All endpoints
YouTube Channel Details

YouTube Channel Details API

Get detailed information about a YouTube channel by channel ID, URL, or name/handle. Returns channel name, description, subscriber count, video count, total view count, country, creation date, verification status, external links, profile picture, and banner.

Price: $0.005 per request
Free tier: 50 requests/month
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Endpoint
GET /v1/youtube/channel

Parameters

id
YouTube channel ID (24 characters, starts with UC), e.g. UCXuqSBlHAE6Xw-yeJA0Tunw
url
Channel URL — use instead of id: youtube.com/channel/..., youtube.com/@handle, /c/ or /user/ forms
name
Channel name or @handle — use instead of id (e.g. @mkbhd or Linus Tech Tips)

Response fields

channel
Channel data object
channel_id
YouTube channel ID
channel_name
Channel name
description
Channel description
subscriber_count
Subscriber count (e.g., "16.9M"). null when hidden.
video_count
Number of videos (e.g., "7.8K"). null when unavailable.
view_count
Exact total channel views. null when unavailable.
country
Channel country, or empty string when not shared
creation_date
Channel creation date (YYYY-MM-DD)
verified
Whether the channel is verified
has_business_email
Whether the channel lists a business email
links
External links from the channel's About page (name, url)
profile_pic_url
URL to the highest resolution channel profile picture
banner
URL to the highest resolution channel banner, or empty string when none
url
Link to the channel

Example Request

curl "https://apidirect.io/v1/youtube/channel?id=UCXuqSBlHAE6Xw-yeJA0Tunw" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Example Response

{
  "channel": {
    "channel_id": "UCXuqSBlHAE6Xw-yeJA0Tunw",
    "channel_name": "Linus Tech Tips",
    "description": "Linus Tech Tips is a passionate team of \"professionally curious\" experts in consumer technology and video production who aim to educate and entertain.",
    "subscriber_count": "16.9M",
    "video_count": "7.8K",
    "view_count": 9633982641,
    "country": "Canada",
    "creation_date": "2008-11-25",
    "verified": true,
    "has_business_email": true,
    "links": [
      {
        "name": "lttstore.com",
        "url": "https://lttstore.com"
      },
      {
        "name": "Twitter",
        "url": "https://twitter.com/LinusTech"
      }
    ],
    "profile_pic_url": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/.../photo.jpg",
    "banner": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/.../banner.jpg",
    "url": "https://youtube.com/channel/UCXuqSBlHAE6Xw-yeJA0Tunw"
  }
}

Frequently asked questions

How do I specify which channel to look up?

Provide exactly one of id (the 24-character channel ID starting with UC), url (any common channel URL form, including youtube.com/channel/..., youtube.com/@handle, /c/ and /user/ links), or name (a channel name or @handle, which is resolved to the channel automatically).

What format are the counts in?

subscriber_count and video_count are human-formatted strings matching YouTube's public display (e.g. "16.9M", "7.8K"), the same format as the Search Channels endpoint. view_count is the exact total view count as an integer.

Where do I get a channel ID?

Search channels by keyword with /v1/youtube/channels, or take the channel_id field returned by /v1/youtube/posts for any video.

What happens if the channel doesn't exist?

The endpoint returns a 404 with code channel_not_found. Requests that fail this way are not billed.

How does pricing work?

A flat $0.005 per request after your free tier, regardless of how you identify the channel.

How does pricing work?

You only pay for successful requests. The YouTube Channel Details API costs $0.005 per request. There are no monthly fees or commitments. You get 50 free requests per endpoint every month.

Do I need a credit card to start?

No. You can sign up and use the free tier (50 requests/endpoint/month) without adding a payment method. You only need to add a card when you want to exceed the free tier.

Are there rate limits?

Yes, there's a concurrency limit of 3 simultaneous requests per endpoint per user. If you need more, just get in touch.

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