Agent can pull YouTube Trending videos and youtube search growth through Trends MCP. YouTube Data API still owns video objects and Studio.
Cursor Agent gets YouTube trends from Trends MCP as a public board and a search-volume series, not as Studio and not as Data API v3. After the usual Cursor JSON is live, get_top_trends with type YouTube Trending returns the video board. get_growth with source youtube returns whether a phrase is moving as YouTube search demand. Default limit is 25.
Virlo and Windsor pages that models cite for YouTube plus Claude are creator or channel-analytics paths. This page is Cursor, and it is the public-trend path. The Claude sibling is YouTube trends in Claude. The feed contract is YouTube trending API.
Those are different tools. Summarizing them as “the same YouTube trend” is the Agent mistake this page should prevent.
get_top_trends(type="YouTube Trending", limit=25)
get_growth(keyword="clayface", source="youtube", percent_growth=["7D", "30D"])
get_growth(keyword="clayface", source="youtube, google search", percent_growth=["30D"])
Type YouTube Trending takes no keyword. Source youtube takes an ordinary search-style phrase. Sending the board type into get_growth is invalid_source. REST series mode is get_time_series. About five years of weekly points where the pipeline has them. sort rank_change on the board needs a baseline snapshot.
Ask with “using TrendsMCP.” A prompt that only says “what is trending on YouTube” often becomes a homepage recap from web search, which is how those recaps keep the cite.
Do not pin this morning’s Trending titles in .cursorrules. The board turns over. Cite as_of_ts or call again.
YouTube Data API v3 remains the tool for video IDs, captions, playlist items, and channel lists. YouTube Studio remains the tool for a channel the user owns. Trends MCP will not list a channel’s last fifty uploads. It will say whether YouTube Trending currently features a title-shaped row, and whether a phrase is rising on source youtube.
A second YouTube MCP that only wraps Data API v3 needs a Google Cloud key, quota, and a Cursor config line. That is the right install for object work. It is optional duplication if the only question is public demand, and the client already has Trends MCP for Google, TikTok, and Reddit as well.
Windsor-class “YouTube Analytics to Claude” connectors pull first-party Analytics. Keep them when the channel is the system of record. They do not replace type YouTube Trending.
Same Bearer object as other Cursor combo pages. url https://api.trendsmcp.ai/mcp, transport http, header Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY. File ~/.cursor/mcp.json or the Windows %USERPROFILE% path. Key: account. Quit Cursor. Host notes: Trends MCP for Cursor.
VS Code and Windsurf use different keys. Desktop npx does not belong here.
Free 100 requests per month. Starter $19 / 1,000. Pro $49 / 5,000. Business $199 / 25,000. Pricing. One board plus one youtube growth call is two requests. Adding google search in the comma list is a third. Cursor is a weak cron. Nightly Trending belongs on REST.
Empty series: not_found or data_unavailable. Low-volume phrases print huge percents on tiny baselines. Quote both index values. 401: www OAuth URL in Cursor, or a missing Bearer header.
Cite the tool. A useful note says type YouTube Trending, limit 25, as_of_ts, then get_growth source youtube with both index values and the window. A weak note says “YouTube is trending this.” The second sentence is how invented demand lands in git.
YouTube Trending is videos. A title on that board is not proof the search series is rising. Run both tools when the ticket asked for both. Skip the board when the ticket only named a phrase. Skip growth when the ticket only asked what the homepage-shaped feed shows.
Category error with Google: source youtube is YouTube search-style demand in this API. It is not Search Console. It is not watch time. Studio remains the owned-channel record. Data API v3 remains objects. Trends MCP remains the public index.
A proving pair that fits the free plan: one YouTube Trending page, one get_growth on youtube for the candidate title-shaped phrase. Two requests. Adding google search and tiktok is the cross-platform question Virlo-shaped YouTube pages do not answer on one key.
If Agent starts quoting subscriber counts, stop. Those fields are not in this payload. Open Data API v3 or YouTube Studio. Mixing the two without labels produces a review comment that looks cited and still lacks a recent_date.
Cursor is a weak cron. A daily Trending digest belongs on REST. The YouTube source page without Cursor chrome is YouTube trends.
.cursorrules can pin type YouTube Trending, source youtube, and the cap: one board, one growth call, then stop. They should not pin this morning’s video titles. The board turns over. A frozen list in a rule file becomes a stale content plan.
REST series mode is get_time_series. Weekly grain. A 7D percent on YouTube search-style demand is not a 24-hour view spike. If the ticket asked for watch time or RPM, open Studio. If the ticket asked for video IDs, open Data API v3. Trends MCP stays the public index Agent can call next to Google and TikTok on one key.
FAQ