ytdl-rmcp

MCP server and CLI for yt-dlp: search and download media, embed metadata and cover art, then deliver to local, SSH, or rclone targets and Plex.

Written in Rust on the rmcp crate. yt-dlp and ffmpeg are auto-downloaded into a per-user cache on first run, so the host needs neither pre-installed — the one binary is the whole install.

30-second path: npx -y @dinglebear/rytdl setup -> configure a target path -> call youtube_search or youtube_probe; use youtube_download only after the destination and trust boundary are clear.

Status: production personal-media MCP server. Read-only search/probe/stats paths are safe; download, playlist, queue-drain, and tag-writing paths create or move state and are intended for trusted callers.

Not for: a generic web-downloader SaaS, a multi-tenant media ingestion boundary, a replacement for yt-dlp's upstream site handling, or an arbitrary filesystem writer for untrusted MCP callers.

Contents

• Naming
• Capabilities And Boundaries
• Install
• Quickstart
• Client Configuration
• Runtime Surfaces
• MCP Tool Reference
• CLI Reference
• Configuration
• Authentication
• Safety And Trust Model
• Architecture
• Distribution Contract
• Development
• Verification
• Deployment
• Troubleshooting
• Related Servers
• Documentation
• License

Naming

Surface	This repo
Repository	dinglebear-ai/rytdl
Cargo crate	ytdl-rmcp
npm package	@dinglebear/rytdl
CLI / binary	rytdl
MCP tools	youtube_search, youtube_search_ui, youtube_download, youtube_probe, youtube_identify, youtube_stats, youtube_plex_playlist, youtube_transfer_queue
Env prefix	YTDLP_*, plus FFMPEG_*, FPCALC_PATH, and YTDLP_LOG
Transport	stdio only — no HTTP listener, no service port

The crate and npm package use the *-rmcp family naming pattern, while the repository and runtime binary are rytdl so local shells get a short Rust-native command.

Capabilities And Boundaries

• Searches YouTube through yt-dlp without downloading media.
• Downloads audio, video, or both into a staging tree, tags audio metadata, and transfers the result to local, SSH, or rclone destinations.
• Optionally fingerprints audio through AcoustID/MusicBrainz and syncs completed audio downloads into a Plex playlist.
• Builds Plex playlists from successful transfer history and drains server-made retained-staging transfer manifests.
• Exposes an MCP App search UI for hosts that can render embedded widgets.
• Keeps a JSONL ledger for repeat-safe downloads and stats.

This repo owns	Upstream owns	Explicitly out of scope
MCP tools, CLI setup, media staging, tagging, transfer policy, queue manifests, config validation, response shaping, plugin/package metadata.	yt-dlp extraction behavior, source-site availability, ffmpeg media conversion, Plex library indexing, SSH/rclone authentication.	Multi-tenant isolation, arbitrary local writes for untrusted callers, credential brokering, site-specific scraping guarantees, media-server replacement.

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