Google Apps Script Quickstart

  • This guide provides a quickstart for creating a Google Apps Script that interacts with the YouTube Data API to add YouTube channel data to a Google Sheet.

  • The script retrieves channel ID, title, and view count and populates a spreadsheet with this information, including the ability to add data for a specified channel or the GoogleDevelopers channel.

  • Users need a Google account, internet access, a web browser, and access to Google Drive to follow the steps and can turn on the YouTube Data API directly within the Apps Script editor.

  • The guide offers a method to run a sample script, which first prompts for authorization, then allows the user to select from a menu to add data either for the GoogleDevelopers channel or for a custom-selected channel.

  • A troubleshooting section is available to help resolve common issues, such as the "[API NAME]" is not defined error, and also provides further reading with documentation on the topic.

Complete the steps described in the rest of this page, and in just a few minutes you'll have a simple Google Apps Script that makes requests to the YouTube Data API.

The sample application demonstrates how to add YouTube channel data to a spreadsheet.

Prerequisites

To run this quickstart, you'll need:

  • Access to the internet and a web browser.
  • A Google account.
  • Access to Google Drive.

Step 1: Create the script

  1. Open Google Drive in your web browser.
  2. Click New > Google Sheets.
  3. In the new spreadsheet, click Extensions > Apps Script.
  4. Replace the contents of the script editor with the following code: 
    // Note: Apps Script automatically requests authorization
// based on the API's used in the code.

function channelsListByUsername(part, params) {
  var response = YouTube.Channels.list(part,
                                       params);
  var channel = response.items[0];
  var dataRow = [channel.id, channel.snippet.title, channel.statistics.viewCount];
  SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().appendRow(dataRow);
}

function getChannel() {
  var ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
  var channelName = ui.prompt("Enter the channel name: ").getResponseText();
  channelsListByUsername('snippet,contentDetails,statistics',
                         {'forUsername': channelName});
}

function getGoogleDevelopersChannel() {
  channelsListByUsername('snippet,contentDetails,statistics',
                         {'forUsername': 'GoogleDevelopers'});
}

function onOpen() {
  var firstCell = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet().getRange(1, 1).getValue();
  if (firstCell != 'ID') {
    var headerRow = ["ID", "Title", "View count"];
    SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().appendRow(headerRow);
  }
  var ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
  ui.createMenu('YouTube Data')
  .addItem('Add channel data', 'getChannel')
  .addSeparator()
  .addItem('Add GoogleDevelopers data', 'getGoogleDevelopersChannel')
  .addToUi();
}

    quickstart.gs
  5. Click Save .
  6. Click Untitled project at the top left, type Quickstart, and click Rename.

Step 2: Turn on the YouTube Data API

  1. At the left, click Editor .
  2. At the left, next to "Services," click Add a service .
  3. Click YouTube Data API, then click Add.

Step 3: Run the sample

  1. Reload your spreadsheet. If it is the first time you are loading the spreadsheet after adding the code, the first row should populate with ID, Title, and View count headers.

  2. In the menu bar, click YouTube Data > Add GoogleDevelopers data to add information about the GoogleDevelopers channel to your spreadsheet. (The YouTube Data menu should appear next to the standard menus – File, Edit, View, etc.)

    The first time you run the sample, it will prompt you to authorize access:

    1. Click Review permissions.
    2. Choose an account.
    3. Click Allow.

  3. In the menu bar, click YouTube Data > Add channel data to add data for a channel of your choice. When prompted, enter the channel name (e.g. "GoogleDevelopers" or "SaturdayNightLive") and click OK. The script retrieves data for that channel and adds it to the spreadsheet.

Further reading

Troubleshooting

ReferenceError: "[API NAME]" is not defined

This error occurs when the API hasn't been toggled on in the Apps Script code editor. Revisit Step 2.b and ensure the corresponding toggle is set to on.