---
title: "YouTube Tools"
description: "Eight YouTube tools available through NexLev MCP, covering channel info, videos, shorts, playlists, search, comments, outliers, and video details — all accessible through natural language in your AI assistant."
source: "https://dashboard.nexlev.io/docs/mcp/youtube-tools"
---

# YouTube Tools

Eight YouTube tools available through NexLev MCP, covering channel info, videos, shorts, playlists, search, comments, outliers, and video details — all accessible through natural language in your AI assistant.

## Prerequisites

- **Connected AI assistant** — Claude, ChatGPT, or any other supported platform
- **Active NexLev account** — [Connect to your AI assistant](/docs/mcp/quickstart) to get started. [Upgrade to Pro](?required_nexlev_lite_pro_access=true) for higher quota limits.

> **Info**
>
> Your AI assistant calls these tools automatically. Just describe what you want
> in plain language and NexLev handles the rest.

## Tools

### Channel About

#### `youtube_channel_about`

Get detailed information about any YouTube channel — description, subscriber count, total views, join date, country, social links, banner, and metadata.

**What it returns:**

- Channel description and metadata
- Subscriber count and total view count
- Join date and country
- Social links and banner image

**Example prompts:**

```
Tell me about the channel @DevelopersDigest
```

```
Get channel info for https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd
```

```
What country is @LinusTechTips based in and when did they join?
```

**Parameters:**

| Parameter             | Required      | Description                   |
| --------------------- | ------------- | ----------------------------- |
| `channel_id`          | One of either | The `UC…` channel ID          |
| `username` / `handle` | One of either | The `@handle` or channel name |

### Channel Videos

#### `youtube_channel_videos`

Get a paginated list of videos from any YouTube channel with titles, view counts, publish dates, durations, and thumbnails.

**What it returns:**

- Video titles and thumbnails
- View counts and publish dates
- Video durations
- Pagination token for next page

**Example prompts:**

```
Find videos for https://www.youtube.com/@DevelopersDigest
```

```
Show me the latest 30 videos from @mkbhd
```

```
List all videos from channel UCXuqSBlHAE6Xw-yeJA0Tunw
```

**Pagination:**

Ask your AI to "get the next page" or "show more videos" — it will pass the `continuation` token automatically.

**Parameters:**

| Parameter    | Required | Description                      |
| ------------ | -------- | -------------------------------- |
| `channel_id` | Yes      | The `UC…` channel ID             |
| `token`      | No       | Continuation token for next page |

### Channel Shorts

#### `youtube_channel_shorts`

Get YouTube Shorts from any channel with pagination. Returns short titles, view counts, and thumbnails.

**What it returns:**

- Short titles and thumbnails
- View counts per short
- Pagination token for next page

**Example prompts:**

```
Show me the Shorts from @MrBeast
```

```
Get YouTube Shorts for channel UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA
```

```
Find the most viewed Shorts on @DevelopersDigest
```

**Pagination:**

Ask "show more shorts" or "get the next page of shorts" — your AI passes the continuation token automatically.

**Parameters:**

| Parameter    | Required | Description                      |
| ------------ | -------- | -------------------------------- |
| `channel_id` | Yes      | The `UC…` channel ID             |
| `token`      | No       | Continuation token for next page |

### Channel Playlists

#### `youtube_channel_playlists`

Get all playlists from a YouTube channel with pagination. Returns playlist titles, video counts, and thumbnails.

**What it returns:**

- Playlist titles and thumbnails
- Video count per playlist
- Pagination token for next page

**Example prompts:**

```
Find playlists of https://www.youtube.com/@DevelopersDigest
```

```
What playlists does @LinusTechTips have?
```

```
Show all playlists for channel UCXuqSBlHAE6Xw-yeJA0Tunw
```

**Pagination:**

Ask "get the next page of playlists" — your AI passes the continuation token automatically.

**Parameters:**

| Parameter    | Required | Description                      |
| ------------ | -------- | -------------------------------- |
| `channel_id` | Yes      | The `UC…` channel ID             |
| `token`      | No       | Continuation token for next page |

### Channel Outliers

#### `youtube_channel_outliers`

Find viral videos from a channel — videos that significantly outperformed the channel average. Returns videos ranked by outlier score with view counts, publish dates, and how much they exceeded the average.

**What it returns:**

- Videos ranked by outlier score
- View counts and publish dates
- How much each video exceeded the channel average
- Outlier score per video

**Example prompts:**

```
Find outlier videos for @DevelopersDigest
```

```
Which videos went viral on @mkbhd?
```

```
Show me the top outliers for channel UCXuqSBlHAE6Xw-yeJA0Tunw
```

**Parameters:**

| Parameter    | Required | Description          |
| ------------ | -------- | -------------------- |
| `channel_id` | Yes      | The `UC…` channel ID |

> **Tip**
>
> Use outlier analysis to identify what content breaks through on a channel —
> great for understanding what topics or formats drive spikes in growth.

### Video Details

#### `youtube_video_details`

Get detailed information about a specific YouTube video — title, description, view count, like count, publish date, channel info, tags, category, duration, and more.

**What it returns:**

- Title, description, and tags
- View count, like count, and comment count
- Publish date and duration
- Channel info and video category

**Example prompts:**

```
Get details for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
```

```
What are the stats for video ID dQw4w9WgXcQ?
```

```
How many views and likes does this video have: youtube.com/watch?v=abc123
```

**Parameters:**

| Parameter  | Required | Description                                 |
| ---------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| `video_id` | Yes      | The YouTube video ID (the part after `?v=`) |

### Video Comments

#### `youtube_video_comments`

Get comments from a YouTube video with pagination. Returns comment text, author, like count, and reply count.

**What it returns:**

- Comment text and author name
- Like count per comment
- Reply count per comment
- Pagination token for next page

**Example prompts:**

```
Show comments for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
```

```
What are people saying about video ID abc123?
```

```
Get the top comments on this video: youtube.com/watch?v=xyz789
```

**Pagination:**

Ask "get more comments" or "show the next page" — your AI passes the continuation token automatically.

**Parameters:**

| Parameter  | Required | Description                      |
| ---------- | -------- | -------------------------------- |
| `video_id` | Yes      | The YouTube video ID             |
| `token`    | No       | Continuation token for next page |

### YouTube Search

#### `youtube_search`

Search YouTube for videos, channels, playlists, or shorts. Returns real-time search results with titles, view counts, channel info, publish dates, and durations. Supports filters for content type, duration, upload date, sort order, and region.

**What it returns:**

- Video/channel/playlist titles and thumbnails
- View counts and publish dates
- Channel info and video durations
- Pagination token for next page

**Example prompts:**

```
Search YouTube for "Claude Code tutorials"
```

```
Find the top AI coding channels on YouTube
```

```
Search for shorts about productivity uploaded this week
```

```
Find long-form videos about React, sorted by view count
```

**Available filters:**

| Filter       | Options                                                   |
| ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| Content type | `video`, `channel`, `playlist`, `shorts`                  |
| Duration     | `short` (< 4 min), `medium` (4–20 min), `long` (> 20 min) |
| Upload date  | `hour`, `today`, `week`, `month`, `year`                  |
| Sort order   | `relevance`, `rating`, `date`, `viewCount`                |
| Region       | Any country code, e.g. `US`, `GB`, `IN`                   |

**Pagination:**

Ask "show more results" — your AI passes the continuation token automatically.

**Parameters:**

| Parameter     | Required | Description                      |
| ------------- | -------- | -------------------------------- |
| `query`       | Yes      | Search terms                     |
| `type`        | No       | Content type filter              |
| `duration`    | No       | Duration filter                  |
| `upload_date` | No       | Upload date filter               |
| `sort_by`     | No       | Sort order                       |
| `region`      | No       | Regional results                 |
| `token`       | No       | Continuation token for next page |

## Troubleshooting

**Tool not responding?**

- Check your NexLev account is active and the MCP connection is complete (see [Quickstart](/docs/mcp/quickstart))
- Use the [Channel Resolver](/docs/mcp/channel-resolver) to confirm you have a valid Channel ID
- If you've hit your daily quota, [Upgrade to Pro](?required_nexlev_lite_pro_access=true) for higher limits

**Pagination not working?**

- Ask your AI explicitly: "get the next page" — it will handle the continuation token automatically

## Rate Limits

| Tool | Free | Lite | Pro |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Channel about (`youtube_channel_about`) | 50 | 100 | 300 |
| Channel videos (`youtube_channel_videos`) | 50 | 100 | 300 |
| Channel shorts (`youtube_channel_shorts`) | 50 | 100 | 300 |
| Channel playlists (`youtube_channel_playlists`) | 50 | 100 | 300 |
| Channel outlier videos (`youtube_channel_outliers`) | 10 | 50 | 100 |
| Video details (`youtube_video_details`) | 10 | 100 | 300 |
| Video comments (`youtube_video_comments`) | 10 | 150 | 300 |
| YouTube search (`youtube_search`) | 50 | 100 | 500 |

## What's Next?

- **[Channel Resolver](/docs/mcp/channel-resolver)** — Convert any YouTube URL or handle into a Channel ID
- **[Channel Analytics](/docs/mcp/channel-analytics)** — Comprehensive channel metrics and analytics
- **[Daily Analytics](/docs/mcp/daily-analytics)** — Track day-by-day growth trends
- **[Similar Channels](/docs/mcp/similar-channel)** — Find channels similar to any channel