Let Claude watch any video.
Paste a YouTube link into Claude or ChatGPT and ask anything. Watch Any Video sees and hears the whole video, then answers with timestamps you can check.
60 free minutes of video a month. Nothing to install, no API key.
Watch youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc — what are the three stories?
Used Watch Any Video: Watch a video (11 s)
- 0:55Connecting the dots. Dropping out of Reed, the calligraphy class, and why the dots only connect looking back.
- 5:33Love and loss. Being fired from Apple at 30, then NeXT and Pixar.
- 9:05Death. His cancer diagnosis, and remembering you will die as a tool for big choices.
Can Claude watch videos?
Not on its own. Claude can read documents and images, but it can't open a video or listen to audio (Claude's help centre lists only documents and images as uploads, as of October 2026). Watch Any Video is a connector that adds this: paste a YouTube link into Claude, ask a question, and Claude gets back what is seen and heard in the video, with timestamps.
The developer tools that do this need ffmpeg, yt-dlp and your own API key, so they only run in Claude Code. Watch Any Video runs on our servers instead, so it works everywhere Claude does, including the chat app on your phone.
How it works
- Step 1
Add the connector
One click adds it to Claude. Sign in once, and it works in Claude on the web, on your phone and in Claude Desktop.
- Step 2
Paste a link and ask
Share any public YouTube link and ask what you want to know. Short videos come back in seconds; a two-hour podcast takes about a minute.
- Step 3
Keep asking
Follow-up questions about the same video are answered in a couple of seconds and don't use any of your minutes.
What people ask it
- Lectures and tutorials“Turn this 40-minute lecture into study notes, with the time each topic starts.”
- Ads“What happens in the first five seconds of this ad, and what is the offer?”
- Podcasts and interviews“Where does the guest talk about pricing? Quote what they say.”
- Reviews and demos“Which problems does the reviewer mention, and when?”
- How-to videos“List the steps in this recipe with the timestamp of each one.”
Tested on real videos before launch
We asked it 36 questions about 12 videos, from a 46-second sprint final to a 2.2-hour podcast, including a lecture, an Excel screen recording, a cooking clip, an ad and a talk in Turkish. It got 33 right and put 35 of 36 timestamps in the right place.
A 10-minute video takes about 10 to 16 seconds. When it can't see or hear something, it says so instead of guessing.
Set it up in your app
Every app uses the same address. You sign in once with your email or Google account.
Claude (web, desktop, iPhone, Android)
Use the button, or go to Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector and paste the address. Free plans can add one custom connector; Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise can add more.
https://watchanyvideo.com/api/mcpClaude Code
Run this in your terminal, then type /mcp in Claude Code and sign in.
claude mcp add --transport http watch-any-video https://watchanyvideo.com/api/mcpChatGPT
Custom connectors are available in developer mode on ChatGPT Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces, and on Pro. Add a custom MCP server and paste the address.
https://watchanyvideo.com/api/mcpCursor and other MCP apps
Add this server to your MCP settings (mcp.json). Your app opens a browser window to sign in.
{"mcpServers":{"watch-any-video":{"url":"https://watchanyvideo.com/api/mcp"}}}Free to start
60 minutes of video a month for free. Pro is $8 a month, or $60 a year, for 20 hours a month.
Questions
- Can ChatGPT watch YouTube videos?
- ChatGPT can't open a YouTube link and watch it either. Watch Any Video works in ChatGPT the same way it works in Claude, through developer mode on plans that allow custom connectors.
- Which videos can it watch?
- Public YouTube videos, including Shorts and past live streams, from a few seconds to about three hours. Private and unlisted videos, links to other sites, and your own video files are coming next.
- How are minutes counted?
- By the length of each video you watch. Follow-up questions about a video you've already watched are free. The free plan includes 60 minutes a month; Pro includes 20 hours.
- Do you download or store the video?
- No. Google's Gemini model watches the YouTube link directly, so the video never touches our servers. We keep a written, timestamped breakdown of public videos for 30 days so that follow-up questions are instant.
- Does it work on my phone?
- Yes. A connector you add on claude.ai also works in the Claude apps for iPhone and Android, and in Claude Desktop.
- Can it tell me who someone in a video is?
- No. It only uses names that are said aloud or shown on screen, and it never identifies people from their faces.