Retrieving all videos from a specific YouTube channel using API

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1

Hey everyone, I’m trying to get a list of all videos from a particular YouTube channel using their API. I’ve managed to fetch channel names, but I’m stuck on how to get the videos.

I’ve tried a few different API calls, but none of them seem to work. For example, I tried using the channel ID in the URL like this:

https://api.youtube.com/v3/search?channelId=CHANNEL_ID_HERE&type=video&key=YOUR_API_KEY

But it’s not giving me the results I need. Does anyone know the correct way to fetch all videos from a specific channel? I’m looking for a solution that works even if the videos are uploaded by different users within the channel.

Any help or pointers would be really appreciated. Thanks!

2

I’ve been down this road before, and I can tell you it can be a bit tricky. The search endpoint you’re using has some limitations, particularly with pagination and the number of results it returns. Here’s what worked for me:

Instead of the search endpoint, try using the playlistItems endpoint. Most YouTube channels have a ‘Uploads’ playlist that contains all their videos. You can get the playlist ID using the channels endpoint first, then use that to fetch the videos.

Here’s the basic flow:
Get the channel’s ‘Uploads’ playlist ID
Use that ID to fetch videos from the playlistItems endpoint

The API calls would look something like this:

https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/channels?part=contentDetails&id=CHANNEL_ID&key=YOUR_API_KEY

This gives you the uploads playlist ID. Then:

https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/playlistItems?part=snippet&playlistId=UPLOADS_PLAYLIST_ID&maxResults=50&key=YOUR_API_KEY

You’ll need to handle pagination to get all videos, but this method should give you what you need. Hope this helps!

3

yo, I’ve dealt with this before. the search endpoint is kinda meh for what u want. try using the playlistItems endpoint instead. most channels have an ‘Uploads’ playlist with all their vids.

first, grab the playlist ID:
https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/channels?part=contentDetails&id=CHANNEL_ID&key=YOUR_API_KEY

then fetch the vids:
https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/playlistItems?part=snippet&playlistId=UPLOADS_PLAYLIST_ID&maxResults=50&key=YOUR_API_KEY

pagination is still a thing, but this should work better. good luck!

4

In my experience, the search endpoint can often fall short when you need to retrieve a complete list of videos from a YouTube channel. An effective workaround is to first identify the ‘Uploads’ playlist via the channels endpoint and then extract all videos using the playlistItems endpoint. This method not only streamlines the retrieval process but also accounts for pagination, ensuring that you capture every video from the channel. Handling pagination appropriately is key, so ensure that your request iterates through each page of results.