# YouTube Search Hashtag API (https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/youtube/search-hashtag)

> Searches YouTube for videos under a specific hashtag. Returns matching videos with view counts, channel info, and publish dates. DATES: the upstream sends only a date derived from a relative label such as "3 weeks ago" (or none), so by default every such row is joined to the per-video lookup for its exact publish second, at no extra credit (one lookup per page); send `exact_dates=false` to keep the estimate instead, marked by `post.ext.published_precision`. ROWS ARE UNEVEN, from the upstream: a large minority carry only id, URL, title and view count. The same free per-video lookup that fixes the dates gives those rows their channel id (`post.ext.channel_id`) and channel name (`post.author.display_name`), but `post.content.duration_seconds`, `post.content.thumbnail_url`, `post.author.username` and `post.author.avatar_url` stay null on them. With `exact_dates=false` no lookup runs, so the channel stays null too. That is a property of YouTube's hashtag shelf, not of your query. Send `include=engagement` to fill the duration in the same call, and `include=engagement,channel` for the handle and avatar: every row is joined to the per-video lookup, which supplies likes, comments, the duration, the exact publish time and the channel; `include=channel` adds the channel's subscriber count. Each costs 1 credit per distinct video or channel filled, at most 5 per page. TITLES: the free per-video lookup swaps YouTube's English machine-translated listing title for the creator's own; a title not swapped carries `post.ext.title_maybe_translated: true` (`exact_dates=false` skips the lookup).

TL;DR: `GET /v1/youtube/search/hashtag` costs 1 credit for the page. include=engagement and include=channel each add 1 credit per distinct video or channel filled, at most 5 per join on a page of up to 50 rows, so a page with both is at most 11 credits; ids that could not be filled are refunded, and a repeat of the same call within the cache window costs 0. With `max_pages`, `max_items` or `max_credits`, each page walked is billed at this price (a cached page is free), and `max_credits` caps the total. With `seen`, a page's price falls with its share of rows you already received under that id; credits for joined data (`include=`) are never discounted. and returns SocialCrawl's unified JSON schema. Single x-api-key auth, 100 free credits on signup.

## Parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `hashtag` | yes | Hashtag to search for without the # symbol |
| `continuationToken` | no | Continuation token to get more videos. Get 'continuationToken' from previous response. |
| `type` | no | Search for all types of content or only shorts (all \| shorts) |
| `include` | no | Set 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. |
| `exact_dates` | no | Exact publish dates are on by default and free. A row whose date the upstream derived from a relative label such as "4 months ago" (measured up to four months off) is joined to the per-video lookup for its exact publish second, at no extra credit: one lookup per page (two on a page past 50 rows, side by side), adding about 0.2 to 0.7 seconds (never more than 3). The same lookup swaps the listing title, often YouTube's English machine translation, for the creator's own, and `computed.language` follows it; a title not swapped carries `post.ext.title_maybe_translated: true`. Set to `false` to skip the lookup: rows then carry the supplier's date estimate (a day-granular or coarser label truncated to midnight UTC), marked by `post.ext.published_precision` and `post.ext.published_label`, and the listing title, marked by `post.ext.title_maybe_translated`. A row the lookup could not resolve keeps those values and markers, and `_warnings` carries `exact_dates_partial` (some rows) or `exact_dates_unavailable` (none); on `channel/videos`, whose dates are already exact, the warnings are `original_titles_partial` and `original_titles_unavailable`. (true \| false) |
| `since` | no | Only 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`. |
| `until` | no | Only 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`. |
| `min_views` | no | Keep only rows with at least this many views (`post.engagement.views`). A row whose view count is unknown is discarded, so every returned row meets the floor. Filtering runs on our side after each page is fetched, so every page walked is billed as usual; `data.walk.discarded` counts what was removed and why. Each page is its own entry in `GET /v1/credits/transactions`, under the page's request id listed in `data.walk.request_ids`. |
| `max_age_days` | no | Keep only rows published within this many days (`post.published_at`), 1 to 3650. A row with no date is discarded. Filtering runs on our side after each page is fetched, so every page walked is billed as usual; `data.walk.discarded` counts what was removed and why. Each page is its own entry in `GET /v1/credits/transactions`, under the page's request id listed in `data.walk.request_ids`. |
| `sort_rows` | no | `views`: return the kept rows ordered by view count, highest first, across every page walked. Rows without a view count go last. (views) |
| `max_pages` | no | 1 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 (after any filter). 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_items` | no | 1 to 5000. Get more in one call: keep walking pages until the response holds at least this many rows (after any filter), 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_credits` | no | 1 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. |
| `seen` | no | An id you choose (1 to 64 letters, digits, `.`, `_` or `-`). Rows your account already received under the same `seen` id are removed from the page, and the page price falls with the share of repeats: page credits x new rows / rows on the page, rounded up, so a page of nothing but repeats is free. Only the page's own price is discounted: credits for joined data (`include=`) are charged only for rows you have not received, and are never discounted. The memory lasts 24 hours from the last call that used the id, holds row ids only, and is private to your account. Use one id across a set of related searches; `data.walk.repeats` counts what was removed. |

## Code example

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

## FAQ

### How do I search YouTube by hashtag?

Send a GET request to /v1/youtube/search/hashtag with the tag name (without the # symbol) in the hashtag parameter. The response is a list of matching videos with view counts, channel info, and publish dates. Add include=engagement for like and comment counts, the duration and the exact publish time, and include=channel for each channel's subscriber count.

### Can I restrict hashtag results to Shorts only?

Yes. Pass type=shorts to only get Shorts under that hashtag, or type=all (default) for all matching content including long-form videos.

### How is this different from keyword search?

Hashtag search matches videos tagged with a specific #hashtag YouTube tracks. Keyword search matches against titles, descriptions, and other signals. Hashtags are better for campaign tracking or trend monitoring.

### How do I paginate through hashtag results?

Each response returns a continuationToken. Pass it back as continuationToken=... on the next call to load the next page of videos. Keep going until the token is empty.

### Is this good for tracking a marketing hashtag?

Yes. Poll this endpoint on a schedule (daily or hourly) with a hashtag, push the delta into your analytics, and you get real-time reach and view counts for any campaign without manual searching.

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 track a marketing hashtag on YouTube via API
- YouTube hashtag search API with Shorts filter