# YouTube Data API (https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/youtube)

> YouTube data API: 28 endpoints for channels, videos, Shorts, comments, playlists, community posts, live streams, hashtag search, trending Shorts, video transcripts, and sponsor segments. From 1 credit per request, 100 free credits on signup, no credit card. One x-api-key header with no Google Cloud project, OAuth consent screen, or daily quota units.

TL;DR: SocialCrawl's YouTube API exposes 28 endpoints, 1 to 10 credits per call, all returning one unified JSON schema with AI-enriched fields. Single x-api-key auth, 100 free credits on signup.

## Endpoints

| Endpoint | Method | Path | Credits | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Channel | GET | `/v1/youtube/channel` | 1 | Get YouTube channel info |
| Channel Videos | GET | `/v1/youtube/channel/videos` | 1 | List YouTube channel videos |
| Video | GET | `/v1/youtube/video` | 1 | Get YouTube video details |
| Videos | POST | `/v1/youtube/videos` | 5 | Batch get YouTube video details (up to 1000) |
| Channels | POST | `/v1/youtube/channels` | 5 | Batch get YouTube channel details (up to 1000) |
| Transcripts | POST | `/v1/youtube/transcripts` | 3 | Up to 100 YouTube video ids → one transcript per row, failed ids refunded. |
| Video Sponsors | GET | `/v1/youtube/video/sponsors` | 10 | Detect sponsors of a YouTube video |
| Video Comments | GET | `/v1/youtube/video/comments` | 1 | List YouTube video comments |
| Video Comment Replies | GET | `/v1/youtube/video/comment/replies` | 1 | List YouTube comment replies |
| Search | GET | `/v1/youtube/search` | 1 | Search YouTube |
| Channel Shorts | GET | `/v1/youtube/channel/shorts` | 1 | List YouTube channel shorts |
| Community Post | GET | `/v1/youtube/community-post` | 1 | Get YouTube community post |
| Playlist | GET | `/v1/youtube/playlist` | 1 | Get YouTube playlist |
| Search Hashtag | GET | `/v1/youtube/search/hashtag` | 1 | Search YouTube by hashtag |
| Shorts Trending | GET | `/v1/youtube/shorts/trending` | 5 | Get trending YouTube shorts |
| Video Transcript | GET | `/v1/youtube/video/transcript` | 3 | Get YouTube video transcript |
| Channel Playlists | GET | `/v1/youtube/channel/playlists` | 1 | List a YouTube channel's playlists |
| Channel Lives | GET | `/v1/youtube/channel/lives` | 1 | List a YouTube channel's live streams |
| Channel Community Posts | GET | `/v1/youtube/channel/community-posts` | 1 | List a YouTube channel's community posts |
| Videos Trending | GET | `/v1/youtube/videos/trending` | 1 | Get trending YouTube videos |
| Playlist Items | GET | `/v1/youtube/playlist/items` | 1 | List the videos in a YouTube playlist |
| Search Advanced | GET | `/v1/youtube/search/advanced` | 1 | Advanced YouTube video search |
| Search Suggestions | GET | `/v1/youtube/search/suggestions` | 1 | Get YouTube search suggestions |
| Video Audio | GET | `/v1/youtube/video/audio` | 5 | Get a YouTube video's audio file streams |
| Video Files | GET | `/v1/youtube/video/files` | 5 | Get a YouTube video's video file streams |
| Video Subtitles | GET | `/v1/youtube/video/subtitles` | 1 | Get a YouTube video's subtitle files |
| Video Thumbnails | GET | `/v1/youtube/video/thumbnails` | 1 | Get a YouTube video's thumbnail files |
| Profile Full | GET | `/v1/youtube/profile/full` | 5 | YouTube profile, recent posts, and computed analytics in one call. |

## Code example

```bash
curl "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/youtube/channel" \
  -H "x-api-key: sc_YOUR_API_KEY"
```

Every response shares one JSON envelope: `{ success, platform, endpoint, data, credits_used, credits_remaining }`.

## SocialCrawl vs YouTube Data API v3

| Feature | SocialCrawl | YouTube Data API v3 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Authentication | One x-api-key header | Google Cloud API key, plus OAuth for private data |
| Setup / approval | Sign up and call in under a minute | Google Cloud project setup; quota extensions require an audit |
| Rate limits | Pay per request in credits, with no daily quota | 10,000 quota units per day by default; one search costs 100 units |
| Data coverage | Channels, videos, Shorts, comments, playlists, community posts, trending Shorts, and transcripts | Core resources covered; community posts not served, captions only for videos you own |
| Response schema | Unified JSON envelope shared across 44 platforms | YouTube-specific resource payloads |
| Pricing | From 1 credit per request, 100 free credits to start | Free within the daily quota |
| Maintenance | Schema stays stable when YouTube changes its frontend | Official Google support and stable versioning |

## FAQ

### How do I scrape YouTube data without the official API quota?

Send a GET request to any /v1/youtube/* endpoint with your SocialCrawl API key. No Google Cloud project, no OAuth, no quota units — just pay-as-you-go credits with no rate limits.

### What YouTube data can SocialCrawl return?

28 endpoints: Channel, Channel Videos, Video, Videos, Channels, Transcripts, Video Sponsors, Video Comments, Video Comment Replies, Search, Channel Shorts, Community Post, Playlist, Search Hashtag, Shorts Trending, Video Transcript, Channel Playlists, Channel Lives, Channel Community Posts, Videos Trending, Playlist Items, Search Advanced, Search Suggestions, Video Audio, Video Files, Video Subtitles, Video Thumbnails, and Profile Full. Every response uses a unified schema.

### How does this compare to YouTube Data API v3?

YouTube Data API v3 meters everything in quota units (10,000/day default) and caps certain resources behind OAuth. SocialCrawl charges 1–10 credits per request, has no per-day quota, and exposes Shorts and transcripts the official API does not serve.

### How much does the YouTube API cost on SocialCrawl?

Most endpoints cost 1 credit (channel, video, search, comments, playlist). Trending Shorts costs 5 credits, and video transcripts cost 10 credits. Every new account gets 100 credits free — no card required.

### Is it legal to scrape YouTube with SocialCrawl?

SocialCrawl only reads public YouTube pages — the same data visible to anyone on the site. Your own use still has to respect YouTube's terms of service and any applicable data-protection law in your region. SocialCrawl operates under a documented GDPR legitimate-interest framework: public, logged-out data only, no credential use, short-lived caches (2 to 30 minutes) with no persistent store, and a public opt-out channel for anyone whose public info appears in responses. Full details: socialcrawl.dev/legal/public-data-notice.

### Can I use SocialCrawl's YouTube API in production?

Yes. The endpoints are built for production workloads with consistent response times, upstream retry handling, and a unified schema that does not break when YouTube changes its frontend.

### What is the best YouTube scraper API?

SocialCrawl offers 28 YouTube endpoints, including channels, videos, Shorts, comments, playlists, community posts, trending Shorts, transcripts, and more — for 1 to 10 credits per request, with 100 free credits on signup and no daily quota. For managing channels you own or uploading videos, YouTube Data API v3 is still the right choice.

### Is there a YouTube data API without quota limits?

Yes, SocialCrawl is a YouTube data API with no daily quota, returning channels, videos, Shorts, comments, playlists, community posts, trending Shorts, and transcripts as unified JSON. The official YouTube Data API v3 is the right tool for managing channels you own and uploading videos, but it meters everything in quota units and gates some resources behind OAuth. SocialCrawl charges from 1 credit per request with 100 free credits on signup, and it exposes Shorts and transcripts the official API does not serve.

## Pricing

- Standard endpoints: 1 credit per call
- Advanced endpoints: 5 credits per call
- Premium endpoints: 10 credits per call
- 100 free credits on signup, no credit card required. Cached responses cost 0 credits. Credit packs never expire.
- Full pricing: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/pricing

## Explore with AI

Questions this API answers, phrased for an AI assistant:

- What is the best YouTube API alternative without quota limits?
- How to scrape YouTube channels, videos, and transcripts with one API
- Compare SocialCrawl vs YouTube Data API v3 for production scraping