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YouTube API

YouTube Scraper API for Videos, Transcripts and Comments

Search videos, follow channel uploads, and read transcripts and comments. Choose player details or expanded video context for your tools.

Try a request API reference

WHAT YOU CAN BUILD / 17 ENDPOINTS

Put YouTube data to work.

Find your use case, then explore the request and response.

Get a YouTube channel

GET/v1/youtube/channel

Build a creator comparison sheet with channel identity, subscriber and view counts, links, keywords and branding. Look up a channel by ID, handle, URL or legacy username.

List a channel's videos

GET/v1/youtube/channel-videos

Build an upload research feed with titles, views, thumbnails, publication times and durations. Sort by latest or popular, page through results and request extra video details.

List a channel's Shorts

GET/v1/youtube/channel/shorts

Build a short-form content research board from channel Shorts, views, descriptions, engagement, publication dates and durations. Choose newest or popular sorting.

List a channel's playlists

GET/v1/youtube/channel/playlists

Build a channel collection browser with playlist titles, thumbnails, video counts and links. Follow the continuation token to retrieve another page.

List a channel's live streams

GET/v1/youtube/channel/lives

Build a streaming research calendar from upcoming, live and past streams, with titles, thumbnails, view or waiting counts and displayed times.

List a channel's community posts

GET/v1/youtube/channel/community-posts

Build a community content feed from a channel’s post text, attached images, likes, publication times and linked videos.

Get a video or Short

GET/v1/youtube/video

Build a video research brief with title, description, engagement, uploader, chapters, recommendations, caption tracks and paid-promotion information.

Get a video transcript

GET/v1/youtube/video/transcript

Build a searchable video knowledge base with plain-text captions and timestamped transcript segments that link readers back to the video. Select a caption language.

Infer a video's sponsors

GET/v1/youtube/video/sponsors

Build a sponsorship research shortlist from paid-promotion disclosures and inferred sponsor mentions, with supporting evidence and confidence for each suggestion.

Search YouTube

GET/v1/youtube/search

Build a content idea finder across videos, channels, playlists, Shorts and live streams. Refine by upload date, sort, type, duration and region.

Show more endpoints (7)Show fewer endpoints

Get search suggestions

GET/v1/youtube/search/typeahead

Build a search autocomplete or topic discovery tool with suggested query text and matching channels, including channel IDs, handles and thumbnails.

Search by hashtag

GET/v1/youtube/search/hashtag

Build a hashtag research feed from matching videos and Shorts, with continuation tokens and a Shorts-only filter.

List a video's comments

GET/v1/youtube/video/comments

Build a viewer-question research sheet with comment text, author details, likes and reply counts. Sort by top or newest and use reply tokens to explore conversations.

List a comment's replies

GET/v1/youtube/video/comment/replies

Build a comment conversation viewer from reply text, authors, publication times and likes, using the reply token returned by the comments endpoint.

List trending Shorts

GET/v1/youtube/shorts/trending

Build a short-form inspiration feed with trending Shorts, their channels, descriptions, engagement, publication dates and durations.

Get a playlist

GET/v1/youtube/playlist

Build a course or reference-video browser with playlist title, owner and video count, plus video titles, URLs, thumbnails, durations and channels.

Get a community post

GET/v1/youtube/community-post

Build a community-post preview with its text, channel, images, likes, publication time and attached video from a post URL.

HOW IT WORKS

From API key to YouTube data in four steps.

Run a sample below without a key.

  1. 01

    Get your API key

    Create a free account and copy your key. You start with 100 free credits; no card needed.

  2. 02

    Choose an endpoint

    Pick one of the 17 YouTube endpoints and add its input, such as a search query.

  3. 03

    Send one request

    Call it with your key in the x-api-key header. ScrapeAtlas reads the public YouTube data and retries when a read fails.

  4. 04

    Use the JSON

    Get structured JSON with a coverage status. Only successful requests use a credit.

TRY IT HERE / LIVE SAMPLE

Try a sample request.

Try the YouTube API right here. This sample uses the Search YouTube endpoint and returns live JSON. No API key needed.

  1. 01
    Choose a sample value

    Start with google developers, or change the query field to your own value.

  2. 02
    Select Run sample

    Execute the sample code and see the response in the JSON response tab.

  3. 03
    Build on the result

    Open the full playground to try more parameters and copy code for your app.

Open this endpoint in the playground Request and response fields
LIVE SAMPLE / Search YouTubeNo API key needed

Preparing the sample…

// Run this sample here — no API key needed.
const value = "google developers";
const url = new URL("/website/demo/youtube",
  "https://api.scrapeatlas.com");
url.searchParams.set("value", value);

const response = await fetch(url);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);
GET/v1/youtube/search

A live example from our playground. Change the value above, then select Run sample.

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YouTube API

Frequently Asked Questions

Explore the API reference

YouTube API and scraping

What data can I retrieve with the YouTube API?

Retrieve channel profiles, videos, Shorts, playlists, live streams, community posts, captions and comments. Search by topic or look up a particular channel or video to return structured JSON for a content research tool.

How do I scrape YouTube channel videos and Shorts?

Use Channel Videos for a channel’s uploads and Channel Shorts for its short-form videos. Choose newest or popular sorting and pass continuation tokens to retrieve further pages. Video results include titles, views, publication information and media metadata.

Can I retrieve a YouTube channel profile for creator research?

Use Channel Details to retrieve a channel’s identity and published profile data. Combine that record with Channel Videos or Channel Shorts to keep creator information alongside the content in your research application.

YouTube: transcripts, comments and video research

Can I use the YouTube transcript API to get timestamped captions?

Yes. Supply a video or Short to the transcript endpoint and select a caption language. The response includes plain text, timed segments and caption-track information, so your application can index the text and link readers to the corresponding point in the video.

How do I scrape YouTube comments and comment replies?

Request Video Comments to retrieve comment text, authors, likes and reply counts. Choose top or newest ordering. Use a comment’s repliesContinuationToken with Comment Replies to read the conversation, and continue with the returned tokens for additional pages.

How do I retrieve YouTube playlist details and video entries?

Use Playlist with a playlist ID or URL to retrieve the title, owner, video count and video entries in playlist order. Each entry includes its title, thumbnail, URL, duration and channel, giving your application the data for a watchlist or research collection.

API access and integration

How do I get a ScrapeAtlas API key and authenticate requests?

Create a ScrapeAtlas account and generate an API key in the dashboard. Send the key in the x-api-key request header when calling https://api.scrapeatlas.com. The API playground lets you enter an endpoint’s parameters and inspect its JSON response.

Can I call the scraping API from Python, JavaScript or the CLI?

Yes. Send authenticated HTTP requests from Python, JavaScript or another language that supports HTTP. The endpoint reference includes request examples and response fields. Use the ScrapeAtlas CLI for terminal workflows and pass the returned pagination values when requesting additional result pages.

Can I connect an AI assistant to the ScrapeAtlas MCP server?

Yes. Connect an MCP-compatible assistant to the ScrapeAtlas MCP server to discover and call the public platform tools with your ScrapeAtlas account. The agent reference also gives coding assistants a readable guide to the endpoints and their request schemas.

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