Tubask

Quota & billing

Two separate limits matter: Google's YouTube Data API units (your key) and Unroll account usage (trial and plan).

YouTube Data API units (Google)

Google's free tier provides 10,000 units per day per project. Quota resets at midnight Pacific Time. Only actions that hit the Data API consume units.

ActionTypical costUses units?
Search (youtube_query research)~100 unitsYes
Channel uploads list~1–5 unitsYes
Video / channel metadata~1 unitYes
Comments list~1 unitYes
Transcript (get_transcript)0 unitsNo
Hundreds of searches fit in 10k units/day for typical personal use. Burn quota fast by chaining many narrow searches — prefer goal=research and goal=advice over repeated calls.

Unroll account usage

New accounts include a hosted trial of 20 MCP tool calls before you need your own API key or a paid plan. Track usage on the Usage dashboard.

After trial: add your Google API key (free tier) or upgrade on Billing. Your key's Google quota is separate from Unroll plan limits.

Cost-saving patterns

  • Creator advice — one youtube_query(goal=advice) instead of N summarize_video calls
  • Quotes — get_transcript with search_in_transcript (no API units)
  • Research — one broad goal=research with max_results=10 before summarizing picks
  • Pagination — use page_token instead of re-searching
  • Shorts — keep exclude_shorts=true for channel scans

When you hit Google quota

The server returns a clear error with next_steps. Typical fixes:

  • Wait until Pacific midnight for reset
  • Use transcript tools for caption work (no Data API cost)
  • Request a quota increase in Google Cloud Console (production apps)
  • Create a second project/key only if policy allows — don't rotate to evade limits abusively