YouTube Channels API

YouTube Channels

Features

• Multi-channel profile collectionCollect public profiles for multiple channel URLs in one request.
• Normalized channel identityReturn channel ID, handle, display name, canonical URL, description, avatar, and banner in a consistent structure.
• Public channel metricsInclude verification status, public subscriber count, published video count, and total channel views.
• Profile context fieldsPreserve public location, profile links, channel creation date, and the submitted channel URL.
• Collection timestampsAdd collected_at to every result so stored records can be compared across collection dates.

Parameters

How to Use

Turn a list of public channel pages into durable identity records. The request is asynchronous, so retain the task ID until every submitted channel has been resolved.

1. Build a deduplicated list of public channel or @handle URLs, not video watch URLs.
2. POST the urls array to /v1/youtube/channels and save the returned task_id.
3. Poll /v1/tasks/{task_id}; queued and running are normal intermediate states.
4. When the task succeeds, index data.results.items by id and continue with next_cursor if has_more is true.

curl -X POST "https://api.socq.ai/v1/youtube/channels" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SOCQ_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"urls":["https://www.youtube.com/@NASA"]}'

# Poll GET /v1/tasks/{task_id}
# Read GET /v1/tasks/{task_id}?limit=50

Best Use Cases

• Creator and brand directories: Enrich a directory with stable channel IDs, profile details, images, links, and public audience metrics.
• Creator qualification: Review channel descriptions, verification, public audience size, publishing activity, and profile links when evaluating potential partners.
• Channel comparison: Compare public subscriber, video, and view counts across creators, brands, publications, or competitors.
• Profile monitoring: Collect the same channels over time to track changes in public profile details and audience statistics.

Pro Tips

• Store id as the primary key. A handle is useful for display and routing, but it can change without creating a new channel.
• Do not convert a hidden subscriber count to 0. Null means the value was not publicly available, which is a different business signal.
• Treat description links as untrusted external URLs. Validate and sanitize them before showing them in an internal tool.
• Compare audience counters only when collected_at is present, and use a consistent collection cadence for trend calculations.
• A successful batch can still contain fewer records than URLs if a channel is deleted, restricted, or no longer public.
• Join Channels with Channel Videos or Shorts by channel ID instead of repeating profile fields on every content row.

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