YouTube Video Details API

Endpoint

GET /v1/youtube/video

Parameters

url *

YouTube video URL (watch?v=, youtu.be/, /shorts/, /embed/ or /live/ forms) or 11-character video ID

Response fields

video

Video data object

video_id

YouTube video ID

url

Link to the video

title

Video title

description

Full video description

author

Channel name

channel_id

YouTube channel ID

date

Date and time the video was published (UTC)

duration

Video length in seconds

views

Number of views

Example Request

curl "https://apidirect.io/v1/youtube/video?url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://apidirect.io/v1/youtube/video",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    params={"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"}
)
print(response.json())

Example Response

{
  "video": {
    "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "url": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video) (4K Remaster)",
    "description": "The official video for “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley...",
    "author": "Rick Astley",
    "channel_id": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
    "date": "2009-10-25 06:57:33",
    "duration": 213,
    "views": 1788679598,
    "category": "Music",
    "type": "NORMAL",
    "is_live": false,
    "keywords": ["rick astley", "Never Gonna Give You Up", "rick roll"],
    "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.webp"
  }
}

Frequently asked questions

How do I specify which video to look up?

Pass url with either a full video URL (watch?v=, youtu.be/, /shorts/, /embed/ and /live/ forms all work) or the bare 11-character video ID.

Does it work for Shorts and live streams?

Yes. Shorts return their details like any other video. For live streams, is_live is true and duration reflects the elapsed stream time so far.

What happens if the video doesn't exist?

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

Where do I get video IDs?

Search videos by keyword with /v1/youtube/posts — each result includes video_id — or take the ID from any YouTube URL.

How does pricing work?

You only pay for successful requests. The YouTube Video 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.