Codex MCP for YouTube research

Connect the vidIQ MCP server to OpenAI Codex with two commands. Then ask Codex to research YouTube channels, keywords, competitors, trends, and transcripts with real data, without leaving your terminal.

Connect vidIQ to Codex

How to add the vidIQ MCP server to Codex

  1. 1Run codex mcp add vidiq with the vidIQ server URL, the first command shown here. Codex saves vidIQ as a remote MCP server in ~/.codex/config.toml.
  2. 2Run codex mcp login vidiq. Your browser opens; sign in with your vidIQ account and grant access.
  3. 3Start Codex with codex, then run /mcp to confirm vidIQ is connected and its tools are listed.
  4. 4Ask a YouTube question that names vidIQ, for example: "Use vidIQ to research keywords for a video about [topic]."

Terminal

codex mcp add vidiq --url "https://mcp.vidiq.com/mcp"
codex mcp login vidiq

Only need read-only access? Create an API key in vidIQ Account Settings, export it as VIDIQ_API_KEY, and set bearer_token_env_var = "VIDIQ_API_KEY" under [mcp_servers.vidiq] instead of signing in.

Prompt Library

Ready-to-Use YouTube Prompts for Codex

Copy a prompt, replace the [placeholders] with your niche, topic, or channel, and paste it into your AI tool with vidIQ connected.

vidIQ MCP Credits & Tools

52 tools and counting

46 core tools below, plus 6 free utility tools

  • keyword_research

    Find keywords your competitors are sleeping on

  • outliers

    Spot videos that blew up for a reason

  • generate_clips

    Turn a long video into vertical clips

  • generate_thumbnail

    Generate a thumbnail from a prompt

  • generate_titles

    Generate high-CTR title ideas

  • subscriber_insights

    Find your best time to post and who else your fans watch

  • video_transcript

    Read any video without watching it

  • trending_videos

    See what formats are blowing up right now

Plus 6 free utility tools: credits balance, your connected channels, async job tracking, voice library, and feedback. Tool calls draw from your vidIQ plan’s shared credit pool.

vidIQ in Codex: common questions

It connects OpenAI Codex to vidIQ's YouTube data through MCP (Model Context Protocol). Once it's added, Codex can call 50+ vidIQ tools to research keywords, compare channels, find outlier videos, read transcripts, and track trends. Ask in plain English, and Codex answers with the data or turns it into titles, outlines, or a report file.