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MCP Server

ChatGPT

Connect TubeLab to ChatGPT and turn it into your YouTube research assistant.

Connect your TubeLab account to ChatGPT and it becomes your YouTube research assistant — searching channels, finding viral videos, pulling transcripts — all within your chat.

Setup

1. Enable developer mode

In ChatGPT, go to SettingsAppsAdvanced and enable Developer mode. This lets you add custom MCP servers.

2. Create the TubeLab app

Go back to SettingsApps and click Create app. Fill in:

  1. Name: TubeLab
  2. MCP server URL:
https://public-api.tubelab.net/mcp

3. Connect to TubeLab

  1. Click Connect > Connect to TubeLab
  2. You'll be redirected to TubeLab's login page
  3. Log in with your TubeLab account (Google or Magic Link)
  4. A consent screen appears — click Approve to grant ChatGPT access
  5. You're redirected back to ChatGPT with TubeLab connected

4. Add TubeLab to Chat

  1. Click on the + "plus" button.
  2. Then on More > Select TubeLab

Done. TubeLab is now available in ChatGPT.

Example prompts

Ask ChatGPT anything about YouTube and it will call TubeLab's tools behind the scenes:

  • "Search for cooking channels with over 100K subscribers"
  • "Get me the transcript of this video: dQw4w9WgXcQ"
  • "What are the top comments on this video?"
  • "Find channels similar to @mkbhd"
  • "What viral videos are there about home automation this month?"
  • "How many credits do I have left?"

Tools

Once connected, ChatGPT has access to 11 TubeLab tools:

ToolWhat it doesCost
search_channelsSearch YouTube channels by keyword with filters (subscribers, views, language, monetization, etc.)5 credits
search_related_channelsFind channels similar to a given channel5 credits
search_outliersFind viral or underperforming videos across YouTube by keyword2 credits
search_related_outliersFind outlier videos from channels similar to a given channel2 credits
get_channelGet info about a YouTube channel (accepts ID, URL, or @handle)free
get_channel_videosGet recent videos from a channelfree
get_channel_shortsGet recent Shorts from a channelfree
get_videoGet detailed info about a specific videofree
get_video_transcriptGet the transcript/captions of a videofree
get_video_commentsGet top comments from a videofree
get_credits_balanceCheck your TubeLab credit balancefree

You don't need to call these by name. Just ask ChatGPT what you need in plain language and it picks the right tools automatically.

Good to know

  • Tools consume your TubeLab credits at the same rate as the TubeLab app or API
  • If your session expires, ChatGPT refreshes it automatically — no need to reconnect
  • Check your balance anytime: "What's my TubeLab credit balance?"

How it works

TubeLab's ChatGPT integration uses MCP (Model Context Protocol) — an open standard that lets AI assistants use external tools directly inside a conversation. When you add TubeLab as a custom app, ChatGPT can call TubeLab's API on your behalf without you writing any code or leaving the chat.