How to integrate Youtube MCP with Codex

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Introduction

Codex is one of the most popular coding harnesses out there. And MCP makes the experience even better. With Youtube MCP integration, you can draft, triage, summarise emails, and much more, all without leaving the terminal or the app, whichever you prefer.

Also integrate Youtube with

Why use Composio?

Apart from a managed and hosted MCP server, you will get:

  • CodeAct: A dedicated workbench that allows GPT to write its code to handle complex tool chaining. Reduces to-and-fro with LLMs for frequent tool calling.
  • Large tool responses: Handle them to minimise context rot.
  • Dynamic just-in-time access to 20,000 tools across 870+ other Apps for cross-app workflows. It loads the tools you need, so GPTs aren't overwhelmed by tools you don't need.

How to install Youtube MCP in Codex

Run the setup command

Run this command in your terminal to add the Composio MCP server to Codex.

Terminal

It will initiate the authentication in a browser window, authorize Codex to access your Composio account.

Composio authentication page

(Optional) Authenticate with OAuth

To authenticate manually, run the login command to open a browser window and authorize Codex to access your Composio account.

bash
codex mcp login composio

Verify the connection

Run codex mcp list to confirm Composio appears as a registered MCP server.

bash
codex mcp list

Codex App

Codex App follows the same approach as VS Code.

  1. Click ⚙️ on the bottom left → MCP Servers → + Add servers → Streamable HTTP:
  2. Fill the header and Key fields with { "x-consumer-api-key" = "ck_*******" }.
  3. The Key is the Composio API key, that you can find on connect.composio.dev
  4. Click on Authenticate and authorize Codex to your Composio account and you're all set.
Codex App MCP setup
  1. Restart and verify if it's there in .codex/config.toml
bash
[mcp_servers.composio]
url = "https://connect.composio.dev/mcp"
http_headers = { "x-consumer-api-key" = "ck_*******" }

What is the Youtube MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Youtube MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Youtube account. It provides structured and secure access to your channel data, so your agent can perform actions like searching videos, managing playlists, retrieving channel insights, and handling subscriptions on your behalf.

  • Channel activity monitoring: Let your agent fetch and summarize recent channel activities, including uploads, likes, playlist additions, and more, to keep you up to date at a glance.
  • Automated video and playlist management: Easily list videos from any channel, retrieve your own playlists, and organize your content—all through AI-driven commands.
  • Channel analytics and statistics: Ask your agent to pull detailed channel metrics such as subscriber counts, total views, or video counts for quick reporting and insights.
  • Subscription management: Have your agent list your current subscriptions or even subscribe you to new channels based on your interests or instructions.
  • Search and caption handling: Empower your agent to search YouTube for videos, channels, or playlists, as well as retrieve and download caption tracks for accessible viewing and content repurposing.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Triggers
Get Channel ActivitiesGets recent activities from a youtube channel including video uploads, playlist additions, likes, and other channel events.
Get channel ID by handleRetrieves the youtube channel id for a specific youtube channel handle.
Get Channel StatisticsGets detailed statistics for youtube channels including subscriber counts, view counts, and video counts.
List captionsRetrieves a list of caption tracks for a youtube video, returning an empty list if no captions exist or failing if the video id is invalid or not found.
List channel videosLists videos from a specified youtube channel, ensuring results are of `type: 'video'`.
List user playlistsRetrieves playlists owned by the authenticated user, implicitly using mine=true.
List user subscriptionsRetrieves the authenticated user's youtube channel subscriptions, allowing specification of response parts and pagination.
Download YouTube caption trackDownloads a specific youtube caption track, which must be owned by the authenticated user, and returns its content as text.
Search YouTubeSearches youtube for videos, channels, or playlists using a query term, returning the raw api response.
Subscribe to channelSubscribes the authenticated user to a specified youtube channel, identified by its unique `channelid` which must be valid and existing.
Update thumbnailSets the custom thumbnail for a youtube video using an image from thumbnailurl; the authenticated user must have permission to edit the video.
Update videoUpdates metadata for a youtube video identified by videoid, which must exist; an empty list for tags removes all existing tags.
Upload videoUploads a video from a local file path to a youtube channel; the video file must be in a youtube-supported format.
Video detailsRetrieves specified information parts (e.

Conclusion

You've successfully integrated Youtube with Codex using Composio's MCP server. Now you can interact with Youtube directly from your terminal, VS Code, or the Codex App using natural language commands.

Key benefits of this setup:

  • Seamless integration across CLI, VS Code, and standalone app
  • Natural language commands for Youtube operations
  • Managed authentication through Composio
  • Access to 20,000+ tools across 870+ apps for cross-app workflows
  • CodeAct workbench for complex tool chaining

Next steps:

  • Try asking Codex to perform various Youtube operations
  • Explore cross-app workflows by connecting more toolkits
  • Build automation scripts that leverage Codex's AI capabilities

How to build Youtube MCP Agent with another framework

OpenAI Agents SDK logo

OpenAI Agents SDK

Use Youtube MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK

Claude Agent SDK logo

Claude Agent SDK

Use Youtube MCP with Claude Agent SDK

Claude Code logo

Claude Code

Use Youtube MCP with Claude Code

OpenClaw logo

OpenClaw

Use Youtube MCP with OpenClaw

CLI logo

CLI

Use Youtube MCP with CLI

Google ADK logo

Google ADK

Use Youtube MCP with Google ADK

LangChain logo

LangChain

Use Youtube MCP with LangChain

Vercel AI SDK logo

Vercel AI SDK

Use Youtube MCP with Vercel AI SDK

Mastra AI logo

Mastra AI

Use Youtube MCP with Mastra AI

LlamaIndex logo

LlamaIndex

Use Youtube MCP with LlamaIndex

CrewAI logo

CrewAI

Use Youtube MCP with CrewAI

FAQ

What are the differences in Tool Router MCP and Youtube MCP?

With a standalone Youtube MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Youtube tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Youtube and many other apps based on the task at hand, all through a single MCP endpoint.

Can I use Tool Router MCP with Codex?

Yes, you can. Codex fully supports MCP integration. You get structured tool calling, message history handling, and model orchestration while Tool Router takes care of discovering and serving the right Youtube tools.

Can I manage the permissions and scopes for Youtube while using Tool Router?

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Youtube scopes and actions are allowed when connecting your account to Composio. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials or API configuration so you keep full control over what the agent can do.

How safe is my data with Composio Tool Router?

All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Youtube data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

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