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YouTube Playlist Items API

Returns the videos of a playlist in playlist order, each with video id, title, thumbnail, the video's own channel, its publish date, and its position and insertion time on post.ext.

GET /v1/youtube/playlist/items

Last updated November 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team

When to use the YouTube Playlist Items API

Use it when you have a playlist id; add include=engagement for counts and durations. Same rows as playlist, which has a second source behind it.

From the API reference

Returns the videos in a YouTube playlist in playlist order (video id, title, thumbnail, the video's own channel as post.author.display_name and post.ext.channel_id, the video's publish date, and its position and playlist-insertion time on post.ext) plus a cursor when more results are available. Pass playlist_id for the first page; forward cursor for subsequent pages. YouTube's playlist listing carries no view, like or comment counts and no duration, so on a plain call those are null. Send include=engagement and every row is joined, in the same call, to the per-video lookup that carries them, and include=channel adds each video's channel subscriber count; each costs 1 credit per distinct video or channel filled, at most 5 per page. /v1/youtube/playlist returns the same rows and additionally has a second source behind it.

Searching 69 platforms in parallel

·TikTok logoTikTok·Instagram logoInstagram·YouTube logoYouTube·Facebook logoFacebook·X logoX·LinkedIn logoLinkedIn·Reddit logoReddit·Threads logoThreads·Pinterest logoPinterest·Twitch logoTwitch·Truth Social logoTruth Social·Snapchat logoSnapchat·Kick logoKick·Bluesky logoBluesky·Kwai logoKwai·Rumble logoRumble·Spotify logoSpotify·Apple Music logoApple Music·TikTok Shop logoTikTok Shop·Amazon Shop logoAmazon Shop·Google Shopping logoGoogle Shopping·Trustpilot logoTrustpilot·TripAdvisor logoTripAdvisor·Yelp logoYelp·Linktree logoLinktree·Komi logoKomi·Pillar logoPillar·lnk.bio logolnk.bio·Facebook Ads logoFacebook Ads·Google Ads logoGoogle Ads·LinkedIn Ads logoLinkedIn Ads·Google Search logoGoogle Search·Google News logoGoogle News·Finance logoFinance·Polymarket logoPolymarket·Tavily logoTavily·Hacker News logoHacker News·GitHub logoGitHub·Perplexity logoPerplexity·Naver logoNaver·Utility logoUtility·Universal Search logoUniversal Search
·TikTok logoTikTok·Instagram logoInstagram·YouTube logoYouTube·Facebook logoFacebook·X logoX·LinkedIn logoLinkedIn·Reddit logoReddit·Threads logoThreads·Pinterest logoPinterest·Twitch logoTwitch·Truth Social logoTruth Social·Snapchat logoSnapchat·Kick logoKick·Bluesky logoBluesky·Kwai logoKwai·Rumble logoRumble·Spotify logoSpotify·Apple Music logoApple Music·TikTok Shop logoTikTok Shop·Amazon Shop logoAmazon Shop·Google Shopping logoGoogle Shopping·Trustpilot logoTrustpilot·TripAdvisor logoTripAdvisor·Yelp logoYelp·Linktree logoLinktree·Komi logoKomi·Pillar logoPillar·lnk.bio logolnk.bio·Facebook Ads logoFacebook Ads·Google Ads logoGoogle Ads·LinkedIn Ads logoLinkedIn Ads·Google Search logoGoogle Search·Google News logoGoogle News·Finance logoFinance·Polymarket logoPolymarket·Tavily logoTavily·Hacker News logoHacker News·GitHub logoGitHub·Perplexity logoPerplexity·Naver logoNaver·Utility logoUtility·Universal Search logoUniversal Search
·TikTok logoTikTok·Instagram logoInstagram·YouTube logoYouTube·Facebook logoFacebook·X logoX·LinkedIn logoLinkedIn·Reddit logoReddit·Threads logoThreads·Pinterest logoPinterest·Twitch logoTwitch·Truth Social logoTruth Social·Snapchat logoSnapchat·Kick logoKick·Bluesky logoBluesky·Kwai logoKwai·Rumble logoRumble·Spotify logoSpotify·Apple Music logoApple Music·TikTok Shop logoTikTok Shop·Amazon Shop logoAmazon Shop·Google Shopping logoGoogle Shopping·Trustpilot logoTrustpilot·TripAdvisor logoTripAdvisor·Yelp logoYelp·Linktree logoLinktree·Komi logoKomi·Pillar logoPillar·lnk.bio logolnk.bio·Facebook Ads logoFacebook Ads·Google Ads logoGoogle Ads·LinkedIn Ads logoLinkedIn Ads·Google Search logoGoogle Search·Google News logoGoogle News·Finance logoFinance·Polymarket logoPolymarket·Tavily logoTavily·Hacker News logoHacker News·GitHub logoGitHub·Perplexity logoPerplexity·Naver logoNaver·Utility logoUtility·Universal Search logoUniversal Search
·TikTok logoTikTok·Instagram logoInstagram·YouTube logoYouTube·Facebook logoFacebook·X logoX·LinkedIn logoLinkedIn·Reddit logoReddit·Threads logoThreads·Pinterest logoPinterest·Twitch logoTwitch·Truth Social logoTruth Social·Snapchat logoSnapchat·Kick logoKick·Bluesky logoBluesky·Kwai logoKwai·Rumble logoRumble·Spotify logoSpotify·Apple Music logoApple Music·TikTok Shop logoTikTok Shop·Amazon Shop logoAmazon Shop·Google Shopping logoGoogle Shopping·Trustpilot logoTrustpilot·TripAdvisor logoTripAdvisor·Yelp logoYelp·Linktree logoLinktree·Komi logoKomi·Pillar logoPillar·lnk.bio logolnk.bio·Facebook Ads logoFacebook Ads·Google Ads logoGoogle Ads·LinkedIn Ads logoLinkedIn Ads·Google Search logoGoogle Search·Google News logoGoogle News·Finance logoFinance·Polymarket logoPolymarket·Tavily logoTavily·Hacker News logoHacker News·GitHub logoGitHub·Perplexity logoPerplexity·Naver logoNaver·Utility logoUtility·Universal Search logoUniversal Search
YouTube API

What can you do with the Playlist Items API?

The Playlist Items endpoint gives you structured YouTube data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.

Example Request

# GET /v1/youtube/playlist/items: Metered: holds 1 credit per page up front and refunds what the call does not use. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
# --max-time 10: this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
# --retry 3: retries timeouts, 429 and 5xx, honoring Retry-After.
# -o response.json keeps only the final attempt's body.
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
# Next page: send pagination.next_cursor back as cursor until pagination.has_more is false.
IDEMPOTENCY_KEY=$(od -An -N16 -tx1 /dev/urandom | tr -d ' \n')
curl -sS --max-time 10 --retry 3 -o response.json \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
  "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/youtube/playlist/items?playlist_id=PLFgquLnL59alCl_2TQvOiD5Vgm1hCaGSI" && cat response.json
# GET /v1/youtube/playlist/items: Metered: holds 1 credit per page up front and refunds what the call does not use. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
import os
import random
import time
import uuid

import requests

API_KEY = os.environ.get("SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY", "YOUR_API_KEY")
TIMEOUT_S = 10  # this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
MAX_RETRIES = 3
URL = "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/youtube/playlist/items"


def backoff(attempt):
    # Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
    return 2 ** attempt * (0.5 + random.random() / 2)


def socialcrawl(params):
    # One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
    idempotency_key = str(uuid.uuid4())
    for attempt in range(MAX_RETRIES + 1):
        try:
            res = requests.get(
                URL,
                params=params,
                headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY, "Idempotency-Key": idempotency_key},
                timeout=TIMEOUT_S,
            )
            body = res.json()
        except (requests.RequestException, ValueError):
            # A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
            if attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
                raise
            time.sleep(backoff(attempt))
            continue
        if body["success"]:
            return body
        error = body["error"]
        # Branch on error["type"], never on the message text.
        if error["type"] == "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND":
            return None  # refunded: nothing to read
        retry_after = res.headers.get("Retry-After")
        # SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
        permanent = error["type"] == "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" and retry_after is None
        if not error.get("retryable") or permanent or attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
            raise RuntimeError(f"{error['type']}: {error['message']} (request_id {body['request_id']})")
        # Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
        time.sleep(float(retry_after) if retry_after else backoff(attempt))


params = {
    "playlist_id": "PLFgquLnL59alCl_2TQvOiD5Vgm1hCaGSI",
}

# Walk the list: send pagination.next_cursor back as cursor until has_more is false.
MAX_PAGES = 10  # each page is one call
items = []
for _ in range(MAX_PAGES):
    body = socialcrawl(params)
    if body is None:
        break
    items.extend(body["data"]["items"])
    page = body.get("pagination") or {}
    if not page.get("has_more") or not page.get("next_cursor"):
        break
    params["cursor"] = page["next_cursor"]
print(f"{len(items)} items")
// GET /v1/youtube/playlist/items: Metered: holds 1 credit per page up front and refunds what the call does not use. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
// Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
const API_KEY = process.env.SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY ?? "YOUR_API_KEY";
const TIMEOUT_MS = 10_000; // this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
const MAX_RETRIES = 3;

type Page = { next_cursor: string | null; has_more: boolean };
type SocialCrawlResponse =
  | { success: true; data: any; pagination?: Page; credits_used: number; request_id: string }
  | { success: false; error: { type: string; message: string; retryable: boolean }; request_id: string };

const sleep = (ms: number) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
// Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
const backoffMs = (attempt: number) => 2 ** attempt * 1000 * (0.5 + Math.random() / 2);

async function socialcrawl(url: URL) {
  // One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
  const idempotencyKey = crypto.randomUUID();
  for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
    let res: Response;
    let body: SocialCrawlResponse;
    try {
      res = await fetch(url, {
        headers: {
          "x-api-key": API_KEY,
          "Idempotency-Key": idempotencyKey,
        },
        signal: AbortSignal.timeout(TIMEOUT_MS),
      });
      body = (await res.json()) as SocialCrawlResponse;
    } catch (error) {
      // A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
      if (attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) throw error;
      await sleep(backoffMs(attempt));
      continue;
    }
    if (body.success) return body;
    // Branch on error.type, never on the message text.
    if (body.error.type === "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND") return null; // refunded: nothing to read
    const retryAfter = res.headers.get("Retry-After");
    // SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
    const permanent = body.error.type === "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" && retryAfter === null;
    if (!body.error.retryable || permanent || attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) {
      throw new Error(`${body.error.type}: ${body.error.message} (request_id ${body.request_id})`);
    }
    // Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
    await sleep(retryAfter ? Number(retryAfter) * 1000 : backoffMs(attempt));
  }
}

const url = new URL("https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/youtube/playlist/items");
url.searchParams.set("playlist_id", "PLFgquLnL59alCl_2TQvOiD5Vgm1hCaGSI");

// Walk the list: send pagination.next_cursor back as cursor until has_more is false.
const MAX_PAGES = 10; // each page is one call
const items: unknown[] = [];
for (let page = 0; page < MAX_PAGES; page++) {
  const body = await socialcrawl(url);
  if (!body) break;
  items.push(...body.data.items);
  const next = body.pagination?.next_cursor;
  if (!body.pagination?.has_more || !next) break;
  url.searchParams.set("cursor", next);
}
console.log(`${items.length} items`);

Parameters

ParameterRequiredDescription
playlist_idYesYouTube playlist id (the value after `list=` in a playlist URL).
cursorNoPagination cursor from a previous response: fetches the next page.
channel_idNoYouTube channel id: pages that channel's uploads instead of a playlist.
includeNoSet to `engagement`, `channel`, or both (`engagement,channel`) to fill more of every row in this one call. `engagement` fills `post.engagement.views`, `.likes` and `.comments`, `post.content.duration_seconds`, `post.ext.channel_id` and `post.author.display_name` where the row lacks them, and replaces a date derived from a label such as "4 months ago" with the exact publish time (removing `post.ext.published_precision`). `channel` puts the channel's subscriber count on `post.ext.author_followers` (YouTube's own figure, which it rounds to three significant figures above 1,000) and fills the channel's `post.author.display_name`, `.avatar_url` and `.username` where missing. It also adds the country the channel's owner set, as an ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code on `post.ext.author_country` (null when the channel sets none). Send both to cover rows that arrive without a channel id: the video join supplies it and the channel join then uses it. Each join costs 1 credit per distinct video or channel it filled, and never more than 5 per 50; ids that could not be filled are refunded. Each join adds 0.2 to 0.7 seconds on a fresh page (one lookup per 50 ids, never more than 8 seconds). Read `data.hydration` for the rows, lookups, credits held and kept, and the time.
sinceNoOnly rows published on or after this date: YYYY-MM-DD (midnight UTC) or an ISO 8601 timestamp. Rows older than it are left off each page. This list is not in date order, so the walk does not stop at the date: keep following `next_cursor`, and each page costs what a page costs even when every row on it is filtered out. A row with no date is kept. `published_after`, `start_date`, `from_date`, `publish_time` (`yesterday`, `this-week`, `this-month`, `last-3-months`, `last-6-months`) and `max_age_days` are accepted and applied as `since`.
untilNoOnly rows published on or before this date: YYYY-MM-DD (that whole UTC day is included) or an ISO 8601 timestamp. Newer rows are left off each page and the walk does not stop, so older pages follow. A row with no date is kept. `published_before`, `end_date` and `to_date` are accepted and applied as `until`.
max_pagesNo1 to 50 (default 1, or 50 when `max_items` or `max_credits` is sent). Walk up to this many pages in one call and return the rows from all of them. Each page walked is billed exactly as one call to this endpoint (a cached page is free) and counts against your rate limit; its charge and any refund are recorded under the page's own request id, listed in `data.walk.request_ids`. The walk stops early at the last page, or when the request's time budget runs low; `data.walk.stopped` says why (`end`, `max_pages`, `max_items`, `max_credits`, `time_budget`, `page_error`) and `pagination.next_cursor` continues from where it stopped.
max_itemsNo1 to 5000. Get more in one call: keep walking pages until the response holds at least this many rows, then stop with `data.walk.stopped: "max_items"`. The last page is returned whole (it was billed), so `data.items` can hold up to one page more than this, and `pagination.next_cursor` resumes right after it without skipping a row. Walks up to 50 pages unless `max_pages` says fewer; each page is billed as one call (a cached page is free). Add `max_credits` to cap the spend. A long walk can stop on the time budget first (`"time_budget"`): send the returned cursor with the same params to continue.
max_creditsNo1 to 100000. The most this call may spend, across every page it walks. A page starts only while the credits already spent plus that page's price (or, when higher, the most any page of this walk has cost) still fit, so the call never goes past it; the walk then stops with `data.walk.stopped: "max_credits"` and the cursor to resume. Sent alone, it walks as far as the budget goes (up to 50 pages). A value below the price of one page is a free 400 whose `error.details.page_credits` names that price. Credits a row join (`include=`) adds are known only once a page has run, so page 1 is checked against its own price.
Example Response

What does the YouTube Playlist Items API return?

Every response follows one unified schema. Here is a real, unmodified response body, so you can see the exact fields you get back before spending a credit.

Example response
{
  "success": true,
  "platform": "youtube",
  "endpoint": "/v1/youtube/playlist/items",
  "data": {
    "items": [
      {
        "post": {
          "id": "fOT0BUpITw8",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOT0BUpITw8",
          "content": {
            "text": "Sample comment text (redacted).",
            "media_urls": null,
            "thumbnail_url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fOT0BUpITw8/hqdefault.jpg",
            "duration_seconds": null
          },
          "author": {
            "username": null,
            "display_name": "user_ddb04b",
            "avatar_url": null,
            "verified": null
          },
          "engagement": {
            "views": null,
            "likes": null,
            "comments": null,
            "shares": null,
            "saves": null
          },
          "flags": {
            "nsfw": null,
            "spoiler": null,
            "pinned": null,
            "deleted": false
          },
          "published_at": "2023-12-08T00:00:10.000Z",
          "ext": {
            "position": 0,
            "playlistId": "PLFgquLnL59alCl_2TQvOiD5Vgm1hCaGSI",
            "videoOwnerChannelId": "UCzrM_068Odho89mTRrrxqbA",
            "videoPublishedAt": "2023-12-08T00:00:10Z",
            "description": "Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted).",
            "playlist_item_id": "UExGZ3F1TG5MNTlhbENsXzJUUXZPaUQ1VmdtMWhDYUdTSS4xMzQwRkNFMjRDQTBENkE5",
            "playlist_owner_channel_id": "UC-9-kyTW8ZkZNDHQJ6FgpwQ",
            "playlist_owner_title": "Music",
            "channel_id": "UCzrM_068Odho89mTRrrxqbA"
          }
        },
        "computed": {
          "engagement_rate": null,
          "language": null,
          "content_category": "other",
          "estimated_reach": null
        }
      },
      {
        "post": {
          "id": "NFvDHYMzj9U",
          "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFvDHYMzj9U",
          "content": {
            "text": "Sample comment text (redacted).",
            "media_urls": null,
            "thumbnail_url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NFvDHYMzj9U/hqdefault.jpg",
            "duration_seconds": null
          },
          "author": {
            "username": null,
            "display_name": "user_fc9a62",
            "avatar_url": null,
            "verified": null
          },
          "engagement": {
            "views": null,
            "likes": null,
            "comments": null,
            "shares": null,
            "saves": null
          },
          "flags": {
            "nsfw": null,
            "spoiler": null,
            "pinned": null,
            "deleted": false
          },
          "published_at": "2023-12-11T00:40:36.000Z",
          "ext": {
            "position": 1,
            "playlistId": "PLFgquLnL59alCl_2TQvOiD5Vgm1hCaGSI",
            "videoOwnerChannelId": "UCu4bj03KW4CwAsYtHSwMEsQ",
            "videoPublishedAt": "2023-12-11T00:40:36Z",
            "description": "Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted). Sample comment text (redacted).",
            "playlist_item_id": "UExGZ3F1TG5MNTlhbENsXzJUUXZPaUQ1VmdtMWhDYUdTSS5EQTk2NDZBREE3RjAxNDRC",
            "playlist_owner_channel_id": "UC-9-kyTW8ZkZNDHQJ6FgpwQ",
            "playlist_owner_title": "Music",
            "channel_id": "UCu4bj03KW4CwAsYtHSwMEsQ"
          }
        },
        "computed": {
          "engagement_rate": null,
          "language": null,
          "content_category": "other",
          "estimated_reach": null
        }
      }
    ],
    "next_cursor": "EAAaHlBUOkNESWlFRGRCUWtJek1UWkdRVEpGUXprM01qSQ",
    "total": 183,
    "dropped": 0
  },
  "credits_used": 1,
  "request_id": "req_example000000",
  "cached": false,
  "pagination": {
    "next_cursor": "sc.eyJ2IjoyLCJjIjoiRUFBYUhsQlVPa05FU1dsRlJHUkNVV3RKZWsxVVdrZFJWRXBHVVhwck0wMXFTUSIsImUiOiJ5b3V0dWJlL3BsYXlsaXN0L2l0ZW1zIiwicCI6ImN1cnNvciJ9",
    "has_more": true,
    "page_size": 50
  },
  "credits_remaining": 9999,
  "source": "captured",
  "captured_at": "2026-10-02T07:30:20.143Z",
  "redacted": true
}

Live sample illustrating the unified response shape. Field values reflect the record you query.

API Details

How does the YouTube Playlist Items API work?

Send a GET request with your API key and get back clean, structured JSON in our unified schema. Supported computed fields are populated when the source provides the required inputs.

Method

GET

Response

JSON

Why SocialCrawl

Why use SocialCrawl for YouTube Playlist Items data?

We handle the complexity of YouTube data extraction so you can focus on building. Unified schema, AI enrichment, and zero platform logic in your code.

Developer First

How do you scrape social media data in seconds?

The fastest social media scraping API for developers. Scrape profiles, posts, comments, and analytics from 69 platforms covering 10B+ monthly active users.

One schema, every platform

Query 69 platforms with identical response structures. Write your integration once.

Computed fields, not just scraped

When an endpoint supports these metrics and the source provides the required inputs, the normalized record includes engagement_rate, estimated_reach, content_category, and language. Ready to use.

See your data before you code

Visual Data Explorer. Paste any URL, get rich result cards, sortable tables, CSV export.

import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tiktok/profile',
    params={'handle': 'charlidamelio'},
    headers={'x-api-key': 'sc_YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json()
[ .JSON ]
{
  "success": true,
  "platform": "tiktok",
  "data": {
    "author": {
      "username": "charlidamelio",
      "followers": 152400000
    },
    "engagement": {
      "likes": 12400000000,
      "engagement_rate": 0.087
    },
    "metadata": {
      "language": "en",
      "content_category": "lifestyle"
    }
  }
}
+ 69 platforms
FAQ

Have a question? We got answers

Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.

Contact us
How do I list the videos in a YouTube playlist?
Send a GET to /v1/youtube/playlist/items with a playlist_id. The response returns the playlist's videos in order with video ID, title, thumbnail, owning channel, and publish time.
Where do I find the playlist ID?
It is the value after list= in a playlist URL. Pass it as playlist_id on the first request to start paging through the playlist.
How do I page through a long playlist?
Each response includes a cursor when more results exist. Forward it as cursor=... on the next request and repeat until the cursor is empty.
Can I page a channel's uploads instead of a playlist?
Yes. Pass channel_id instead of playlist_id and the endpoint pages that channel's uploads feed using the same response shape.
How much does the playlist items endpoint cost?
It costs 1 to 11 credits per request: the page price, plus one credit for each video or channel an include join filled, and new accounts start with 100 free credits to test it.

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🤖 AI agent or LLM? Read this page as markdown