YouTube APIs and services

YouTube offers a variety of APIs, tools, and services that let you integrate YouTube functionality into your own website, application, or device.

YouTube Players and Widgets

Product Type Description Primary Users
IFrame Player API Reference Public Use an embedded player to play videos directly in your app. Web & App Developers
iOS Helper Library Public Embed a YouTube IFrame Player into an iOS application. iOS Developers
YouTube Player Parameters Public Customize the playback experience with a variety of player settings. Web & App Developers
YouTube Subscribe Button Public Enable users to subscribe to your YouTube channel with one click. Web Developers
YouTube Playables Public Build and integrate interactive HTML5 games that run directly on YouTube across web and mobile. Game Developers

YouTube Data and Reporting APIs

Use the following table to find the YouTube API that best fits your needs:

API Type Description Primary Users Auth
YouTube app features
YouTube Data API Public Add YouTube app features to your application, including the ability to upload videos, create and manage playlists, edit video metadata, and more. Developers API Key / OAuth 2.0
YouTube Live Streaming API Public Schedule live YouTube broadcasts and manage your broadcast video streams. Technically, this API is part of the YouTube Data API. Developers API Key / OAuth 2.0
YouTube Video Third-Party Trainability API Public Check whether creators and rights holders allow a video to be used for training AI models. Developers None
YouTube analytics and reporting
YouTube Analytics API Public Real-time Dashboards. Targeted queries for demographics, traffic sources, and engagement. MCNs & Labels OAuth 2.0
YouTube Reporting API Public Big Data. Bulk downloads of large datasets for financial reporting and performance analysis. Data Analysts OAuth 2.0
YouTube content ownership and management
YouTube Content ID API Restricted to YouTube Partners
(details)		 Rights Management. Bulk asset creation, policy updates, and claims management. Content Owners OAuth 2.0

Devices and Integrations

Integration Type Description Primary Users
Devices and certification
Cobalt Public High-performance, lightweight application container and Starboard porting layer for running the YouTube TV app on living room devices. Device Manufacturers & Porters

Dimensional Data in YouTube APIs

Type Content ID API Data API Analytics API Reporting API
Revenue Data ✘ ✘ ✔ Granular
Asset/Ownership Data ✔ ✘ ✔ ✔
ISRC UPC Data ✔ ✘ ✘ ✔
Playlist Data ✘ Granular ✔ ✔
Demographic Data ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
Policy Data Granular ✘ ✘ ✘
Caption & Thumbnail Data ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘

Dimension Breakdown

This table provides a granular breakdown of the data available in each API.

Type Dimension Content ID API Data API Analytics API Reporting API
DateTime Time Periods ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Entity IDs Video ID ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Channel ID ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Asset ID ✔ ✘ ✘ ✔
ISRC ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔
Custom Partner ID ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔
Content Owner ID ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔
UPC ✔ ✘ ✘ ✔
Playback Slices Traffic Source ✘ ✘ ✔ Granular
Content Type (UGC / PMV) ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔
Platform ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
OS ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
Playlists ✘ Granular ✔ ✔
Playback Location ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
User Slices Age Group ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
Gender ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
Country ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
Region ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘
Metrics Views ✘ ✔ ✔ ✔
Engaged Views ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
Claims ✔ ✘ ✘ Granular
Watch Time ✘ ✘ ✔ Granular
Likes / Dislikes ✘ Granular ✔ ✔
Audience Retention ✘ ✘ ✔ ✘
Cards Shown/Clicked ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
End Screens Shown/Clicked ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
Subscribers ✘ Granular ✔ ✔
Shared ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
Impressions ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
Revenue ✘ ✘ ✔ Granular
Ad-Supported Financial Reports ✘ ✘ ✔ Granular
Subscription Financial Reports ✘ ✘ ✔ Granular
Annotations ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
Shorts Metrics ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
Platform Functions Activities ✘ Granular ✘ ✘
Captions ✘ ✔ ✘ ✔
Channels ✔ Granular ✘ ✔
Policies Granular ✔ ✘ ✘
Comments ✘ Granular ✔ ✔
i18nRegions ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘
i18nLanguages ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘
Members ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘
Playlists ✘ Granular ✔ ✔
Search ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘
Subscriptions ✘ ✔ ✔ ✔
Thumbnails ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘
Videos ✔ Granular ✔ ✔
Ownership Granular ✘ ✘ ✘
References Granular ✘ ✘ ✔
Watermarks ✘ Granular ✘ ✘
MetaData Artist ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔
Description ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘
Published Time ✘ ✔ ✘ ✔
Title ✘ ✔ ✘ ✔
Language ✘ Granular ✔ ✔
Content Rating ✘ Granular ✘ ✘
Content Details ✘ Granular ✘ ✘