YouTube Shorts API

YouTube Shorts

Features

• Multi-channel Shorts collectionCollect public Shorts from multiple channel URLs in one request.
• Per-channel result limitsSet a separate results_limit for each input channel, with a default of 100.
• Normalized Short metadataReturn normalized Short identity, content metadata, thumbnails, duration, publication date, and publishing channel.
• Point-in-time engagement metricsInclude public view, like, and comment counts with collected_at for later comparison.
• Platform-native Shorts scopeUse YouTube's Shorts classification instead of defining short-form content only by duration or orientation.

Parameters

How to Use

Create a clean short-form stream for a known channel set. The task separates platform classification from any custom format rules you may apply later.

1. Prepare public channel URLs; individual Shorts URLs belong in Videos when you need direct lookup.
2. POST urls and results_limit to /v1/youtube/shorts, accounting for the limit on every channel.
3. Poll /v1/tasks/{task_id} until the channel inventory finishes.
4. Index results by Short ID, keep channel and collection context, and paginate while has_more is true.

curl -X POST "https://api.socq.ai/v1/youtube/shorts" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SOCQ_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"urls":["https://www.youtube.com/@NASA"],"results_limit":10}'

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

Best Use Cases

• Short-form activity monitoring: Track public Shorts published by selected creators, brands, publishers, or competitors.
• Shorts performance comparison: Compare publication frequency, duration, views, likes, and comments across selected channels.
• Short-form content catalogs: Build a normalized collection of public Shorts for internal search, review, or reporting.
• Topic and trend analysis: Use titles, descriptions, hashtags, channel data, and public metrics in classification or research workflows.

Pro Tips

• Do not reclassify results using a universal duration threshold. YouTube's public format classification is the contract for this endpoint.
• The limit is per channel and is a ceiling, not a guarantee. Some channels have few or no eligible public Shorts.
• Use the returned ID for deduplication; the same item may appear through different public URL forms elsewhere in your system.
• Keep collected_at with metrics because a Short's visible counters can move rapidly after publication.
• This endpoint does not search by keyword. Start from Search for topic discovery, then route known Short URLs through Videos if needed.
• Collect Channel Videos separately when you need a clean comparison between short-form and regular publishing.
• Join Channels by channel ID for profile and audience fields instead of repeating mutable channel metadata on every item.

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