A YouTube MCP server to post Shorts from your AI agent

The short answer

1. Create a free ReelGenie account.
2. Add https://reelgenie.app/api/mcp/agent to your agent and sign in. Codex uses a token instead.
3. Connect your YouTube channel on ReelGenie’s Accounts page with an ordinary Google sign-in.
4. Bring a finished MP4. Your agent saves it with the title and description for review.
5. Choose public, unlisted or private and “made for kids”, then approve the channel and time.
6. See the result: Published with a link to the video, or Failed with YouTube’s reason.

What this YouTube MCP server does

An MCP server gives your agent tools it can call. This one lets Claude, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or your own agent hand a finished video to ReelGenie, which keeps it private until a person approves it and then uploads it through YouTube’s own upload API. You approve every post before it goes live.

• Hosted: nothing to install or run, and no Google Cloud project, YouTube API key or upload script of your own.
• The same file: ReelGenie uploads the MP4 your agent saved, as it is, with no watermark.
• A result per channel: Scheduled, Sending, Published or Failed with YouTube’s reason.
• Also TikTok and Instagram: the same server posts there too, as the TikTok MCP server and Instagram MCP server pages explain. Those are the only three platforms.

It is listed in the official MCP Registry as app.reelgenie/reelgenie.

1. Add the server to your agent

Create a free ReelGenie account first. Then pick your agent. Signing in opens a ReelGenie page that lists what the agent can do, including publishing after your explicit approval. Before it approves anything, your agent asks you in the chat and repeats the account and time. You can also approve in ReelGenie. To keep approval in ReelGenie only, connect with a token from the Agents page that leaves out publishing.

Claude desktop or web

Open Settings → Connectors, choose Add custom connector and enter the server URL. To upload a video made in the chat, also open Settings → Capabilities, turn on Create and edit files and Use the internet while making files, add reelgenie.app under Allowed websites, then start a new chat, or upload the video on ReelGenie’s Posts page. The Claude setup page has every step.

https://reelgenie.app/api/mcp/agent

Claude Code

Install the ReelGenie plugin from the Claude setup page, or add the server directly, then choose reelgenie in /mcp to sign in. Claude Code uploads the MP4 straight from your computer.

claude mcp add --transport http reelgenie https://reelgenie.app/api/mcp/agent

Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf and other MCP clients

Any client that supports remote MCP servers with sign-in can use the same URL. In Cursor, add it to .cursor/mcp.json, then sign in when Cursor asks. The Cursor guide has every step. For GitHub Copilot in VS Code, the file is .mcp.json and the server needs "type": "http"; the VS Code guide shows it. In Windsurf, now called Devin Desktop, add it to ~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json or .devin/mcp_config.json and sign in; the Windsurf guide has the steps.

{ "mcpServers": { "reelgenie": { "url": "https://reelgenie.app/api/mcp/agent" } } }

For a script or an agent that can’t sign in, a team admin can create a revocable token on ReelGenie’s Agents page.

Codex

Codex connects with a token from the Agents page, read from an environment variable so it stays out of the chat. The Codex setup page has a prompt that walks through it.

codex mcp add reelgenie --url https://reelgenie.app/api/mcp --bearer-token-env-var REELGENIE_MCP_TOKEN

ChatGPT

The ReelGenie app for ChatGPT is in preview. See the plugin walkthrough for its current availability.

Then check the connection before making anything:

Check that the ReelGenie connection works and list my workspaces and connected social accounts.

2. Connect your YouTube channel

Your agent can’t sign in to Google for you. Open ReelGenie’s Accounts page, choose YouTube and sign in with the Google account that owns the channel. You don’t create a Google Cloud project, an OAuth app or API keys; ReelGenie uses its own YouTube connection, and your agent never sees your Google password.

3. Get the video ready

ReelGenie doesn’t make or edit video, and neither does the server. Your agent can write the script, the opening line, the title and the description; the video comes from your camera, an editor or a video tool.

• File: one MP4 up to 500 MB. Images and carousels are blocked for YouTube.
• From disk: Claude Code and Codex upload the file straight from your computer.
• From a video tool: your agent can hand over a HeyGen, Canva or Higgsfield download link, and ReelGenie downloads and checks it.
• Title: titles over 100 characters are shortened by YouTube, so ReelGenie warns you first.
• Description: up to 5,000 characters.

Save ~/Videos/short.mp4 as a private ReelGenie post with this title and description, then give me the review link. Don’t send anything yet.

Shorts or regular videos?

Both. ReelGenie uploads the MP4 as it is, and YouTube decides what it is:

• A Short: a vertical or square video up to three minutes long, for example 1080 × 1920.
• A regular video: anything else, such as a horizontal video. YouTube’s own rules still apply; for example, only verified accounts can upload videos longer than 15 minutes.

ReelGenie doesn’t check the length or shape of the video and doesn’t resize it, so make it vertical before saving if you want a Short. For a Shorts walkthrough, see the YouTube Shorts page.

4. Choose visibility and approve

Play the video on the review link first: the phone preview plays the exact file YouTube will receive, with the title and description. Then choose the settings. Your agent asks you and never picks for you:

• Visibility: public, unlisted or private. If none is chosen, ReelGenie uploads the video as public, so choose unlisted or private if you want to check it on YouTube first.
• Made for kids: yes, no, or your channel’s default setting.

Then tell your agent the channel and the time. It repeats them back before anything is approved. You can also approve in ReelGenie instead.

Upload this to my YouTube channel as unlisted, not made for kids, on Saturday at 10:00 Sydney time. Confirm the details with me first.

Daily upload limits

Every ReelGenie customer uploads through one shared YouTube upload allowance, and each team has a daily share of it, so one team can’t use up everyone’s day. Both reset at midnight Pacific time. YouTube also sets its own upload limit for each channel.

• Before approval: ReelGenie warns you if the shared allowance, or your team’s share of it, is already used up for the day you are sending, and if the Google sign-in won’t last until the scheduled time.
• If a limit is reached: nothing is sent, the post shows Failed with the reason, and it isn’t retried automatically. The message says when you can send it again.

5. Check it reached YouTube

Scheduled isn’t posted. The channel shows its own result:

• Scheduled: the upload is planned.
• Sending: ReelGenie is uploading the video to YouTube.
• Published: YouTube reports the video as uploaded with the visibility you chose, and ReelGenie shows a View live link.
• Failed: YouTube’s reason, in plain words.
• Outcome unknown: ReelGenie didn’t get a clear answer from YouTube. Check your channel before sending again, so you don’t upload the same video twice.

Did my Short upload to YouTube? Give me the result and the link, or tell me why it failed.

If a post you scheduled never showed up, the missed post checklist walks through it.

The YouTube tools your agent gets

These are some of the server’s tools that a YouTube upload uses, by their real names:

• reelgenie_health and list_connected_accounts: check the connection and see which YouTube channels are connected.
• begin_finished_video_post and finalize_finished_video_post: upload your finished MP4 straight from disk and check it.
• create_finished_video_post: save a video from a HeyGen, Canva or Higgsfield download link.
• check_post_delivery: run the checks before approval, including the daily upload warnings.
• approve_post: approve the exact channel, visibility and time, only after you say yes.
• get_finished_post and diagnose_publish_failure: read the channel’s result and, if it failed, why.
• retry_failed_scheduled_post: send a failed upload again at a new time, after you confirm it.

Hosted server or your own Google project?

Open-source YouTube MCP servers run on your computer and upload with your own Google Cloud project. That means turning on the YouTube Data API, setting up an OAuth client, living within that project’s upload allowance, and keeping the keys safe. It suits you if you want everything on your own machine.

A hosted server like ReelGenie skips that: you sign in with Google on ReelGenie’s Accounts page, and ReelGenie keeps the sign-in, holds each video for approval and records what YouTube answered. The trade-off is that it can’t be self-hosted. Compare ReelGenie with Blotato, Postiz and others.

YouTube API Services and your Google data

ReelGenie uses YouTube API Services to connect your channel, upload the videos you approve and read basic channel and video details. By connecting YouTube, you agree to the YouTube Terms of Service, and Google’s handling of your data is governed by the Google Privacy Policy. ReelGenie’s Privacy Policy and Terms say what ReelGenie does with that data. You can remove ReelGenie’s access at any time in your Google Account permissions.

What it can’t do

• It doesn’t make or edit video. Bring a finished MP4.
• It can’t sign in to your Google account or YouTube channel for you.
• It won’t upload anything you haven’t approved: the video, the channel, the visibility and the time.
• It can’t add videos to playlists yet. Do that in YouTube Studio.
• It can’t make a video a Short. YouTube decides that from the length and shape.
• It posts only to TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Questions about the YouTube MCP server

Can Claude upload to YouTube by itself?

No. Claude has no YouTube account and can’t sign in to Google. With ReelGenie’s MCP server added, Claude hands over the finished video, you approve it, and ReelGenie uploads it to the channel you connected.

Is the YouTube MCP server free?

Yes, on ReelGenie’s forever-free plan: 30 posts a month, 1 brand and 3 connected accounts, with no card. Solo is US$19/month for unlimited posts. Your agent’s own plan is separate.

Will my video be a Short or a regular video?

YouTube decides. A vertical or square video up to three minutes long becomes a Short, and other videos are regular uploads. ReelGenie uploads the MP4 as it is and doesn’t check the length or shape.

Can I upload as unlisted or private?

Yes. Choose public, unlisted or private before you approve. If you don’t choose, the video is uploaded as public. You can also say whether it is made for kids, or leave it to your channel’s default setting.

Is there a daily upload limit?

Yes. Every customer shares one YouTube upload allowance, and each team has a daily share of it. Both reset at midnight Pacific time. ReelGenie warns you before approval if either is used up for that day.

Does it post without my OK?

No. Saving a video makes a private post for review and never uploads it. Nothing is sent until the exact video, channel, visibility and time are approved, by you in ReelGenie or by your agent after you say yes in the chat.