vidIQ MCP
vidIQ MCP lets authorized agents research YouTube and Instagram creators, videos, trends, comments, thumbnails, titles, and connected-channel analytics, with explicitly annotated media and account-management actions.
Verdict
Common use cases
- Research competitor channel growth and format mix
- Validate video ideas against audience comment themes
- Pull retention curves for your latest uploads
- Find rising creators in a specific niche
- Analyze traffic sources driving your views
Integration
- Vendor
- vidIQ MCP
- Category
- other
- Auth
- OAUTH2
- Tools
- 50
- Composio slug
vidiq_mcp
Tools
- Vidiq authorize with youtube
Check or establish fresh YouTube authorization for the current vidIQ OAuth connection. Call this tool when the user asks to authorize with YouTube, before a sensitive workflow that requires fresh YouTube authentication, or after the user c
- Vidiq balance
Check the user's current vidIQ credits balance. vidIQ credits live in two buckets: - A renewable bucket sized by the user's plan (Free/Boost/Max/etc) that refills each billing cycle. - Zero or more add-on (bonus) credits. Add-on credits dr
- Vidiq channel analytics
Get YouTube Analytics data for a channel you own — views, watch time, subscribers gained, likes, comments, retention, traffic sources, demographics, and revenue (monetized channels). Common reports are available as one-word presets via `re
- Vidiq channel performance trends
Get a channel's typical video performance curve — how views accumulate over time after publication. Returns statistical aggregates (min, max, avg, median, percentiles) of view counts at various time intervals since publication, based on th
- Vidiq channel search
Comprehensive YouTube channel search. Combines semantic + lexical text search with structured filters across identity, audience size, growth, format mix, and content metadata. Use this tool to: - Find channels by niche or topic with natura
- Vidiq channel stats
Get YouTube channel statistics including subscriber count, total views, video count, and growth over a configurable time period. Use this tool to: - Look up any YouTube channel's current stats (subscribers, views, videos) - See how much a
- Vidiq channel videos
Get videos from a YouTube channel by format (long-form, Shorts, or live streams). Use this when you already know which channel to look at. To discover videos across many channels, use vidiq_outliers or vidiq_trending_videos. Use vidiq_user
- Vidiq comment insights
Analyze YouTube audience comments for a niche. Use mode="discover" to find recurring audience questions/content requests and recurring dislikes or pain points. Use mode="validate" with idea to test one proposed video idea. Validation separ
- Vidiq compose
Compose a short video from scenes (video clips and/or images), an optional voiceover, background music, and overlays (text, image, or video), then render it to an MP4. Provide ordered `scenes` (each with an HTTPS `source` and `duration`) a
- Vidiq earnings calculate
Calculate estimated monthly YouTube earnings (low/mid/high USD) for a given number of monthly views. This is a calculator, not a lookup: it does not fetch anything from YouTube, so you must supply the numbers. Use it for "how much would X
- Vidiq edit media
Edit a media file: trim a clip, extract its audio, grab a thumbnail frame, normalize its loudness, or probe it for metadata (duration, dimensions, streams). Set `op` and give a `sourceUrl` — a vidiq-generated media URL (an *.amazonaws.com
- Vidiq generate broll
Find free stock B-roll video clips. Provide a search query (optionally orientation and min/max duration filters). Returns up to 4 clips with a direct mp4 link, a preview image, dimensions, and the photographer credit. Attribution is requir
- Vidiq generate clips
Turn a long video into short, vertical clips. Provide either a YouTube link (videoUrl) or an already-hosted file (uploadedVideoUrl + videoDuration + videoFilename). Optionally steer selection with a prompt, set clipDuration, restrict the s
- Vidiq generate comment replies
Generate multiple draft replies to one viewer comment on a YouTube video, with one reply per requested tone. Use this when the user wants response ideas for a specific comment. To retrieve comments first, use `vidiq_video_comments`. Provid
- Vidiq generate music
Generate ONE original, royalty-free background-music track (WAV) from a text prompt. Describe the music in the prompt (max 2000 characters): genre + mood + instrumentation + tempo works best; add 'instrumental' to exclude vocals. Optionall
- Vidiq generate script
Write a full long-form video script from a topic, title, concept, and research. Provide the topic, the chosen title, the concept/angle, and research/context to ground it in; optionally set lengthMinutes (1–60, default 10) and a tone. This
- Vidiq generate thumbnail
Generate a YouTube thumbnail. Provide at least one of videoId, title, description, or userQuery. With only a videoId, the video's current title, description, and thumbnail are pulled in automatically. This runs asynchronously: it returns
- Vidiq generate titles
Generate scored YouTube title suggestions. Provide at least one of `videoId`, `title`, or `description`. With only `videoId`, the current title/description are fetched from YouTube. Cost: 5 credit(s) per call.
- Vidiq generate video
Generate a short video from a text prompt. Or edit an MP4 using videoUrls from an upload, generation, or composition. The actual video is used without substitute frames. Select gemini-omni-flash or minimax-h3 explicitly for this mode, witho
- Vidiq get channels by ids
Get detailed information about YouTube channels by their IDs. Use this tool to: - Look up channel metadata (title, description, country) for one or more channels - Get subscriber counts, view counts, and video counts - Retrieve channel tag
- Vidiq get videos by ids
Get detailed metadata for one or more YouTube videos. Use this tool to: - Fetch video details such as title, description, tags, and category - Get current statistics (views, likes, comments) for specific videos - Look up publishing info, c
- Vidiq ig accounts from outliers
Find Instagram creator/account candidates from existing outlier reel discovery. Use this when the user asks for Instagram accounts, creators, competitors, influencers, partners, or examples to study. The service groups outlier reels into a
- Vidiq ig profile
Fetch public Instagram profile by handle: bio, follower/following counts, post count, verification, external URL, with the profile picture returned inline. DO NOT USE FOR: - Profile search/discovery — you must already have a handle. - Reel
- Vidiq ig profile reels
Fetch a creator's reels by handle: shortcode, caption, play/like/comment counts, duration, timestamp, pinned-profile status, with each reel's cover returned inline as an image. Returns up to 12 reels from the first Instagram Reels-tab page
- Vidiq instagram connected accounts
List the signed-in user's Instagram accounts already connected to vidIQ. Use this first when the user says "my Instagram", "my account", or otherwise asks about their own Instagram data. Each account says whether private owner insights and
- Vidiq instagram owner insights
Fetch private Instagram owner insights for an OAuth-backed account already connected to the signed-in vidIQ user. Always obtain `platformAccountId` from `vidiq_instagram_connected_accounts`; do not pass a handle or an account belonging to a
- Vidiq instagram publish reel
Publish an approved hosted MP4 using this same tool across short calls. First obtain approval for the exact video, account, caption and regular or Trial settings. Select a connected account with publishingAvailable=true. Start with videoUrl
- Vidiq instagram tiktok outlier search
Search Instagram Reels and TikTok videos together for posts that substantially outperform each creator's median. Results are returned in separate Instagram and TikTok sections because relevance scores are not comparable across platforms. U
- Vidiq job poll
Check the status of an asynchronous vidIQ job and retrieve its result. Pass the `mcpJobId` returned by a `*_start` tool. Poll periodically until `status` is no longer 'inprogress': - 'completed' → the work is done; read `result`. - 'failed
- Vidiq jobs list
List your asynchronous vidIQ jobs, newest first. Filter by `toolName` and/or `status`. To find jobs that are still running, filter `status: 'inprogress'`. Use the returned `mcpJobId` with `vidiq_job_poll` to check a job's result. This too
- Vidiq keyword research
Research YouTube keywords to find search volume, competition, and related keyword opportunities. This tool returns keyword metrics, NOT videos. To find actual videos, use vidiq_outliers or vidiq_trending_videos instead. This tool has six m
- Vidiq list competitors
List the YouTube channels the user is tracking as competitors of one of their own channels. Returns only channel IDs. To get titles, thumbnails, subscriber counts, etc., pass the IDs to vidiq_get_channels_by_ids. The youtubeChannelId must
- Vidiq motion graphics
Render an animated MOTION GRAPHIC to a downloadable MP4 video. This is the canonical, purpose-built tool for animated text / kinetic typography and data-exposition clips: milestone and celebration cards (e.g. "250K SUBSCRIBERS"), announceme
- Vidiq outliers
Find viral, breakout, and overperforming YouTube videos — videos getting significantly more views than their channel's average. Use this when someone asks for: viral videos, breakout hits, hidden gems, or videos blowing up. Use `keyword` to
- Vidiq refine thumbnail
Change or improve a YouTube thumbnail by describing what you want in plain words. Give it the thumbnail to change as sourceThumbnail (a hosted URL) or sourceThumbnailFile (a ChatGPT upload), and say what to change (instructions) — for exam
- Vidiq score thumbnail
Score a YouTube video thumbnail for click-through-rate potential. Returns a score (0-100) with detailed feedback on strengths and improvements. Provide a video ID and title; optionally supply a custom thumbnail image URL to score instead of
- Vidiq score title
Score a YouTube video title for click-through-rate potential. Returns a score (0-100) indicating how compelling and clickable the title is. Use this to compare title variations and pick the best-performing option. Cost: 5 credit(s) per cal
- Vidiq similar channels
Find COMPETITORS of a channel — either the user's own channel or a specific named channel. Uses neural semantic search tuned for competitor matching; the user's own authorized channels are automatically excluded from legacy manual-mode resu
- Vidiq similar thumbnails
Find long-form YouTube videos whose thumbnails LOOK similar — visual/semantic similarity over the thumbnail images themselves. This tool searches long-form videos only; Shorts are not supported. This is not topic, title, or keyword search (
- Vidiq similar videos
Find high-performing YouTube videos similar to a seed video - the video-level counterpart of vidiq_similar_channels. Give it one video ID or URL and it returns videos ranked by combined similarity: textual (title/topic) and visual (thumbnai
- Vidiq submit feedback
Submit feedback about the vidIQ MCP — feature requests, bug reports, improvement suggestions, survey responses, or general comments. When the user encounters a bug with vidIQ MCP or requests a new vidIQ MCP feature, proactively ask whether
- Vidiq subscriber insights
Analyze subscriber overlap and best times to post for a YouTube channel you own. Returns the channels most commonly subscribed to by your audience, dated overlap history, and a timezone-adjusted histogram of sampled public YouTube activity
- Vidiq trend categories
List all available trend category slugs with display names and descriptions. Use this as a reference before filtering outlier videos by trend category. Cost: 0 credit(s) per call.
- Vidiq trending videos
Find YouTube videos that are trending right now — gaining views rapidly based on views-per-hour velocity. Use this when someone asks: what's trending, what's hot right now, popular videos this week, or fastest-growing videos. Unlike vidiq_o
- Vidiq update competitors
Follow or unfollow competitor channels for one of the user's own YouTube channels. - youtubeChannelId must be a channel the user has authorized (call vidiq_user_channels to discover). - follow / unfollow are arrays of YouTube channel IDs —
- Vidiq update video
Update metadata or publishing settings for a YouTube video owned by the user. Supported updates match the vidIQ web app: title, description, complete tag list, privacy status, and scheduled publish time. Omitted fields remain unchanged. An
- Vidiq user channels
Get the list of YouTube channels authorized by the current user. The response includes `authenticatedAs` (the email of the connected vidIQ account). An empty `channels` list usually means the user authorized a different account than they e
- Vidiq user videos
List videos from one of the current user's directly authorized YouTube channels through the authenticated vidIQ MCP connection, including public, unlisted, and private videos. Use vidiq_user_channels when the channel ID is unknown. Support
- Vidiq video change history
Get the observed title and thumbnail change history for one YouTube video. Each change records when a title or thumbnail edit was observed. Thumbnail entries include the original YouTube URL and vidIQ's archived snapshot URL. The response
- Vidiq video comments
Get YouTube comment threads for a video or channel, including replies. Provide exactly one of videoId or channelId. Each returned thread carries the videoId and videoTitle it belongs to, so channel-wide results can be attributed to indivi
Setup
Setup guide
- 11. Log into your vidIQ account at vidiq.com and navigate to Account Settings or API Access to generate an API key. 2. In Switchy, open your workspace settings and click Integrations, then find vidIQ MCP in the catalog. 3. Paste your API key into the authentication field and click Connect. 4. Switchy will verify the key and display your current credit balance if the connection succeeds. 5. Open any Project, type '@vidIQ' in the chat, and ask it to check your balance or pull stats for a YouTube channel URL to confirm the integration works. 6. If you manage YouTube channels through vidIQ, run the authorize_with_youtube tool once to grant OAuth permissions for analytics data. 7. Most search and research tools work immediately; analytics tools require you to own or have authorized access to the channel.
What teammates see: by default, memories from vidIQ MCP are scoped to the Project (PROJECT visibility) - you can mark any memory PRIVATE or share it ORG-wide.
Works well with
Top models
Compatibility data appears once enough Projects have used this MCP together with a given model.
How Switchy teams use it
Starter prompts
Competitor Channel Audit
@vidIQ Get channel stats for these three YouTube URLs over the past 90 days, then summarize their growth patterns and upload cadence.
Audience Question Mining
@vidIQ Use comment insights in discover mode for the 'home organization' niche and list the top five questions or content requests people keep asking.
Video Idea Validation
@vidIQ I'm considering a video titled 'Why minimalism fails for families.' Use comment insights in validate mode to check if this resonates or conflicts with audience sentiment.
Retention Curve Analysis
@vidIQ Pull channel analytics for my YouTube channel focusing on audience retention for videos published in the last 30 days, then flag any steep drop-offs.
Niche Creator Discovery
@vidIQ Find YouTube channels in the 'sustainable fashion' niche with 10k-100k subscribers that posted at least twice in the past month and show positive growth.
Example outputs
Illustrative - representative of the model's voice and quality, not literal recordings.
@vidIQ find 5 YouTube channels in the productivity software niche with 50k–200k subscribers that posted at least 3 videos in the last 30 days
Found 5 channels matching your criteria: 1. **ProductivityPro** (127k subs) — 5 videos last month, avg 18k views per video. Focus: task management apps, workflow automation. 2. **AppReviewDaily** (89k subs) — 4 videos, avg 12k views. Mix of software tutorials and comparison reviews. 3. **WorkflowWizard** (156k subs) — 6 videos, avg 22k views. Deep-dives on Notion, Obsidian, and project management tools. 4. **TechForTeams** (73k subs) — 3 videos, avg 9k views. B2B SaaS demos and team productivity tips. 5. **MinimalistSetup** (194k subs) — 4 videos, avg 31k views. Aesthetic productivity setups with software walkthroughs. This is an illustrative example; actual channel names and metrics will vary by search date and vidIQ's index coverage.
This example uses vidIQ's channel_search tool to filter by audience size, upload frequency, and niche. Requires an API key with search access. Results reflect vidIQ's index snapshot at query time — channels outside their catalog or with privacy settings may not appear. Useful for competitor research or collaboration prospecting.
@vidIQ analyze comments on videos about 'Notion templates' to find what questions people keep asking and what frustrations they mention
**Recurring Questions (mode=discover):** - "Does this work on the free plan?" (mentioned in 34% of sampled comments) - "Can I duplicate this to multiple workspaces?" (18%) - "How do I connect this to Google Calendar?" (22%) **Recurring Pain Points:** - Templates break after Notion updates (15% of comments) - Difficulty customizing databases without coding knowledge (12%) - Syncing issues between mobile and desktop (9%) This illustrative summary shows the kind of thematic clustering vidIQ's comment_insights tool surfaces. Actual percentages and themes depend on the video sample size and recency window you specify.
This example demonstrates vidIQ's comment_insights tool in 'discover' mode, which aggregates audience sentiment across a topic. Requires vidIQ credits (consumes ~5–10 credits per query depending on sample size). Best for content ideation or validating whether a tutorial idea addresses real user confusion. Does not return individual comment text, only thematic summaries.
@vidIQ get my channel's analytics for the last 28 days — views, watch time, subscriber change, and top traffic sources — then draft a short performance summary
**Your Channel Analytics (Last 28 Days):** - **Views:** 47,320 (+12% vs prior period) - **Watch Time:** 3,890 hours (+8%) - **Subscribers Gained:** +1,240 (net) - **Top Traffic Sources:** YouTube search (38%), Browse features (29%), Suggested videos (21%) **Summary:** Your channel grew steadily this month, with search traffic driving the largest share of new views. Watch time growth lagged slightly behind view growth, suggesting shorter average session durations — consider adding mid-roll hooks or end screens to retain viewers longer. Subscriber conversion rate held at ~2.6%, consistent with your historical average. This is an illustrative example; actual metrics require OAuth authorization with your YouTube account via vidIQ.
This example chains vidIQ's channel_analytics tool (read) with the AI's synthesis layer. Requires YouTube OAuth authorization through vidIQ — call vidiq_authorize_with_youtube first if the session is stale. Only works for channels you own or manage. Useful for monthly reviews or preparing performance reports without opening YouTube Studio.
Use-case deep-dives
When vidIQ wins for YouTube channel benchmarking
A two-person creator team launching a tech-review channel needs to understand what works in their niche before scripting the first 10 videos. The vidIQ MCP is the right call here: use channel_search to find 15-20 competitors by subscriber range and topic, then pull channel_stats and channel_performance_trends to see how quickly views plateau after upload. Cross-reference comment_insights in discover mode to spot recurring audience questions no one's answering yet. The MCP's 50 tools cover the full research loop without switching tabs. If your team already has a mature channel and you're optimizing existing content, the analytics tools (channel_analytics, retention curves) justify the API key setup. For pre-launch research or quarterly competitive audits, this is the fastest path from question to script brief.
When this MCP scales monthly YouTube performance decks
A four-person agency manages YouTube channels for eight B2B SaaS clients and ships monthly performance decks. The vidIQ MCP solves the data-pull bottleneck: authorize_with_youtube once per client, then schedule a Switchy workflow that calls channel_analytics for views/watch-time/revenue and channel_stats for subscriber deltas across all eight accounts. The MCP returns structured JSON you can pipe directly into a deck template or dashboard. The credit-based pricing (check with vidiq_balance) means you pay per query, not per seat—ideal when report frequency is predictable but team size fluctuates. If clients demand real-time dashboards or you're pulling data daily, the per-query cost adds up; at that threshold, a direct YouTube Analytics API integration is cheaper. For monthly or weekly reporting at small-to-mid agency scale, this is the lowest-effort setup.
When vidIQ clarifies Shorts vs long-form trade-offs
A three-person podcast team is debating whether to invest in YouTube Shorts or double down on full-episode uploads. The vidIQ MCP answers this with data, not guesses: use channel_search to find 10 podcasts in your genre, then call channel_videos filtered by format (Shorts vs long-form) and compare view counts and upload cadence. Pull channel_performance_trends to see if Shorts drive subscriber spikes that carry over to long-form views, or if the audiences stay siloed. The comment_insights tool in validate mode tests whether your existing audience is asking for shorter clips. This is a one-time research sprint, not an ongoing workflow, so the API key setup pays off if it prevents three months of wasted production effort. If your team is already committed to one format and just needs upload-schedule optimization, the MCP is overkill—stick with native YouTube Studio analytics.
Frequently asked
What does the vidIQ MCP let me do in Switchy?
It pulls YouTube analytics, channel stats, and audience comment insights directly into your Switchy workspace. You can search channels by niche, compare performance trends, validate content ideas against real viewer questions, and check your vidIQ credits balance — all without leaving the AI chat. It's built for creators and agencies managing multiple YouTube strategies in one place.
Do I need a vidIQ account to use this MCP?
Yes. You'll need an active vidIQ account and an API key from their dashboard. The MCP also requires you to authorize your YouTube channel through vidIQ's OAuth flow before it can pull analytics or channel data. If you're on vidIQ's Free plan, some tools will hit credit limits faster than paid tiers.
Can it upload videos or reply to comments for me?
No. This MCP is read-only — it fetches analytics, searches channels, and analyzes comments, but it won't publish, edit, or interact with your YouTube account. If you need to automate uploads or comment replies, you'll want YouTube's Data API directly or a different integration.
How is this different from checking vidIQ in a browser tab?
You can ask natural-language questions and get structured answers without clicking through vidIQ's UI. The MCP also lets you chain queries — for example, find trending channels in a niche, pull their top videos, then analyze audience comments — all in one Switchy thread. It's faster for research workflows and easier to document for your team.
Who on my team should connect the vidIQ MCP?
Whoever owns your vidIQ subscription and has YouTube channel access. That person's API key will determine which channels the MCP can analyze and how many credits are available. If multiple people need it, consider a shared vidIQ account or rotate the connection when you hit credit limits.