Can I see how many likes and views a video has through the agent?

Yes. The `get_video_details` tool allows your AI agent to retrieve full real-time statistics for any YouTube video ID, including view counts, like counts, and the total number of comments.

How do I find out the subscriber count for a specific channel?

You can use the `get_channel_details` tool. Provide the unique channel ID, and your agent will return the channel's performance statistics, including subscriber counts, total views, and video counts.

Is it possible to read the comments on a video via chat?

Absolutely. Use the `list_video_comments` tool to retrieve the top most relevant or recent comment threads from any video ID, helping you perform rapid sentiment analysis through conversation.

YouTube MCP Server for VS Code Copilot 4 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

Name: YouTube
Availability: InStock
Author: Vinkius

code.visualstudio.com/docs/copilot/chat/mcp-servers

Built by Vinkius GDPR 4 Tools IDE

GitHub Copilot in VS Code is the most widely adopted AI coding assistant, embedded directly into the world's most popular code editor. With MCP support in Agent mode, Copilot can access external data and APIs to generate context-aware code grounded in real-time information.

Get MCP Server for AI Agents

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Open in ChatGPT Open in Claude Open in Perplexity

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RecommendedModern Approach — Zero Configuration

Vinkius Desktop App

The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install YouTube and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.

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Classic Setup·json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Fully ManagedVinkius Servers

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High SecurityEnterprise-grade

IAMAccess control

EU AI ActCompliant

DLPData protection

V8 IsolateSandboxed

Ed25519Audit chain

<40msKill switch

Stream every event to Splunk, Datadog, or your own webhook in real-time

* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure

About YouTube MCP Server

Connect your YouTube Data API account to any AI agent and harness the power of global video intelligence through natural conversation.

GitHub Copilot Agent mode brings YouTube data directly into your VS Code workflow. With a project-scoped config, the entire team shares access to 4 tools — Copilot queries live data, generates typed code, and writes tests from actual API responses, all without leaving the editor.

What you can do

Universal Search — Find relevant video content by keyword or exact phrase, retrieving a list of metadata including titles and descriptions
Deep Video Insights — Retrieve full technical metadata for specific videos, including view counts, like counts, and engagement statistics
Channel Performance — Monitor any YouTube channel's branding and statistics, including total subscriber counts and video volume
Sentiment Analysis — Fetch the most relevant comments from any video to analyze user feedback and community engagement
Content Discovery — Quickly find unique video and channel IDs required for automated media monitoring workflows
Trend Auditing — Browse and analyze video descriptions and statistics to identify content patterns and audience interests
Metadata Retrieval — Get high-resolution thumbnails and precise upload timestamps for any piece of video content

The YouTube MCP Server exposes 4 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to VS Code Copilot in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.

How to Connect YouTube to VS Code Copilot via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the YouTube MCP Server with VS Code Copilot.

Create MCP config

Create a .vscode/mcp.json file in your project root

Add the server config

Paste the JSON configuration above

Enable Agent mode

Open GitHub Copilot Chat and switch to Agent mode using the dropdown

Start using YouTube

Ask Copilot: "Using YouTube, help me..." — 4 tools available

Why Use VS Code Copilot with the YouTube MCP Server

GitHub Copilot for Visual Studio Code provides unique advantages when paired with YouTube through the Model Context Protocol.

VS Code is used by over 70% of developers — adding MCP tools to Copilot means your team can leverage external data without leaving their primary editor

Project-scoped MCP configs (`.vscode/mcp.json`) let you commit server configurations to your repository, ensuring the entire team shares the same tool access

Copilot's Agent mode integrates MCP tools seamlessly with file editing, terminal commands, and workspace search in a single agentic loop

GitHub's enterprise compliance and audit features extend to MCP tool usage, providing visibility into how AI interacts with external services

YouTube + VS Code Copilot Use Cases

Practical scenarios where VS Code Copilot combined with the YouTube MCP Server delivers measurable value.

Live API integration: Copilot can query an MCP server, inspect the response schema, and generate typed API client code in the same step

DevSecOps workflows: security teams can give developers access to domain intelligence tools directly in their editor for real-time vulnerability assessment during code review

Data pipeline development: Copilot fetches sample data via MCP and generates transformation scripts, validators, and test fixtures from actual API responses

Documentation generation: Copilot queries available tools and auto-generates README sections, API reference docs, and usage examples

YouTube MCP Tools for VS Code Copilot (4)

These 4 tools become available when you connect YouTube to VS Code Copilot via MCP:

get_channel

Retrieves complete statistics and branding information for a YouTube channel

get_video

Retrieves full metadata, description, and statistics for a specific YouTube video

list_comments

Returns the most recent/relevant comment threads. Fetches the top most relevant comments from a specific YouTube video

search_videos

Returns a list of video metadata including titles and descriptions. Search for YouTube videos by keyword or exact phrase

Example Prompts for YouTube in VS Code Copilot

Ready-to-use prompts you can give your VS Code Copilot agent to start working with YouTube immediately.

"Search YouTube for 'generative AI tutorials' and show me the top 5 results."

"What are the statistics for video ID 'dQw4w9WgXcQ'?"

"Check the subscriber count for channel ID 'UC_x5XG1OV2P6uYZ5M1D2ogw'."

Troubleshooting YouTube MCP Server with VS Code Copilot

Common issues when connecting YouTube to VS Code Copilot through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.

MCP tools not available

Ensure you are in Agent mode in Copilot Chat. MCP tools only appear in Agent mode.

YouTube + VS Code Copilot FAQ

Common questions about integrating YouTube MCP Server with VS Code Copilot.

Which VS Code version supports MCP?

MCP support requires VS Code 1.99 or later with the GitHub Copilot extension. Ensure both are updated to the latest version. Older versions of Copilot may not expose the Agent mode toggle.

How do I switch to Agent mode?

Open the Copilot Chat panel and look for two mode options: "Ask" and "Agent". Click "Agent" to enable autonomous tool calling. In Ask mode, Copilot provides conversational answers but cannot invoke MCP tools.

Can I restrict which MCP tools Copilot can access?

Yes. VS Code shows a tool consent dialog before any MCP tool is invoked for the first time. You can also configure tool access policies at the organization level through GitHub Copilot settings.

Does MCP work in VS Code Remote or Codespaces?

Yes. MCP servers configured via .vscode/mcp.json work in Remote SSH, WSL, and GitHub Codespaces environments. The MCP connection is established from the remote host, so ensure the server URL is accessible from that environment.