API Documentation

Transcribe, summarize, and search YouTube videos programmatically with the EasyTranscriber REST API. Signup includes 100 free credits, with no credit card required.

Get 100 Free Credits API Overview Interactive API Explorer OpenAPI Spec

MCP Server (AI Tools)

Use EasyTranscriber as an MCP tool inside Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible AI client. Access all YouTube data tools directly from your AI workflow.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http easytranscriber \
  https://mcp.easytranscriber.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer et_your_api_key"

Manual Config (Cursor, VS Code, etc.)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "easytranscriber": {
      "url": "https://mcp.easytranscriber.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer et_your_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Tool	Description	Credits
get_transcript	Transcribe a YouTube video	1-2
summarize_video	AI summary of a transcript	1
search_youtube	Search videos or channels	1
resolve_channel	Resolve @handle to channel info	Free
search_channel	Search within a channel	1
get_channel_videos	List all channel uploads	1/page
get_channel_latest	Latest ~15 videos via RSS	Free
get_playlist_videos	List playlist videos	1/page
get_comments	Get video comments	1/page
check_credits	Check credit balance	Free

Authentication

All API requests require a Bearer token. Create an API key from your API Keys page.

Authorization: Bearer et_your_api_key

Keys are prefixed with et_ and shown only once at creation. Store them securely.

Rate Limits

Each API key is limited to 30 requests per minute using a sliding window. Exceeding the limit returns a 429 status.

Error Format

All errors follow a consistent format:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "error_code",
    "message": "Human-readable description"
  }
}

Endpoints

Endpoint	Description	Credits
POST /api/v1/transcribe	Extract video transcript	1
POST /api/v1/summarize	AI-powered summary	1
GET /api/v1/youtube/search	Search YouTube videos or channels	1
GET /api/v1/youtube/channel/resolve	Resolve @handle/URL to channel ID	Free
GET /api/v1/youtube/channel/search	Search within a channel	1
GET /api/v1/youtube/channel/videos	Paginated channel uploads	1/page
GET /api/v1/youtube/channel/latest	Latest 15 videos via RSS	Free
GET /api/v1/youtube/playlist/videos	Paginated playlist videos	1/page
GET /api/v1/youtube/comments	Video comments with replies	1/page
GET /api/v1/credits	Check credit balance	Free

Transcription & Summarization

POST/api/v1/transcribe

Transcribe a YouTube video. Cached transcripts are returned instantly at no credit cost.

Request Body

{ "url": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=..." }

Response

{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "video_title": "Video Title",
  "transcript": "Full transcript text...",
  "method": "captions",
  "cached": false,
  "credits_used": 1
}

curl -X POST https://www.easytranscriber.com/api/v1/transcribe \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer et_your_api_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"}'

POST/api/v1/summarize

Generate an AI summary from a transcript. Costs 1 credit. Transcripts longer than 100K characters are truncated.

Request Body

{
  "transcript": "Full transcript text...",
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ"  // optional, links summary to transcription
}

Response

{
  "summary": "AI-generated summary...",
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "credits_used": 1
}

curl -X POST https://www.easytranscriber.com/api/v1/summarize \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer et_your_api_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"transcript": "Your transcript text...", "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ"}'

YouTube Search

GET/api/v1/youtube/search

Search YouTube videos or channels. Costs 1 credit per request.

Query Parameters

q	Search query (required)
type	`video` or `channel` (default: `video`)
page_token	Pagination token from previous response

Response

{
  "results": [
    {
      "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
      "channel_id": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
      "title": "Video Title",
      "channel": "Channel Name",
      "published_at": "2009-10-25T06:57:33Z",
      "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/..."
    }
  ],
  "next_page_token": "CAUQAA",
  "credits_used": 1
}

curl "https://www.easytranscriber.com/api/v1/youtube/search?q=nextjs+tutorial&type=video" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer et_your_api_key"

Channel Endpoints

All channel endpoints accept @handle, channel URL (youtube.com/@handle), or raw channel ID (UCxxx) via the channel parameter.

GET/api/v1/youtube/channel/resolve

Resolve a channel @handle or URL to a channel ID and basic info.

Free

Query Parameters

channel

@handle, channel URL, or UC... ID (required)

Response

{
  "channel_id": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
  "name": "MrBeast",
  "handle": "@MrBeast",
  "subscribers": "300000000",
  "thumbnail": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/..."
}

curl "https://www.easytranscriber.com/api/v1/youtube/channel/resolve?channel=@MrBeast" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer et_your_api_key"

GET/api/v1/youtube/channel/search

Search for videos within a specific channel. Costs 1 credit.

Query Parameters

channel	@handle, channel URL, or UC... ID (required)
q	Search query (required)
page_token	Pagination token from previous response

Response

{
  "channel_id": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
  "results": [
    {
      "video_id": "abc123",
      "title": "Video Title",
      "channel": "MrBeast",
      "channel_id": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
      "published_at": "2026-01-15T12:00:00Z",
      "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/..."
    }
  ],
  "next_page_token": "CAUQAA",
  "credits_used": 1
}

curl "https://www.easytranscriber.com/api/v1/youtube/channel/search?channel=@MrBeast&q=challenge" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer et_your_api_key"

GET/api/v1/youtube/channel/videos

List all uploads from a channel with pagination. Costs 1 credit per page (up to 50 videos per page).

Query Parameters

channel	@handle, channel URL, or UC... ID (required)
page_token	Pagination token from previous response

Response

{
  "channel_id": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
  "videos": [
    {
      "video_id": "abc123",
      "title": "Video Title",
      "published_at": "2026-01-15T12:00:00Z",
      "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/..."
    }
  ],
  "next_page_token": "CDIQAA",
  "total_results": 1500,
  "credits_used": 1
}

curl "https://www.easytranscriber.com/api/v1/youtube/channel/videos?channel=@MrBeast" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer et_your_api_key"

GET/api/v1/youtube/channel/latest

Get the latest ~15 videos from a channel via RSS feed. Returns limited metadata (no view count or duration).

Free

Query Parameters

channel

@handle, channel URL, or UC... ID (required)

Response

{
  "channel_id": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
  "videos": [
    {
      "video_id": "abc123",
      "title": "Video Title",
      "published_at": "2026-03-05T12:00:00Z",
      "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/abc123/hqdefault.jpg"
    }
  ]
}

curl "https://www.easytranscriber.com/api/v1/youtube/channel/latest?channel=@MrBeast" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer et_your_api_key"

Playlist Endpoints

GET/api/v1/youtube/playlist/videos

List videos in a playlist with pagination. Costs 1 credit per page (up to 50 videos per page). Accepts a playlist URL or ID.

Query Parameters

playlist	Playlist ID (`PLxxx`) or YouTube playlist URL (required)
page_token	Pagination token from previous response

Response

{
  "playlist_id": "PLrAXtmErZgOeiKm4sgNOknGvNjby9efdf",
  "videos": [
    {
      "video_id": "abc123",
      "title": "Video Title",
      "published_at": "2026-01-15T12:00:00Z",
      "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/..."
    }
  ],
  "next_page_token": "CDIQAA",
  "total_results": 42,
  "credits_used": 1
}

curl "https://www.easytranscriber.com/api/v1/youtube/playlist/videos?playlist=PLrAXtmErZgOeiKm4sgNOknGvNjby9efdf" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer et_your_api_key"

Comments

GET/api/v1/youtube/comments

Get comments from a YouTube video. Returns top-level comments with replies. Costs 1 credit per page (up to 100 comment threads per page).

Query Parameters

video	YouTube video URL or video ID (required)
max_results	Comment threads per page, 1-100 (default 20)
order	`relevance` (top comments, default) or `time` (newest first)
page_token	Pagination token from previous response

Response

{
  "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "comments": [
    {
      "author": "JohnDoe",
      "text": "This is a great video!",
      "likes": 42,
      "published_at": "2026-01-15T12:00:00Z",
      "updated_at": "2026-01-15T12:00:00Z",
      "reply_count": 2,
      "replies": [
        {
          "author": "JaneSmith",
          "text": "I agree!",
          "likes": 5,
          "published_at": "2026-01-15T13:00:00Z",
          "updated_at": "2026-01-15T13:00:00Z"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "next_page_token": "QURTSl...",
  "total_results": 1523,
  "credits_used": 1
}

curl "https://www.easytranscriber.com/api/v1/youtube/comments?video=dQw4w9WgXcQ&max_results=10&order=relevance" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer et_your_api_key"

Account

GET/api/v1/credits

Check your current credit balance.

Response

{ "balance": 42 }

curl https://www.easytranscriber.com/api/v1/credits \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer et_your_api_key"

Credit Costs

Operation	Credits	Notes
Transcribe (cached)	0	Previously transcribed videos are free
Transcribe (< 2 hours)	1	Most videos
Transcribe (≥ 2 hours)	2	Long-form content, max 4 hours
Summarize	1	AI-powered summary
YouTube Search	1	Search videos or channels
Channel Search	1	Search within a channel
Channel Videos	1/page	Up to 50 videos per page
Playlist Videos	1/page	Up to 50 videos per page
Video Comments	1/page	Up to 100 comment threads per page
Channel Resolve	Free	Resolve @handle to channel ID
Channel Latest	Free	Latest ~15 videos via RSS

Error Codes

Code	Status	Description
unauthorized	401	Missing, invalid, expired, or revoked API key
insufficient_credits	402	Not enough credits to perform the operation
invalid_request	400	Missing fields, invalid URL, or malformed JSON
not_found	404	Channel, playlist, or resource not found
rate_limited	429	Exceeded 30 requests per minute
quota_exceeded	503	YouTube API daily quota exceeded
transcription_failed	500	Transcription error (credits refunded automatically)
summarization_failed	500	Summarization error (credit refunded automatically)
youtube_api_error	502	YouTube API returned an error (credits refunded automatically)