CLIENT_ID	Yes	OAuth2 client ID
YOUTUBE_CLIENT_SECRET	Yes	OAuth2 client secret

API Quota

YouTube API has a daily quota of 10,000 units. Read operations cost ~1 unit, write operations cost ~50 units. Normal streaming use stays well within limits.

One exception: search.list (used by yt-search-videos) costs 100 units per call — about 100 searches per day on the default quota. When the quota is spent, search tools return a clear quotaExceeded message; prefer yt-list-videos (by channel) for cheap listing.

License

MIT

Built by

Runway Services — a humanistic sales and marketing agency.