haljishi/vidwords-mcp

**A hosted Model Context Protocol server that lets an AI agent read YouTube videos — and cite the exact second it got the answer from.**
A language model cannot watch a video. Point it at this endpoint and it gains thirteen tools for
searching transcripts, searching the videos you have already saved, reading a video's **frames** —
slides, charts, demos, on-screen text — and answering questions with citations that are verified
before you see them.
No integration code. No scraping. No proxy pool.
That URL is the whole configuration. Clients sign in over OAuth — no key to find or paste — and
headless ones can send Authorization: Basic instead.
Remote-only and hosted — there is nothing to install or self-host. This repository is the public
manifest, configuration reference and issue tracker for that endpoint.
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Quick start
**Most clients need no token at all.** The server speaks OAuth, so the client registers itself,
sends you to VidWords to sign in, and stores a credential it refreshes on its own. You can create
the account during that sign-in step. The free plan includes 25 Cloud Requests and 200 AI Units a
month, so you can wire this up and use it before paying anything.
Claude (claude.ai and Claude Desktop)
1. **Customize → Connectors**, then **+ Add → Add custom connector**.
2. URL: https://vidwords.com/mcp
3. Under the OAuth client options choose **Register automatically**. VidWords registers each
connector itself (dynamic client registration), so Claude's default "published identity"
option will not connect.
4. Connect, sign in to VidWords, and approve.
On a Team or Enterprise plan an owner adds it first, under **Organization settings → Connectors →
Add → Custom → Web**; members then connect from **Customize → Connectors**.
ChatGPT
1. On chatgpt.com, open **Plugins**, select **+**, then **Add custom MCP server**.
2. Name: VidWords · Server URL: https://vidwords.com/mcp · Authentication: **OAuth**.
3. Accept the risk warning and select **Create as a plugin**, then sign in to VidWords and approve.
4. **Install** the new plugin, then type @ in a chat and pick VidWords.
Do this on the web; on a workspace account an admin may need to allow custom MCP servers.
Either way, the host registers itself, sends you to VidWords to sign in, and shows a consent
screen naming exactly what it is asking for. Registration alone grants nothing — access begins
only when a signed-in person clicks **Approve**, and live connections can be revoked from the
API & MCP page
with immediate effect.
Claude Desktop from a config file
claude_desktop_config.json only runs **local (stdio)** servers — a remote url entry there is
not supported (and has been reported to wipe the file's mcpServers section). To declare the
server in the file anyway, bridge it with mcp-remote,
which runs the same sign-in flow in your browser — still nothing to paste:
Quit and reopen Claude Desktop after editing the file.
Claude Code
Then type /mcp in a session and choose **Authenticate**.
Cursor — one click, or .cursor/mcp.json
Use the **Add to Cursor** button above, or:
Cursor shows the server as **Needs login** — click that once and it runs the OAuth flow in your
browser. Because this file carries no secret, it is safe to commit, which the header form below
is not.
VS Code
Use the **Add to VS Code** button above, or put this in .vscode/mcp.json:
VS Code asks you to sign in the first time the server starts.
Codex CLI
A static token instead
For CI, a container, or a client with no OAuth support, authenticate with a header. Create an
account at **vidwords.com/register**,
**verify your email**, then create a key on the
API & MCP page.
A key's value is shown once, when it is created.
Claude Code
Claude Desktop — claude_desktop_config.json
The same mcp-remote bridge as above, with the key instead of the sign-in. Keep the key in
env: Claude Desktop on Windows (and Cursor, and the Codex CLI) do not escape spaces inside
args, so Basic YOUR_API_TOKEN written there splits in two — the mcp-remote README's own
workaround:
Cursor — .cursor/mcp.json
Keep this out of version control, or use ~/.cursor/mcp.json instead — the header holds a live