YouTube scraper API
Resolve channels, videos, Shorts, playlists, comments, and transcripts over one REST surface — without juggling Data API quotas for every enrichment job.
12 endpointsWhy teams use Social Fetch for YouTube
YouTube's official Data API is excellent when you already have a Google Cloud project, quota budget, and keys that fit its access model. It is awkward when a product just needs public channel cards, recent uploads, comment samples, or transcripts for creators who never authorized your app.
Social Fetch YouTube routes take handles, channel IDs, or URLs and return the shared Social Fetch envelope. Subscriber counts land in the same metrics object shape as TikTok followers, so cross-platform creator scores do not fork on field names.
Transcript routes sit next to video detail — useful for research agents, sponsorship keyword scans, and caption backfills when auto-captions are the only text available.
What YouTube data can you get?
- Channel lookup by handle, channel ID, or URL.
- Video and Shorts detail with engagement metrics.
- Playlist contents for structured collection pulls.
- Comment threads for moderation and research samples.
- Search across YouTube for discovery jobs.
- Transcripts for spoken-text pipelines.
YouTube API endpoints
Grouped by capability from the live API catalog. Open an endpoint page for parameters and examples — credit notes come from OpenAPI pricing extensions.
Profiles & channels
1Lists & graphs
2Content
3Search & discovery
3Comments
2Transcripts
1How to call the YouTube API
1. Create a key
Sign up, copy `sfk_…`, and keep the 100 free credits for a channel + transcript smoke test.
2. Call YouTube routes
Use `GET /v1/youtube/channel` (or video / transcript paths) with your key. Prefer documented query params over scraping HTML yourself.
3. Pipe into your schema
Map `data` into your creator or content tables. Persist `meta.requestId` on each write for later debugging.
How much does the YouTube API cost?
YouTube operations charge credits per completed lookup. Transcripts and heavier routes may cost more than a simple channel GET — the operation page and `meta.creditsCharged` are authoritative.
Social Fetch vs the official YouTube API
Prefer Google's YouTube Data API when you need official quotas, upload APIs, or partner features. Prefer Social Fetch when you want public enrichment without Google Cloud project setup, or when you already normalize social data through Social Fetch's envelope across networks.
YouTube API FAQ
Is there a YouTube scraper API?
Yes. Social Fetch provides REST routes for public YouTube channel, video, playlist, comment, search, and transcript data.
How is this different from the YouTube Data API?
YouTube Data API is Google's official product with its own auth, quotas, and scopes. Social Fetch is a third-party public-data API with credit metering and a unified response shape across platforms.
Can I fetch YouTube transcripts via API?
Yes. Pass a public video URL to the transcript route. See docs for credit cost and language behavior.
Do you support YouTube Shorts?
Shorts are covered in the YouTube catalog alongside standard videos. Use the paths listed on this hub and in `/docs/api`.
How much does the YouTube API cost on Social Fetch?
Credit packs (plus 100 free on signup). Per-route pricing is in the API reference; check `meta.creditsCharged` after each call.
Can I pull channel videos with pagination?
List routes expose cursors documented on each operation page. Keep calling until the cursor is exhausted or you hit your job's limit.
Does Social Fetch require a Google Cloud project?
No. You only need a Social Fetch API key for these routes.
Is YouTube scraping legal?
We return publicly available data. You must comply with YouTube's terms and applicable law for your application.
Start with YouTube data
Create an account, spend the 100 free credits on live YouTube routes, then buy a pack when the JSON fits your pipeline. Credits do not expire on pay-as-you-go packs.