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

> Returns public channel information for a YouTube channel including subscriber count, total video count, total view count, channel description, banner URL, and avatar URL. `author.followers` is YouTube's publicly published subscriber figure. Above 1,000 subscribers YouTube rounds that figure to three significant figures, and `author.ext.followers_approximate` is true. When the channel publishes a contact email in its public description, it is returned as `author.ext.public_email`; otherwise that leaf is null.

TL;DR: `GET /v1/youtube/channel` costs 1 credit per call and returns SocialCrawl's unified JSON schema. Single x-api-key auth, 100 free credits on signup.

## Parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `channelId` | no | YouTube channel ID. Can pass a channelId, handle or url |
| `handle` | no | YouTube channel handle without the @ symbol |
| `url` | no | YouTube channel URL. Can pass a channelId, handle or url |
| `hl` | no | Preferred response language for localized text (ISO 639-1, e.g. 'en', 'es', 'fr'). |
| `forUsername` | no | Legacy YouTube username (pre-handle) to look up. |
| `contact_email` | no | Optional. When 1, also returns author.ext.contact_email: when the bio lists two or more email addresses, the one the creator gives for contacting them personally, copied verbatim from the bio. Null when there is one address or none, when every address belongs to a manager, agency or brand, or when the choice was not confident. author.ext.public_email is unchanged. No extra credits. (1) |

## Code example

```bash
curl -G "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/youtube/channel" \
  --data-urlencode "handle=MrBeast" \
  -H "x-api-key: sc_YOUR_API_KEY"
```

## FAQ

### How do I get a YouTube channel's subscriber count via API?

Send a GET request to /v1/youtube/channel with a handle, channelId, or url parameter. The response includes subscriberCount along with totalViews, videoCount, description, banner, and avatar URL.

### Can I look up a YouTube channel by @handle?

Yes. Pass the handle without the @ symbol (e.g. handle=MrBeast) and SocialCrawl resolves it to the channel. You can also pass channelId (UC…) or a full channel url, any of the three works.

### What fields does GET /v1/youtube/channel return?

channelId, handle, title, description, subscriberCount, totalViews, videoCount, country, joinedAt, avatar, banner, and verified status. All fields normalized to the unified Author schema across 69 platforms.

### Does this endpoint count against YouTube Data API quota?

No. SocialCrawl does not use the official YouTube Data API v3, so nothing is deducted from your Google Cloud project quota. Each request costs 1 SocialCrawl credit, that's it.

### How fast is the YouTube Channel API?

Most channel requests return JSON within 1–3 seconds. Responses are cached under the profile category, so a repeat lookup of the same channel comes back faster on the second call.

### Does the YouTube Channel API return the exact subscriber count?

GET /v1/youtube/channel returns author.followers as YouTube's publicly published subscriber figure, an integer rather than a 4.4M-style string. Above 1,000 subscribers YouTube itself rounds that figure to three significant figures, and author.ext.followers_approximate is true. Below 1,000 the count is exact.

See the full YouTube API: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/youtube

## 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:

- How to get YouTube channel subscriber count without Data API v3
- What does SocialCrawl YouTube Channel API return?