Search YouTube and pull clean transcripts on demand for research and content planning. Teams can run fast video discovery, collect subtitles, and check usage in one place. Best for marketers, analysts, and anyone who need quick video insights.

An MCP server trigger exposes three tools to any MCP client. A router reads the requested operation and sends it to YouTube Search, YouTube Transcripts, or a Usage Report. Both video tools call a hosted scraper through HTTP requests, then the results are trimmed with set nodes and bundled with aggregate nodes. The usage path calls monthly usage and limits, then formats a simple report so you can track spend.

Setup needs an Apify account and an MCP client if you want to call the tools from a desktop agent. Expect first results in minutes and a big cut in manual copy paste work. Common uses include keyword research, topic mapping, competitor tracking, and quoting lines from videos with time stamps. The design supports scalable queries and batch transcript pulls without hitting low API limits.

• MCP server trigger exposes search, transcript, and usage tools to any MCP client
• Operation router sends requests to the correct path based on a simple input field
• HTTP requests call a hosted YouTube scraper to fetch search results and subtitles
• Set nodes simplify the payload to only the fields teams need
• Aggregate nodes bundle many items into one clean response
• Usage report pulls monthly spend and account limits and formats a summary
• Credentials use header based auth so tokens are stored safely in n8n
• Supports calls from other workflows through an execute trigger for modular use

• Reduce manual YouTube research from 2 hours to 10 minutes
• Automate 80% of transcript collection and formatting
• Improve data accuracy by 90% by removing copy paste errors
• Handle 10 times more videos with batch URLs and queries
• Connect MCP clients and Apify in one place for simple access

1. Import the template into n8n: Create a new workflow in n8n > Click the three dots menu > Select 'Import from File' > Choose the downloaded JSON file.
2. You'll need accounts with Apify. See the Tools Required section above for links to create accounts with these services.
3. In the n8n credentials manager, create a new credential for Apify. If unsure, double click the Apify nodes, open the 'Credential to connect with' dropdown, click 'Create new credential', then follow the on screen steps to add your API token.
4. Open the Apify YouTube Search node and attach your Apify credential. Set maxResults to the volume you want and keep the default endpoint as provided.
5. Open the Apify YouTube Transcripts node and attach the same credential. Confirm that downloadSubtitles is true and test with one known video URL.
6. Attach the same Apify credential to Get Usage Metrics and Get Usage Limits. Run each node once to confirm you see data for the current month and your limits.
7. Open the MCP Server trigger node and enable authentication before sharing the server. Copy the server address for your MCP client.
8. If you plan to call tools from an MCP client, follow the n8n MCP integration guide to connect your client, then try a youtube_search query like what is MCP.
9. Adjust the Set and Aggregate nodes if you want extra fields such as channel name, duration, or captions timing. Save and run again to confirm the new shape.
10. Troubleshooting: If you see 401 errors, check the API token in your credential. If results are empty, try a broader query or verify the video URLs. For very large outputs, raise timeout and memory limits in the node settings.