YouTube Video Files API
Returns the downloadable video streams for a video, each with a direct media URL, mime type, resolution, quality label, frame rate, bitrate, and duration.
GET /v1/youtube/video/filesLast updated November 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
When to use the YouTube Video Files API
Use it when you need the video file itself; video/audio returns audio-only streams and video/thumbnails returns still images.
From the API reference
Returns the downloadable video stream files for a YouTube video: each with a direct media url, mime type, resolution (width/height), quality label, fps, bitrate, and approximate duration. The stream URLs are time-limited: fetch them immediately and do not cache.
Searching 69 platforms in parallel
What can you do with the Video Files API?
The Video Files 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/video/files: 5 credits per call. 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.
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/video/files?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdQw4w9WgXcQ" && cat response.json# GET /v1/youtube/video/files: 5 credits per call. 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/video/files"
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 = {
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
}
body = socialcrawl(params)
if body is not None:
print(body["data"])// GET /v1/youtube/video/files: 5 credits per call. 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/video/files");
url.searchParams.set("url", "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ");
const body = await socialcrawl(url);
if (body) console.log(body.data);Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| url | Yes | Full URL of the YouTube video. |
What does the YouTube Video Files 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/video/files",
"data": {
"items": [
{
"itag": 18,
"url": "https://example.com/redacted",
"mimeType": "video/mp4; codecs=\"avc1.42001E, mp4a.40.2\"",
"bitrate": 444226,
"width": 640,
"height": 360,
"lastModified": "1766960953317159",
"quality": "medium",
"fps": 25,
"qualityLabel": "360p",
"projectionType": "RECTANGULAR",
"audioQuality": "AUDIO_QUALITY_LOW",
"approxDurationMs": "213089",
"audioSampleRate": "44100",
"audioChannels": 2,
"qualityOrdinal": "QUALITY_ORDINAL_360P",
"parsedLastModified": "2025-12-28T22:29:13.317Z",
"lengthSeconds": "213",
"parsedContentLength": "0 Bytes"
},
{
"itag": 313,
"url": "https://example.com/redacted",
"mimeType": "video/webm; codecs=\"vp9\"",
"bitrate": 18076636,
"width": 3840,
"height": 2160,
"initRange": {
"start": "0",
"end": "220"
},
"indexRange": {
"start": "221",
"end": "893"
},
"lastModified": "1766963492248817",
"contentLength": "358608461",
"quality": "hd2160",
"fps": 25,
"qualityLabel": "2160p",
"projectionType": "RECTANGULAR",
"averageBitrate": 13466333,
"colorInfo": {
"primaries": "COLOR_PRIMARIES_BT709",
"transferCharacteristics": "COLOR_TRANSFER_CHARACTERISTICS_BT709",
"matrixCoefficients": "COLOR_MATRIX_COEFFICIENTS_BT709"
},
"approxDurationMs": "213040",
"qualityOrdinal": "QUALITY_ORDINAL_2160P",
"parsedLastModified": "2025-12-28T23:11:32.248Z",
"lengthSeconds": "213",
"parsedContentLength": "342 MiB"
}
],
"dropped": 0
},
"credits_used": 5,
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"request_id": "req_example000000",
"cached": false,
"pagination": {
"next_cursor": null,
"has_more": false,
"page_size": 23
},
"redacted": true
}Live sample illustrating the unified response shape. Field values reflect the record you query.
How does the YouTube Video Files 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
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(){
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"data": {
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"followers": 152400000
},
"engagement": {
"likes": 12400000000,
"engagement_rate": 0.087
},
"metadata": {
"language": "en",
"content_category": "lifestyle"
}
}
}Have a question? We got answers
Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.
Contact usHow do I download a YouTube video via API?
Are the video stream URLs permanent?
What details come back for each video stream?
How do I also get the audio track?
How much does the video files endpoint cost?
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