Install
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anwerj/youtube-uploader-mcp/master/scripts/install.sh)"Who it is for
If you want to use MCP to upload, update, or schedule YouTube videos without handing keys to a model or third-party app, this service is a fit. The official documentation says it includes OAuth2, token management, and video uploads, and emphasizes that keys are not shared with LLMs or third-party apps.
The prerequisite is that your local machine can run the official installation command and complete the OAuth client file download. The official documentation says the installer automatically updates the Claude Desktop configuration and prints configuration for other clients such as VS Code, Cursor, and AnythingLLM. Do not turn “any client” into a client name.
It is not suitable if you do not yet have YouTube channel permissions, or if you want your first attempt to modify playlists and thumbnails. The visible documentation names update_video, which is for post-upload configuration, not read-only queries.
Complete the first attempt in 3 minutes
Prerequisites: Mac or Linux, with access to the installation script on GitHub. For the first attempt, run only the official installation command; do not modify a video on the channel beforehand.
Follow only this official installation path, retaining -c and -fsSL:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anwerj/youtube-uploader-mcp/master/scripts/install.sh)"
The official documentation says this command will: help download the OAuth client secret when it is missing, download the MCP service, set the minimum permissions required to run it, automatically update the Claude Desktop configuration, and finally print configuration for other clients. The installation location is the local MCP service and Claude Desktop configuration written by that script.
Success signals: the script ends normally, the Claude Desktop configuration has been updated with youtube-uploader-mcp, and the terminal prints configuration that can be pasted into other clients. Do not call update_video yet: it changes the playlist, thumbnail, or subtitles of an uploaded video.
Use cases
Case one: add an existing video to a playlist. Call update_video. The official documentation says it can Add videos to playlists. The side effect is that playlist membership on the channel changes. Before calling it, confirm that the video already exists and that it is the one you intend to modify; the confirmation point is that the video appears in the YouTube playlist. Do not invent an upload tool name that is not written there.
Case two: add a thumbnail or subtitles to an existing video. Call update_video again. The official documentation says it can upload custom thumbnails (<2MB) and attach subtitles. The side effect is that channel resources are replaced or appended. Before calling it, confirm that the thumbnail is smaller than 2MB and that you are overriding the correct video; the confirmation point is that the new thumbnail or subtitles appear on YouTube. Both operations write data, and there is no official undo command.
Boundaries of use
This is not a read-only service. update_video changes playlists, thumbnails, and subtitles. Keys should remain within the local OAuth flow; the official documentation says they are not shared with LLMs or third-party apps, but the client may still send returned video metadata to the model.
Apart from the install.sh command above, do not list a Windows script as a second primary installer. The official documentation does not provide a command to delete uploaded videos or undo playlist changes. An upload function is mentioned, but the page does not name an upload tool, so do not call an unnamed interface.