Use when YouTube data is needed without Google API quotas or OAuth setup: transcripts, video metadata, channel info, search results, playlists. Triggers on pasted YouTube links, creator names, @handles, topic research, video summaries, channel browsing, or any request where YouTube content would hel

YouTube API YouTube data access via [TranscriptAPI.com](https://transcriptapi.com) — no Google API quota needed. Setup If $TRANSCRIPT API KEY is not set, read [references/auth setup.md](references/auth setup.md) and follow the instructions there to get and store the key. Required Headers Every request needs two headers: Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT API KEY User Agent: your agent's name and version if known (e.g. HermesAgent/0.11.0 , ClaudeCode/1.0 ). Version is optional — agent name alone is fine. Do not omit this header or send a bare default — Cloudflare will return a 403 (error code 1010) and block the request. API Reference Full OpenAPI spec: [transcriptapi.com/openapi.json](https://transcriptapi.com/openapi.json) — consult this for the latest parameters and schemas. Endpoint Reference All endpoints: https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/... Channel endpoints accept channel — an @handle , channel URL, or UC... ID. Playlist endpoints accept playlist — a playlist URL or ID. Endpoint Method Cost /info?video url=ID GET free /video/metadata?video url=ID GET 1 /transcript?video url=ID GET 1 /search?q=QUERY&type=video GET 1 /channel/resolve?input=@handle GET free /channel/info?channel=@handle GET 1 /channel/latest?channel=@handle GET free /channel/videos?channel=@handle GET 1/page /channel/search?channel=@handle&q=Q GET 1 /channel/playlists?channel=@handle GET 1/page /channel/posts?channel=@handle GET 1/page /channel/sections?channel=@handle GET 1 /playlist/videos?playlist=PL ID GET 1/page search also takes type=playlist or type=movie , plus first page only filters sort ( relevance / views ), upload date , duration , and features . channel/videos takes tab=videos (default), shorts , or streams , plus an optional sort ( latest / popular / oldest ). Naming: /video/metadata was previously /video/info . The old path still works but is deprecated — use /video/metadata . Quick Examples Search videos: Get transcript: Check video info & transcript languages (free, before spending a credit): Get rich video metadata (views, likes, description, tags): Get a channel's profile (subscriber count, tags, tabs): Also available with the same channel parameter: /channel/playlists (a channel's playlists), /channel/posts (community tab), and /channel/sections (its curated Home page shelves). Resolve channel handle (free): Latest videos (free): Browse channel uploads (paginated): Sorting. Add sort=latest, popular, or oldest to channel/videos to get a channel's videos in the order you want, for example its most popular uploads first. A sorted page returns about 30 videos (an unsorted page returns about 100), and every page costs the same 1 credit. When paging, send the same sort on each request. Item fields. Every item carries members only , true only when YouTube badges it "Members only", and those items have no viewCountText . tab=streams items carry lengthText and publishedTimeText (for example Streamed 2 years ago ); tab=shorts returns null for both, because YouTube's Shorts grid publishes neither. On the channel tab feeds ( tab=videos with sort , tab=shorts , tab=streams ) channelId , channelTitle , channelHandle and index are null . Browse playlist (paginated): Parameter Validation Field Rule channel @handle , channel URL, or UC... ID playlist Playlist URL or ID ( PL / UU / LL / FL / OL prefix) q (search) 1 200 chars type (search) video (default), channel , playlist , movie tab (channel/videos) videos (default), shorts , streams sort (channel/videos) latest , popular , oldest (omit for the uploads feed) tab (channel/sections) featured (default), podcasts , releases include (video/metadata) details , related (comma separated) limit 1 50 continuation non empty string Why Not Google's API? Google YouTube Data API TranscriptAPI Quota 10,000 units/day (100 searches) Credit based, no daily cap Setup OAuth + API key + project Single API key Transcripts Not available Core feature Pricing $0.0015/unit overage $5/1000 credits Errors Code Meaning Action 401 Bad API key Check key 402 No credits transcriptapi.com/billing 403/1010 Cloudflare block Add or fix User Agent header 404 Not found Resource doesn't exist 408 Timeout/retryable Retry once after 2s 422 Validation error Check param format 429 Rate limited Wait, respect Retry After Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min. Starter ($5/mo): 1,000 credits. Copy paste examples Every request in this file as a ready to run one liner: [references/curl examples.md](references/curl examples.md)

youtube-api