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download_video

download_video

MCPTube download_video tool: download YouTube videos as MP4 with cover art and chapters, H.264 up to 1080p and VP9 or AV1 above that, with no re-encoding.

Download YouTube video · REST: POST /v1/video

MP4 with cover art, artist and chapters, in the best quality up to maxHeight. Up to 1080p the video is H.264; above that YouTube only has VP9 or AV1, and MCPTube delivers the original codec with no re-encoding (the response includes compatibilityNote). Audio is AAC.

If the request goes above your plan’s limit, the video comes at the highest allowed resolution and the response includes planNote. The call counts as usual.

Parameter	Type	Description
`url`required	string	URL or ID of a YouTube video.
`maxHeight`default: 1080	integer, 144 to 4320	Maximum height in pixels: 144, 360, 480, 720, 1080, 1440 or 2160.
`audioLanguage`optional	string	Preferred audio track, such as `"en"` or `"original"`.

Example

Ask your assistant

Download this video in 1080p: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Your assistant calls download_video and answers with the MP4 link.

curl

curl https://mcp.mcptube.com/v1/video \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer mct_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "maxHeight": 1080}'

Response on the Free plan

Response

{
  "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video) (4K Remaster)",
  "author": "Rick Astley",
  "durationSeconds": 213,
  "fileName": "dQw4w9WgXcQ-Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video) (4K Remaster).mp4",
  "fileSizeBytes": 30007919,
  "downloadUrl": "https://mcp.mcptube.com/files/Kp3sW0aZ…/dQw4w9WgXcQ-Rick%20Astley….mp4",
  "expiresAt": "2026-10-21T19:31:52.000Z",
  "videoCodec": "h264",
  "planNote": "Resolution limited to 720p (requested: 1080p). Your plan: Free. The Pro plan has higher limits and AI transcription: https://mcptube.com/en"
}

On MCP, your assistant gets these same fields. The response also includes videoFormat and audioFormat, with the container, codecs and resolution of each track.