Using Wistia's MCP Server

Once Wistia's MCP server is connected, your AI agent can work in your Wistia account in plain language. It can find media, read transcripts, update details, report on performance, and more. If you haven't connected yet, start with Setting Up Wistia's MCP Server.

What to ask for

These prompts are a good place to start:

• "Pull the transcript for [video] and summarize the main points."
• "Find our most recent product demo and share the link."
• "How did [video] perform last month?"
• "Where is [video] embedded?"
• "Write a description for each video in [folder] and add them."

See The Wistia MCP Server for more of what your agent can do.

What's available depends on how you connected

Capabilities vary depending on how you install Wistia's MCP server. Listings in app directories, such as Claude's and ChatGPT's, update on their own schedule, so new tools reach them later. For the most up-to-date features, add Wistia to your AI tool yourself with this server URL:

https://api.wistia.com/mcp/api

We call this a custom MCP connection. Setting Up Wistia's MCP Server has the steps for each tool.

Permissions

Everyone on a Wistia account can use the MCP server, and each person's agent sees only what that person can see in Wistia. If you can't open a folder in the app, your agent can't open it either.

Your agent acts as you, so anything it does counts as you doing it, including deleting media, folders, and captions. Most AI tools let you choose which actions need your approval, and we recommend keeping approval on for anything that creates, changes, or deletes content.

If you connect with an API token instead of signing in, your agent acts as the account rather than as you, with the token's access.

Changes your agent makes while signed in as you appear in Team Activity in your Account Settings, marked "via MCP".

Interactive apps

Wistia supports the MCP Apps extension, which lets tools show interactive UI inside your conversation.

Support depends on your AI tool and how you connected. In Claude, these apps need a custom MCP connection. ChatGPT shows them too, and the MCP Apps client list covers other tools.

Uploading files

If your file is already online, give your agent a public link to it and Wistia imports it (import-media-from-url).

If the file is on your computer, AI tools that show interactive apps can open the uploader in your conversation. Pick the file, and it goes from your browser straight to Wistia.

Coding tools such as Claude Code and Codex can upload the file themselves instead. They ask Wistia for a short-lived upload credential and send the file directly (get-upload-credentials). This needs a custom MCP connection.

Uploads usually need your permission, even in auto-approve modes. For example, Claude Code's auto mode checks before sending data to an outside service.

Narrowing your tools

Every tool takes up room in your agent's context. If you'd like to save context, you can choose only the tools you know you need. To do so, add toolsets to the server URL:

https://api.wistia.com/mcp/api?toolsets=media,analytics

This needs a custom MCP connection.

A few utilities, such as background job status and feedback, stay available in every toolset. A name we don't recognize returns an error that lists the valid ones.

Read-only access

To connect with only the tools that read data, add read_only=true:

https://api.wistia.com/mcp/api?read_only=true

This needs a custom MCP connection.

Tools that create, change, or delete anything are left out, including uploads and sending feedback. Your agent is told the connection is read-only, so it can explain why it can't make a change.

It works alongside toolsets, as in ?toolsets=media,analytics&read_only=true. The setting applies to that one connection and doesn't change what anyone on your account can do. Only true turns it on, and any other value is ignored, so if your agent can still make changes, check the spelling.

If your account uses credits, analytics reads on a read-only connection still use them.

Pinning a version

The default server URL serves our latest tools, and we recommend it for most work. We improve those tools often, so names and behavior can change. If you need your tool list to hold still, you can pin a dated version:

https://api.wistia.com/mcp/api/2026-09

This needs a custom MCP connection.

Pinning is a good fit when:

• You run workflows in a context-restricted or deterministic environment and rely on the tool list staying the same.
• Your AI tool caches the tool list aggressively, so our changes can leave it with outdated definitions.

A pinned version never picks up new tools or improvements, so you'll miss out on anything we add after its date. Older versions also have fewer toolsets, so a name that isn't available returns the same error as a typo.

Dated versions work as they do in the API. A date between releases uses the release before it, and each release is supported for up to a year. One difference: leaving the version out of an API request gets you the newest stable release, while the MCP server URL gets you the latest tools.

Limits and costs

Some work, such as bulk actions and moving media, runs in the background. Your agent gets a job it can check on, and can tell you when it's done.

If your account uses credits, some MCP activity does too, including analytics reads and metadata changes. See Understanding Wistia Credits for details.

Feedback

If something didn't work the way you expected, ask your agent to send feedback to Wistia. It submits your note along with the tool call it's about (submit-mcp-feedback). Not every connection has this tool, and you can always reach us through Wistia Support.

Troubleshooting

• A tool is missing. Check how you connected, as described above. On a custom MCP connection, reconnect or start a new conversation so your AI tool picks up the latest list.
• A transcript comes back as Not Found. The video may still be processing, or it may not have captions in that language yet.
• Webinar analytics aren't available. Aggregate analytics appear once the event has ended.
• Your agent hits a rate limit. Wait a few minutes and try again, or ask your agent to work through smaller batches.