YouTube Data API - Errors

This document identifies the different types of errors that YouTube Data API operations can return. You can also find a list of errors for any individual method in the reference documentation for that method.

General errors

The following tables identify API error messages that are not specific to a particular API method.

Core API errors

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) forbidden Access forbidden. The request may not be properly authorized.
quotaExceeded (403) quotaExceeded The request cannot be completed because you have exceeded your quota.

Common request errors

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) incompatibleParameters The request specifies two or more parameters that cannot be used in the same request.
badRequest (400) invalidFilters The request specifies an invalid filter parameter.
badRequest (400) invalidPageToken The request specifies an invalid page token.
badRequest (400) missingRequiredParameter The request is missing a required parameter.
badRequest (400) unexpectedParameter The request specifies an unexpected parameter.
forbidden (403) accountDelegationForbidden The authenticated user cannot act on behalf of the specified Google account.
forbidden (403) authenticatedUserAccountClosed The YouTube account of the authenticated user is closed. In case the authenticated user is acting on behalf of another Google account, then this error refers to the latter.
forbidden (403) authenticatedUserAccountSuspended The YouTube account of the authenticated user is suspended. In case the authenticated user is acting on behalf of another Google account, then this error refers to the latter.
forbidden (403) authenticatedUserNotChannel For this request the authenticated user must resolve to a channel, but does not. If your request is authenticated and uses the onBehalfOfContentOwner delegation parameter, then you should also set the onBehalfOfContentOwnerChannel parameter.
forbidden (403) channelClosed The channel identified in the request has been closed.
forbidden (403) channelNotFound The channel identified in the request cannot be found.
forbidden (403) channelSuspended The channel identified in the request has been suspended.
forbidden (403) cmsUserAccountNotFound The CMS user is not allowed to act on behalf of the specified content owner.
forbidden (403) insufficientCapabilities The CMS user has insufficient capabilities.
forbidden (403) insufficientPermissions The OAuth 2.0 token provided for the request specifies scopes that are insufficient for accessing the requested data.
notFound (404) contentOwnerAccountNotFound The specified content owner account was not found.

Request context errors

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) invalidLanguage The hl parameter value does not specify a valid language code.
badRequest (400) invalidMine The request's use of the mine parameter is not supported.
badRequest (400) invalidMine The mine parameter cannot be used in requests where the authenticated user is a YouTube partner. You should either remove the mine parameter, authenticate as a YouTube user by removing the onBehalfOfContentOwner parameter, or act as one of the partner's channels by providing the onBehalfOfContentOwnerChannel parameter if available for the called method.
badRequest (400) invalidPart The request's part parameter specifies some parts that cannot be written at the same time.
badRequest (400) invalidRegionCode The regionCode parameter specifies an invalid region code.
badRequest (400) unexpectedPart The request's part parameter specifies an unexpected value.
badRequest (400) unknownPart The request's part parameter specifies an unknown value.
badRequest (400) unsupportedLanguageCode The hl parameter value does not specify a supported language code.
badRequest (400) unsupportedRegionCode The regionCode parameter specifies an unsupported region code.
unauthorized (401) authorizationRequired The request uses the mine parameter but is not properly authorized.
unauthorized (401) youtubeSignupRequired This error indicates that the user has an unlinked Google Account, which means that the user has a Google Account but does not have a YouTube channel. Such users can access many features that are dependent on user authorization, such as rating videos or adding videos to a watch_later playlist. However, as an example, the user would need a YouTube channel to be able to upload a video. A user who has a Gmail account or an Android device is certain to have a Google Account but may not have already linked that Google Account to a YouTube channel.

This error is commonly seen if you try to use the OAuth 2.0 Service Account flow. YouTube does not support Service Accounts, and if you attempt to authenticate using a Service Account, you will get this error.

The YouTube API blog post introducing Google Account support also discusses the youtubeSignupRequired error in more detail. Although the blog post explains the error for API version 2.1, the meaning of the error is still applicable.

activities

YouTube has deprecated the channel bulletin feature. The activities.insert method is no longer supported.

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to activities resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

activities.list

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) homeParameterDeprecated The user's home page activity data is not available through this API. This error might occur if you set the home parameter to true in an unauthorized request.
forbidden (403) forbidden The request is not properly authorized.
notFound (404) channelNotFound The channel ID identified by the request's channelId parameter cannot be found.
notFound (404) homeChannelNotFound A YouTube home page feed cannot be found for the currently authenticated user.
unauthorized (401) authorizationRequired The request uses the home parameter but is not properly authorized.

captions

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to captions resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

captions.delete

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) forbidden The permissions associated with the request are not sufficient to delete the caption track. The request might not be properly authorized.
notFound (404) captionNotFound The caption track could not be found. Check the value of the request's id parameter to ensure that it is correct.

captions.download

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) forbidden The permissions associated with the request are not sufficient to download the caption track. The request might not be properly authorized, or the video order might not have enabled third-party contributions for this caption.
invalidValue (400) couldNotConvert The caption track data could not be converted to the requested language and/or format. Ensure that the requested tfmt and tlang values are valid, and that the snippet.status of the requested caption track is not failed.
notFound (404) captionNotFound The caption track could not be found. Check the value of the request's id parameter to ensure that it is correct.

captions.insert

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) contentRequired The request does not contain the caption track contents.
conflict (409) captionExists The specified video already has a caption track with the given snippet.language and snippet.name. A video can have multiple tracks for the same language, but each track must have a different name.

There are multiple ways to address the error. You could delete the existing track and then insert a new one or change the name of the new track before inserting it.
forbidden (403) forbidden The permissions associated with the request are not sufficient to upload the caption track. The request might not be properly authorized.
invalidValue (400) invalidMetadata The request contains invalid metadata values, which prevent the track from being created. Confirm that the request specifies valid values for the snippet.language, snippet.name, and snippet.videoId properties. The snippet.isDraft property can also be included, but it is not required.
notFound (404) videoNotFound The video identified by the videoId parameter could not be found.
invalidValue (400) nameTooLong The snippet.name specified in the request is too long. The maximum length supported is 150 characters.

captions.list

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) forbidden One or more caption tracks could not be retrieved because the permissions associated with the request are not sufficient to retrieve the requested resources. The request might not be properly authorized.
notFound (404) captionNotFound One or more of the specified caption tracks could not be found. This error occurs if the videoId parameter identifies an actual video, but the id parameter either identifies caption track IDs that do not exist or track IDs that are associated with other videos. Check the values of the request's id and videoId parameters to ensure that they are correct.
notFound (404) videoNotFound The video identified by the videoId parameter could not be found.

captions.update

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) contentRequired The request did not upload an updated caption file. The actual track contents are required if the sync parameter is set to true.
forbidden (403) forbidden The permissions associated with the request are not sufficient to update the caption track. The request might not be properly authorized.
notFound (404) captionNotFound The specified caption track could not be found. Check the value of the request's id parameter to ensure that it is correct.

channelBanners

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to channelBanners resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

channelBanners.insert

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) bannerAlbumFull Your YouTube Channel Art album has too many images. Please go to http://photos.google.com, navigate to the albums page, and remove some from images from that album.
badRequest (400) mediaBodyRequired The request does not include the image content.

channelSections

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to channelSections resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

channelSections.delete

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) notEditable This channel section cannot be deleted.
forbidden (403) channelSectionForbidden The request is not properly authenticated or not supported for this channel.
invalidValue (400) idInvalid The id property specifies an invalid channel section ID.
invalidValue (400) idRequired The id property must specify a value that identifies the channel section being deleted.
notFound (404) channelNotFound The channel is not found.
notFound (404) channelSectionNotFound The channel section you are trying to update cannot be found.

channelSections.insert

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) defaultLanguageNotSetError The channelSection resource's snippet.defaultLanguage property must be set to successfully insert or update the localizations object for that resource.
badRequest (400) invalidLanguage One of the language keys of the localizations object failed validation. Use the channelSections.list method to retrieve valid values and update them following the guidelines in the a href="/youtube/v3/docs/channelSections#resource">channelSections resource documentation.
badRequest (400) notEditable This channel section cannot be created.
badRequest (400) styleRequired The channelSection resource must specify a value for the snippet.style field.
badRequest (400) targetInvalidCountry One of the values in the targeting.countries list failed validation. Use the channelSections.list method to retrieve valid values and update them following the guidelines in the a href="/youtube/v3/docs/channelSections#resource">channelSections resource documentation.
badRequest (400) targetInvalidLanguage One of the values in the targeting.languages list failed validation. Use the channelSections.list method to retrieve valid values and update them following the guidelines in the a href="/youtube/v3/docs/channelSections#resource">channelSections resource documentation.
badRequest (400) targetInvalidRegion One of the values in the targeting.regions list failed validation. Use the channelSections.list method to retrieve valid values and update them following the guidelines in the a href="/youtube/v3/docs/channelSections#resource">channelSections resource documentation.
badRequest (400) typeRequired The channelSection resource must specify a value for the snippet.type field.
forbidden (403) channelSectionForbidden The request is not properly authenticated or is not supported for this channel.
invalidValue (400) channelNotActive At least one of the specified channels is not active.
invalidValue (400) channelsDuplicated The request failed because it specified duplicate channels.
invalidValue (400) channelsNeeded If the snippet.type property has a value of multipleChannels, then the contentDetails.channels[] property must be specified and must specify at least one channel.
invalidValue (400) channelsNotExpected The resource provided with the request specified a value for the contentDetails.channels[] property, but channels are not expected for this type of channel section.
invalidValue (400) contentDetailsNeeded The resource you are inserting must contain a contentDetails object for this type of channel section.
invalidValue (400) inValidPosition The snippet.position property contains an invalid value.
invalidValue (400) maxChannelSectionExceeded The request cannot be completed because the channel already has the maximum number of channel sections.
invalidValue (400) maxChannelsExceeded The request failed because it attempted to include too many channels in the channel section.
invalidValue (400) maxPlaylistExceeded The request failed because it attempted to include too many playlists in the channel section.
invalidValue (400) onePlaylistNeeded If the snippet.type property has a value of singlePlaylist, then the contentDetails.playlists[] property must specify exactly one playlist.
invalidValue (400) ownChannelInChannels You cannot include your own channel in a channel section that appears on that channel.
invalidValue (400) playlistIsPrivate One or more of the specified playlists are private and, therefore, cannot be included in the channel section.
invalidValue (400) playlistsDuplicated The request failed because it specified duplicate playlists.
invalidValue (400) playlistsNeeded If the snippet.type property has a value of singlePlaylist or multiplePlaylists, then the contentDetails.playlists[] property must be specified.
invalidValue (400) playlistsNotExpected The resource provided with the request specified a value for the contentDetails.playlists[] property, but playlists are not expected for this type of channel section.
invalidValue (400) snippetNeeded You must specify a snippet to create the channel section.
invalidValue (400) titleLengthExceeded The value of the snippet.title property is too long.
invalidValue (400) titleRequired If the snippet.type property has a value of multiplePlaylists or multipleChannels, then you must set the section's title by specifying a value for the snippet.title property.
notFound (404) channelNotFound One or more of the specified channels cannot be found.
notFound (404) playlistNotFound One or more of the specified playlists cannot be found.

channelSections.list

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) channelSectionForbidden The requester is not allowed to access the requested channel sections.
invalidValue (400) idInvalid The request specifies an invalid channel section ID.
invalidValue (400) invalidCriteria The request could not be completed because the filter criteria are invalid.
notFound (404) channelNotFound The channel associated with the request cannot be found.
notFound (404) channelSectionNotFound The channel section associated with the request cannot be found.

channelSections.update

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) defaultLanguageNotSetError The channelSection resource's snippet.defaultLanguage property must be set to successfully insert or update the localizations object for that resource.
badRequest (400) invalidLanguage One of the language keys of the localizations object failed validation. Use the channelSections.list method to retrieve valid values and update them following the guidelines in the a href="/youtube/v3/docs/channelSections#resource">channelSections resource documentation.
badRequest (400) notEditable This channel section cannot be edited.
badRequest (400) styleRequired The channelSection resource must specify a value for the snippet.style field.
badRequest (400) targetInvalidCountry One of the values in the targeting.countries list failed validation. Use the channelSections.list method to retrieve valid values and update them following the guidelines in the a href="/youtube/v3/docs/channelSections#resource">channelSections resource documentation.
badRequest (400) targetInvalidLanguage One of the values in the targeting.languages list failed validation. Use the channelSections.list method to retrieve valid values and update them following the guidelines in the a href="/youtube/v3/docs/channelSections#resource">channelSections resource documentation.
badRequest (400) targetInvalidRegion One of the values in the targeting.regions list failed validation. Use the channelSections.list method to retrieve valid values and update them following the guidelines in the a href="/youtube/v3/docs/channelSections#resource">channelSections resource documentation.
badRequest (400) typeRequired The channelSection resource must specify a value for the snippet.type field.
forbidden (403) channelSectionForbidden The request is not properly authenticated or is not supported for this channel.
invalidValue (400) channelNotActive At least one of the specified channels is not active.
invalidValue (400) channelsDuplicated The request failed because it specified duplicate channels.
invalidValue (400) channelsNeeded If the snippet.type property has a value of multipleChannels, then the contentDetails.channels[] property must be specified and must specify at least one channel.
invalidValue (400) channelsNotExpected The resource provided with the request specified a value for the contentDetails.channels[] property, but channels are not expected for this type of channel section.
invalidValue (400) contentDetailsNeeded The resource you are updating must contain a contentDetails object for this type of channel section.
invalidValue (400) idInvalid The id property specifies an invalid channel section ID.
invalidValue (400) idRequired The id property must specify a value that identifies the channel section being updated.
invalidValue (400) inValidPosition The snippet.position property contains an invalid value.
invalidValue (400) maxChannelsExceeded The request failed because it attempted to include too many channels in the channel section.
invalidValue (400) maxPlaylistExceeded The request failed because it attempted to include too many playlists in the channel section.
invalidValue (400) onePlaylistNeeded If the snippet.type property has a value of singlePlaylist, then the contentDetails.playlists[] property must specify exactly one playlist.
invalidValue (400) ownChannelInChannels You cannot include your own channel in a channel section that appears on that channel.
invalidValue (400) playlistIsPrivate One or more of the specified playlists are private and, therefore, cannot be included in the channel section.
invalidValue (400) playlistsDuplicated The request failed because it specified duplicate playlists.
invalidValue (400) playlistsNeeded If the snippet.type property has a value of singlePlaylist or multiplePlaylists, then the contentDetails.playlists[] property must be specified.
invalidValue (400) playlistsNotExpected The resource provided with the request specified a value for the contentDetails.playlists[] property, but playlists are not expected for this type of channel section.
invalidValue (400) snippetNeeded You must specify a snippet to update the channel section.
invalidValue (400) titleLengthExceeded The value of the snippet.title property is too long.
invalidValue (400) titleRequired If the snippet.type property has a value of multiplePlaylists or multipleChannels, then you must set the section's title by specifying a value for the snippet.title property.
notFound (404) channelNotFound One or more of the specified channels cannot be found.
notFound (404) channelSectionNotFound The channel section you are trying to update cannot be found.
notFound (404) playlistNotFound One or more of the specified playlists cannot be found.

channels

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to channels resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

channels.list

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) invalidCriteria A maximum of one of the following filters may be specified:id, mySubscribers, categoryId, mine, managedByMe, forUsername. In case of content owner authentication via the onBehalfOfContentOwner parameter, only the id or managedByMe may be specified.
forbidden (403) channelForbidden The channel specified by the id parameter does not support the request or the request is not properly authorized.
notFound (404) categoryNotFound The category identified by the categoryId parameter cannot be found. Use the guideCategories.list method to retrieve a list of valid values.
notFound (404) channelNotFound The channel specified in the id parameter cannot be found.

channels.update

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) brandingValidationError One of the values in the brandingSettings object failed validation. Use the channels.list method to retrieve the existing settings for the channel, and update the property values following the guidelines in the channels resource documentation.
badRequest (400) channelTitleUpdateForbidden When updating a channel's brandingSettings part, you must set the brandingSettings.channel.title property's value to the channel's current title or omit the property. The API returns an error if you change the property's value.
badRequest (400) defaultLanguageNotSetError The defaultLanguage must be set to update localizations.
badRequest (400) invalidBrandingOption One of the branding settings that you specified does not exist. Use the channels.list method to retrieve valid values and make sure to update them following the guidelines in the channels resource documentation.
badRequest (400) invalidCustomMessage The request metadata specifies an invalid custom message. Check the value of the invideoPromotion.items[].customMessage property in the resource that the request sent.
badRequest (400) invalidDuration The request metadata specifies an invalid duration in the invideoPromotion part.
badRequest (400) invalidDuration The request metadata specifies an invalid position type for determining how the promoted item is positioned in the video player. Check the value of the invideoPromotion.position.type property in the resource that the request sent.
badRequest (400) invalidRecentlyUploadedBy The request metadata specifies an invalid channel ID. Check the value of the invideoPromotion.items[].id.recentlyUploadedBy property in the resource that the request sent.
badRequest (400) invalidTimingOffset The request metadata specifies an invalid timing offset in the invideoPromotion part.
badRequest (400) invalidTimingOffset The request metadata specifies an invalid timing offset for determining when the promoted item should be displayed in the video player. Check the value of the invideoPromotion.timing.offsetMs property in the resource that the request sent.
badRequest (400) invalidTimingType The request metadata specifies an invalid timing method for determining when the promoted item should be displayed in the video player. Check the value of the invideoPromotion.timing.type property in the resource that the request sent.
badRequest (400) localizationValidationError One of the values in the localizations object failed validation. Use the channels.list method to retrieve valid values and make sure to update them following the guidelines in the channels resource documentation.
badRequest (400) tooManyPromotedItems Number of allowed promoted items exceeded in the invideoPromotion part.
forbidden (403) channelForbidden The channel specified in the id parameter does not support the request or the request is not properly authorized.
forbidden (403) promotedVideoNotAllowed The channel that the API request is attempting to update cannot be found. Check the value of the id property in the channel resource that the request sent to ensure that the channel ID is correct.
forbidden (403) websiteLinkNotAllowed The specified website url is not allowed.
notFound (404) channelNotFound The channel specified by the id parameter cannot be found or does not have branding options.
notFound (404) channelNotFound The channel specified in the id parameter cannot be found.
notFound (404) unknownChannelId The specified channel ID was not found.
notFound (404) unknownChannelId The specified recentlyUploadedBy channel ID was not found.
notFound (404) unknownVideoId The video ID specified as a promoted item cannot be found.
required (400) requiredItemIdType The request metadata must specify an item type in the invideoPromotion part.
required (400) requiredItemId The request metadata must specify an item id the invideoPromotion part.
required (400) requiredTimingOffset The request metadata must specify a default timing offset so that YouTube can determine when to display the promoted item. Set the value of the invideoPromotion.defaultTiming.offsetMs property in the resource that the request sends.
required (400) requiredTimingOffset The request metadata must specify a timing offset so that YouTube can determine when to display the promoted item. Set the value of the invideoPromotion.timing.offsetMs property in the resource that the request sends.
required (400) requiredTimingType The request metadata must specify a timing method so that YouTube can determine when to display the promoted item. Set the value of the invideoPromotion.defaultTiming.type property in the resource that the request sends.
required (400) requiredTimingType The request metadata must specify a timing method so that YouTube can determine when to display the promoted item. Set the value of the invideoPromotion.timing.type property in the resource that the request sends.
required (400) requiredTiming The request metadata must specify a timing for each item in the invideoPromotion part.
required (400) requiredVideoId The request metadata must specify a video ID to identify the promoted item.
required (400) requiredWebsiteUrl The request metadata must specify a website url in the invideoPromotion part. Set the value of the invideoPromotion.items[].id.websiteUrl property in the resource that the request sends.

commentThreads

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to commentThreads resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

commentThreads.list

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) operationNotSupported The ID filter is only compatible with comments based on Google+.
badRequest (400) processingFailure The API server failed to successfully process the request. While this can be a transient error, it usually indicates that the request's input is invalid. Check the structure of the commentThread resource in the request body to ensure that it is valid.
forbidden (403) commentsDisabled The video identified by the videoId parameter has disabled comments.
forbidden (403) forbidden One or more of the requested comment threads cannot be retrieved due to insufficient permissions. The request might not be properly authorized.
notFound (404) channelNotFound The channel identified by either the channelId or the allThreadsRelatedToChannelId parameter could not be found.
notFound (404) commentThreadNotFound One or more of the specified comment threads cannot be found. Check the values of the request's id parameter to ensure that it is correct.
notFound (404) videoNotFound The video identified by the videoId parameter could not be found.

commentThreads.insert

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) channelOrVideoIdMissing Each comment thread must be linked to a channel or video.
  • If the comment applies to a channel, make sure that the resource specified in the request body provides a value for the snippet.channelId property. A comment that applies to a channel appears on the channel's Discussion tab.
  • If the comment applies to a video, make sure the resource specifies values for both the snippet.channelId and snippet.videoId properties. A comment that applies to a video appears on the video's watch page.
badRequest (400) commentTextRequired The comment resource that is being inserted must specify a value for the snippet.topLevelComment.snippet.textOriginal property. Comments cannot be empty.
badRequest (400) commentTextTooLong The comment resource that is being inserted contains too many characters in the snippet.topLevelComment.snippet.textOriginal property.
badRequest (400) invalidCommentThreadMetadata The request metadata is invalid.
badRequest (400) processingFailure The API server failed to successfully process the request. While this can be a transient error, it usually indicates that the request's input is invalid. Check the structure of the commentThread resource in the request body to ensure that it is valid.
forbidden (403) forbidden The comment thread could not be created due to insufficient permissions. The request might not be properly authorized.
forbidden (403) ineligibleAccount The YouTube account used to authorize the API request must be merged with the user's Google account to insert a comment or comment thread.
notFound (404) channelNotFound The specified channel could not be found. Check the value of the snippet.channelId property to ensure it is correct.
notFound (404) videoNotFound The specified video could not be found. Check the value of the snippet.videoId property to ensure it is correct.

comments

The comments.markAsSpam method is no longer supported.

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to comments resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

comments.list

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) operationNotSupported The id filter is only compatible with comments based on Google+.
forbidden (403) forbidden One or more of the requested comments cannot be retrieved due to insufficient permissions. The request might not be properly authorized.
notFound (404) commentNotFound One or more of the specified comments cannot be found. Check the values of the request's id and parentId parameters to ensure that they are correct.

comments.setModerationStatus

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) banWithoutReject The banAuthor parameter can only be used if the moderationStatus parameter value is rejected.
badRequest (400) operationNotSupported Comments not based on Google+ offer only limited moderation functionality.
badRequest (400) processingFailure The API server failed to successfully process the request. While this can be a transient error, it usually indicates that the request's input is invalid.
forbidden (403) forbidden The moderation status of one or more comments cannot be set due to insufficient permissions. The request might not be properly authorized.
notFound (404) commentNotFound One or more of the comments that the request is trying to update cannot be found. Check the values of the request's id parameter to ensure that they are correct.

comments.insert

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) commentTextRequired The comment resource that is being inserted must specify a value for the snippet.textOriginal property. Comments cannot be empty.
badRequest (400) commentTextTooLong The comment resource that is being inserted contains too many characters in the snippet.textOriginal property.
badRequest (400) invalidCommentMetadata The request metadata is invalid.
badRequest (400) operationNotSupported The API user is not able to insert a comment in reply to the top-level comment identified by the snippet.parentId property. In a commentThread resource, the snippet.canReply property indicates whether the current viewer can reply to the thread.
badRequest (400) parentCommentIsPrivate The specified parent comment is private. The API does not support replies to private comments.
badRequest (400) parentIdMissing The comment that is being inserted must be linked to a parent comment. However, the comment resource in the body of the API request did not specify a value for the snippet.parentId property.
badRequest (400) processingFailure The API server failed to successfully process the request. While this can be a transient error, it usually indicates that the request's input is invalid. Check the structure of the comment resource in the request body to ensure that it is valid.
forbidden (403) forbidden The comment cannot be created due to insufficient permissions. The request might not be properly authorized.
forbidden (403) ineligibleAccount The YouTube account used to authorize the API request must be merged with the user's Google account to insert a comment or comment thread.
notFound (404) parentCommentNotFound The specified parent comment could not be found. Check the value of the snippet.parentId property in the request body to ensure that it is correct.

comments.delete

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) processingFailure The API server failed to successfully process the request. While this can be a transient error, it usually indicates that the request's input is invalid.
forbidden (403) forbidden The comment could not be deleted because of insufficient permissions. The request might not be properly authorized.
notFound (404) commentNotFound The specified comment could not be found. Check the value of the request's id parameter to ensure that it is correct.

comments.update

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) commentTextTooLong The comment resource that is being updated contains too many characters in the snippet.textOriginal property.
badRequest (400) invalidCommentMetadata The request metadata is invalid.
badRequest (400) operationNotSupported Only Google+ based comments can be updated.
badRequest (400) processingFailure The API server failed to successfully process the request. While this can be a transient error, it usually indicates that the request's input is invalid. Check the structure of the comment resource in the request body to ensure that it is valid.
forbidden (403) forbidden The comment could not be updated due to insufficient permissions. The request might not be properly authorized.
forbidden (403) ineligibleAccount The YouTube account used to authorize the API request must be merged with the user's Google account to update a comment or comment thread.
notFound (404) commentNotFound The specified comment could not be found. Check the value of the id property in the request body to ensure that it is correct.

members

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to members resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

members.list

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) channelMembershipsNotEnabled The creator channel authorizing the request does not have channel memberships enabled.
badRequest (400) invalidMode The mode parameter value is invalid. This error might occur if the pageToken parameter specifies a token that was retrieved using a different mode than the one specified.
badRequest (400) invalidPageToken The pageToken parameter value is invalid. This error occurs if the page token used in the request has expired.
badRequest (400) invalidHasAccessToLevel The hasAccessToLevel parameter value is invalid. There is no level with the specified id.
badRequest (400) invalidFilterByMemberChannelId The filterByMemberChannelId parameter value is invalid. This error occurs if the filterByMemberChannelId parameter value specifies more than 100 channels.

membershipsLevels

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to members resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

membershipsLevels.list

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) channelMembershipsNotEnabled The creator channel authorizing the request does not have channel memberships enabled.

playlistItems

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to playlistItems resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

playlistItems.delete

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) playlistItemsNotAccessible The request is not properly authorized to delete the specified playlist item.
notFound (404) playlistItemNotFound The playlist item identified with the request's id parameter cannot be found.
invalidValue (400) playlistOperationUnsupported The API does not support the ability to delete videos from the specified playlist. For example, you can't delete a video from your uploaded videos playlist.

playlistItems.insert

Error type Error detail Description
duplicate videoAlreadyInPlaylist The video that you are trying to add to the playlist is already in the playlist.
forbidden (403) playlistContainsMaximumNumberOfVideos The playlist already contains the maximum allowed number of items.
forbidden (403) playlistItemsNotAccessible The request is not properly authorized to insert the specified playlist item.
invalidValue (400) invalidContentDetails The contentDetails property in the request is not valid. A possible reason is that contentDetails.note field is longer than 280 characters.
invalidValue (400) invalidPlaylistItemPosition The request attempts to set the playlist item's position to an invalid or unsupported value. Check the value of the position property in the resource's snippet.
invalidValue (400) invalidResourceType The type specified for the resource ID is not supported for this operation. The resource ID identifies the item being added to the playlist – e.g. youtube#video.
invalidValue (400) manualSortRequired The request attempts to set the playlist item's position, but the playlist does not use manual sorting. (For example, playlist items might be sorted by date or popularity.) You can address the error by removing the snippet.position element from the resource that the request is inserting. If you want the playlist item to have a particular position in the list, you need to first update the playlist's Ordering option to Manual in the playlist's settings. This settings can be adjusted in the YouTube Video Manager.
invalidValue (400) videoAlreadyInAnotherSeriesPlaylist The video that you are trying to add to the playlist is already in another series playlist.
invalidValue (400) playlistOperationUnsupported The API does not support the ability to insert videos into the specified playlist. For example, you can't insert a video into your uploaded videos playlist.
notFound (404) playlistNotFound The playlist identified with the request's playlistId parameter cannot be found.
notFound (404) videoNotFound The video that you are trying to add to the playlist cannot be found. Check the value of the videoId property to ensure that it is correct.
required (400) channelIdRequired The request does not specify a value for the required channelId property.
required (400) playlistIdRequired The request does not specify a value for the required playlistId property.
required (400) resourceIdRequired The request must contain a resource in which the snippet object specifies a resourceId.

playlistItems.list

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) playlistItemsNotAccessible The request is not properly authorized to retrieve the specified playlist.
notFound (404) playlistNotFound The playlist identified with the request's playlistId parameter cannot be found.
notFound (404) videoNotFound The video identified with the request's videoId parameter cannot be found.
required (400) playlistIdRequired The subscribe request does not specify a value for the required playlistId property.
invalidValue (400) playlistOperationUnsupported The API does not support the ability to list videos in the specified playlist. For example, you can't list a video in your watch later playlist.

playlistItems.update

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) playlistItemsNotAccessible The request is not properly authorized to update the specified playlist item.
invalidValue (400) invalidPlaylistItemPosition The request attempts to set the playlist item's position to an invalid or unsupported value. Check the value of the position property in the resource's snippet.
invalidValue (400) invalidResourceType The type specified for the resource ID is not supported for this operation. The resource ID identifies the item being added to the playlist – e.g. youtube#video.
invalidValue (400) invalidSnippet The request does not specify a valid snippet property.
invalidValue (400) manualSortRequired The request attempts to set the playlist item's position, but the playlist does not use manual sorting. (For example, playlist items might be sorted by date or popularity.) You can address the error by removing the snippet.position element from the resource that the request is inserting. If you want the playlist item to have a particular position in the list, you need to first update the playlist's Ordering option to Manual in the playlist's settings. This settings can be adjusted in the YouTube Video Manager.
invalidValue (400) playlistOperationUnsupported The API does not support the ability to update videos in the specified playlist. For example, you can't update a video in your uploaded videos playlist.
notFound (404) playlistItemNotFound The playlist item identified with the request's id property cannot be found.
notFound (404) playlistNotFound The playlist identified with the request's playlistId parameter cannot be found.
required (400) channelIdRequired The request does not specify a value for the required channelId property.
required (400) playlistIdRequired The request does not specify a value for the required playlistId property.
required (400) playlistItemIdRequired The playlist item resource specified in the request must use the id property to identify the playlist item that is being updated.

playlists

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to playlists resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

playlists.delete

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) playlistForbidden This operation is forbidden or the request is not properly authorized.
notFound (404) playlistNotFound The playlist identified with the request's id parameter cannot be found.
invalidValue (400) playlistOperationUnsupported The API does not support the ability to delete the specified playlist. For example, you can't delete your uploaded videos playlist.

playlists.list

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) channelClosed The channel specified in the channelId parameter has been closed.
forbidden (403) channelSuspended The channel specified in the channelId parameter has been suspended.
forbidden (403) playlistForbidden The playlist identified with the request's id parameter does not support the request or the request is not properly authorized.
notFound (404) channelNotFound The channel specified in the channelId parameter cannot be found.
notFound (404) playlistNotFound The playlist identified with the request's id parameter cannot be found.
invalidValue (400) playlistOperationUnsupported The API does not support the ability to list the specified playlist. For example, you can't list your watch later playlist.

playlists.insert

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) defaultLanguageNotSetError The defaultLanguage must be set to update localizations.
badRequest (400) localizationValidationError One of the values in the localizations object failed validation. Use the playlists.list method to retrieve valid values and make sure to update them following the guidelines in the playlists resource documentation.
badRequest (400) maxPlaylistExceeded The playlist cannot be created because the channel already has the maximum number of playlists allowed.
forbidden (403) playlistForbidden This operation is forbidden or the request is not properly authorized.
invalidValue (400) invalidPlaylistSnippet The request provides an invalid playlist snippet.
required (400) playlistTitleRequired The request must specify a playlist title.

playlists.update

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) defaultLanguageNotSetError The defaultLanguage must be set to update localizations.
badRequest (400) localizationValidationError One of the values in the localizations object failed validation. Use the playlists.list method to retrieve valid values and make sure to update them following the guidelines in the playlists resource documentation.
forbidden (403) playlistForbidden This operation is forbidden or the request is not properly authorized.
invalidValue (400) invalidPlaylistSnippet The request provides an invalid playlist snippet.
invalidValue (400) playlistOperationUnsupported The API does not support the ability to update the specified playlist. For example, you can't update the properties of your uploaded videos playlist.
notFound (404) playlistNotFound The playlist identified with the request's id parameter cannot be found.
required (400) playlistTitleRequired The request must specify a playlist title.

subscriptions

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to subscriptions resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

subscriptions.delete

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) subscriptionForbidden The request is not properly authenticated or not supported for this channel.
notFound (404) subscriptionNotFound The subscription that you are trying to delete cannot be found. Check the value of the request's id parameter to ensure that it is correct.

subscriptions.insert

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) subscriptionDuplicate The subscription that you are trying to create already exists.
badRequest (400) subscriptionForbidden You have reached your maximum number of subscriptions.
badRequest (400) subscriptionForbidden Too many recent subscriptions. Please try again in a few hours.
badRequest (400) subscriptionForbidden Subscribing to your own channel is not supported.
forbidden (403) subscriptionForbidden The request is not properly authenticated or not supported for this channel.
notFound (404) publisherNotFound The resource specified by the request's snippet.resourceId property cannot be found.
notFound (404) subscriberNotFound The subscriber identified with the request cannot be found.
required (400) publisherRequired The subscription resource specified in the request must use the snippet.resourceId property to identify the channel that is being subscribed to.

subscriptions.list

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) accountClosed Subscriptions could not be retrieved because the subscriber's account is closed.
forbidden (403) accountSuspended Subscriptions could not be retrieved because the subscriber's account is suspended.
forbidden (403) subscriptionForbidden The requester is not allowed to access the requested subscriptions.
notFound (404) subscriberNotFound The subscriber identified with the request cannot be found.

thumbnails

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to thumbnails resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

thumbnails.set

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) invalidImage The provided image content is invalid.
badRequest (400) mediaBodyRequired The request does not include the image content.
forbidden (403) forbidden The thumbnail can't be set for the specified video. The request might not be properly authorized.
forbidden (403) forbidden The authenticated user doesn't have permissions to upload and set custom video thumbnails.
notFound (404) videoNotFound The video that you are trying to insert a thumbnail image for cannot be found. Check the value of the request's videoId parameter to ensure that it is correct.
tooManyRequests (429) uploadRateLimitExceeded The channel has uploaded too many thumbnails recently. Please try the request again later.

videoAbuseReportReasons

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to videoAbuseReportReasons resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

videoAbuseReportReasons.list

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) forbidden Access forbidden. The request may not be properly authorized.

videoCategories

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to videoCategories resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

videoCategories.list

Error type Error detail Description
notFound (404) videoCategoryNotFound The video category identified by the id parameter cannot be found. Use the videoCategories.list method to retrieve a list of valid values.

videos

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to videos resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

videos.insert

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) defaultLanguageNotSet The request is trying to add localized video details without specifying the default language of the video details.
badRequest (400) invalidCategoryId The snippet.categoryId property specifies an invalid category ID. Use the videoCategories.list method to retrieve supported categories.
badRequest (400) invalidDescription The request metadata specifies an invalid video description.
badRequest (400) invalidFilename The video filename specified in the Slug header is invalid.
badRequest (400) invalidPublishAt The request metadata specifies an invalid scheduled publishing time.
badRequest (400) invalidRecordingDetails The recordingDetails object in the request metadata specifies invalid recording details.
badRequest (400) invalidTags The request metadata specifies invalid video keywords.
badRequest (400) invalidTitle The request metadata specifies an invalid or empty video title.
badRequest (400) invalidVideoGameRating The request metadata specifies an invalid video game rating.
badRequest (400) invalidVideoMetadata The request metadata is invalid. This error occurs if the request updates the snippet part of a video resource but does not set a value for both the snippet.title and snippet.categoryId properties.
badRequest (400) mediaBodyRequired The request does not include the video content.
badRequest (400) uploadLimitExceeded The user has exceeded the number of videos they may upload.
forbidden (403) forbidden
forbidden (403) forbiddenLicenseSetting The request attempts to set an invalid license for the video.
forbidden (403) forbiddenPrivacySetting The request attempts to set an invalid privacy setting for the video.

videos.list

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) videoChartNotFound The requested video chart is not supported or is not available.
forbidden (403) forbidden The request is not properly authorized to access video file or processing information. Note that the fileDetails, processingDetails, and suggestions parts are only available to that video's owner.
forbidden (403) forbidden The request cannot access user rating information. This error may occur because the request is not properly authorized to use the myRating parameter.
notFound (404) videoNotFound The video that you are trying to retrieve cannot be found. Check the value of the request's id parameter to ensure that it is correct.

videos.delete

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) forbidden The video that you are trying to delete cannot be deleted. The request might not be properly authorized.
notFound (404) videoNotFound The video that you are trying to delete cannot be found. Check the value of the request's id parameter to ensure that it is correct.

videos.update

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) defaultLanguageNotSet The API request is trying to add localized video details without specifying the default language of the video details.
badRequest (400) invalidCategoryId The snippet.categoryId property specifies an invalid category ID. Use the videoCategories.list method to retrieve supported categories.
badRequest (400) invalidDefaultBroadcastPrivacySetting The request attempts to set an invalid privacy setting for the default broadcast.
badRequest (400) invalidDescription The request metadata specifies an invalid video description.
badRequest (400) invalidPublishAt The request metadata specifies an invalid scheduled publishing time.
badRequest (400) invalidRecordingDetails The recordingDetails object in the request metadata specifies invalid recording details.
badRequest (400) invalidTags The request metadata specifies invalid video keywords.
badRequest (400) invalidTitle The request metadata specifies an invalid or empty video title.
badRequest (400) invalidVideoMetadata The request metadata is invalid. This error occurs if the request updates the snippet part of a video resource but does not set a value for both the snippet.title and snippet.categoryId properties.
forbidden (403) forbidden Access forbidden. The request may not be properly authorized.
forbidden (403) forbiddenEmbedSetting The request attempts to set an invalid embed setting for the video. Note that some channels may not have permission to offer embedded players for live streams. See the YouTube Help Center for more information.
forbidden (403) forbiddenLicenseSetting The request attempts to set an invalid license for the video.
forbidden (403) forbiddenPrivacySetting The request attempts to set an invalid privacy setting for the video.
notFound (404) videoNotFound The video that you are trying to update cannot be found. Check the value of the id field in the request body to ensure that it is correct.

videos.rate

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) emailNotVerified The user must verify their e-mail address prior to rating.
badRequest (400) invalidRating The request contained an unexpected value for the rating parameter.
badRequest (400) videoPurchaseRequired Rental videos can only be rated by users who rented them.
forbidden (403) forbidden The video that you are trying to rate cannot be rated. The request might not be properly authorized.
forbidden (403) videoRatingDisabled The owner of the video that you are trying to rate has disabled ratings for that video.
notFound (404) videoNotFound The video that you are trying to rate cannot be found. Check the value of the request's id parameter to ensure that it is correct.

videos.reportAbuse

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) invalidAbuseReason The request contained an unexpected value for the reason_id field, or a combination of the reason_id and secondary_reason_id fields.
badRequest (400) rateLimitExceeded The user has sent too many requests in a given timeframe.
forbidden (403) forbidden
notFound (404) videoNotFound The video that you are trying to report abuse for cannot be found.

watermarks

The following tables identify error messages that the API returns in response to calls related to watermarks resources. These methods could also return errors listed in the Common errors section.

watermarks.set

Error type Error detail Description
badRequest (400) imageFormatUnsupported The image you provided is in an unsupported format.
badRequest (400) imageTooTall The image you provided is too tall.
badRequest (400) imageTooWide The image you provided is too wide.
badRequest (400) mediaBodyRequired The request does not include the image content.
forbidden (403) forbidden The watermark can't be set for the specified channel. The request may not be properly authorized, or the channelId parameter is set to an invalid value.

watermarks.unset

Error type Error detail Description
forbidden (403) forbidden The watermark can't be unset for the specified channel. The request may not be properly authorized, or the channelId parameter is set to an invalid value.