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This quickstart guide explains how to set up a simple, Python
command-line application that makes requests to the YouTube Data API. This
quickstart actually explains how to make two API requests:
You will use an API key, which identifies your application, to
retrieve information about the GoogleDevelopers YouTube channel.
You will use an OAuth 2.0 client ID to submit an authorized request
that retrieves information about your own YouTube channel.
Prerequisites
To run this quickstart, you'll need:
Python 2.7 or Python 3.5+
The pip package management tool
The Google APIs Client Library for Python:
pipinstall--upgradegoogle-api-python-client
The google-auth-oauthlib and google-auth-httplib2 libraries for user
authorization.
Create an API key
You will use the API key to make API requests that do
not require user authorization. For example, you do not need user
authorization to retrieve information about a public YouTube channel.
Create an OAuth 2.0 client ID
Set the application type to Other. You need to use OAuth 2.0
credentials for requests that require user authorization. For example,
you need user authorization to retrieve information about the currently
authenticated user's YouTube channel.
Download the JSON file that contains your OAuth 2.0 credentials. The
file has a name like client_secret_CLIENTID.json, where CLIENTID is
the client ID for your project.
Step 2: Set up and run the sample
Use the APIs Explorer widget in the side panel to obtain sample code for
retrieving information about the GoogleDevelopers YouTube channel. This request
uses an API key to identify your application, and it does not require user
authorization or any special permissions from the user running the sample.
Open the documentation for the API's
channels.list method.
On that page, the "Common use cases" section contains a table that explains
several common ways that the method is used. The first listing in the table
is for listing results by channel ID.
Click the code symbol for the first listing to open and populate the
fullscreen APIs Explorer.
The left side of the fullscreen APIs Explorer shows the following:
Below the Request parameters header, there is a list of parameters
that the method supports. The part and id parameter values should
be set. The id parameter value, UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw, is the
ID for the GoogleDevelopers YouTube channel.
Below the parameters, there is a section named Credentials. The
pulldown menu in that section should display the value API key. The
APIs Explorer uses demo credentials by default to make it easier to get
started. But you'll use your own API key to run the sample locally.
The right side of the fullscreen APIs Explorer shows tabs with code samples
in different languages. Select the Python tab.
Copy the code sample and save it in a file named
example.py.
In the sample that you downloaded, find the YOUR_API_KEY string and
replace that with the API key that you created in step 1 of this quickstart.
Run the sample from the command line. In your working directory, run:
python example.py
The sample should execute the request and print the response to STDOUT.
Step 3: Run an authorized request
In this step, you'll modify your code sample so that instead of retrieving
information about the GoogleDevelopers YouTube channel, it retrieves information
about your YouTube channel. This request does require user authorization.
Go back to the documentation for the API's
channels.list method.
In the "Common use cases" section, click the code symbol for the third
listing in the table. That use case is to call the list method for "my
channel."
Again, in the left side of the fullscreen APIs Explorer, you will see a
list of parameters followed by the Credentials section. However, there
are two changes from the example where you retrieved information about the
GoogleDevelopers channel:
In the parameters section, instead of the id parameter value being
set, the mine parameter value should be set to true. This instructs
the API server to retrieve information about the currently authenticated
user's channel.
In the Credentials section, the pulldown menu should select the
option for Google OAuth 2.0.
In addition, if you click the Show scopes link, the
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.readonly scope should be
checked.
As with the previous example, select the Python tab,
copy the code sample, and save it to example.py.
In the code, find the YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET_FILE.json string and replace
it with the location of the client secret file you downloaded in step 1
of this quickstart.
Run the sample from the command line. In your working directory, run:
python example.py
Copy the URL from the console and open it in your browser.
If you are not already logged into your Google account, you will be
prompted to log in. If you are logged into multiple Google accounts, you
will be asked to select one account to use for the authorization.
Click the button to grant your application access to the scopes specified in
your code sample.
Copy the auth code from the browser and paste it into your terminal. You can
then close the browser tab used for the auth flow.
The API response should again be printed to STDOUT.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-20 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThis guide walks through setting up a Python command-line application to interact with the YouTube Data API.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou'll learn how to use an API key to retrieve public information, such as details about the GoogleDevelopers YouTube channel.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe guide also covers using OAuth 2.0 for authorized requests, enabling you to retrieve information about your own YouTube channel.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003ePrerequisites include Python 2.7 or 3.5+, \u003ccode\u003epip\u003c/code\u003e, the Google APIs Client Library for Python, and the \u003ccode\u003egoogle-auth-oauthlib\u003c/code\u003e and \u003ccode\u003egoogle-auth-httplib2\u003c/code\u003e libraries.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe process includes setting up your project in the API Console, creating an API key and OAuth 2.0 credentials, and running sample code to make API requests.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["This guide demonstrates using the YouTube Data API with Python. It covers two core actions: retrieving channel information using an API key and making an authorized request for your own channel data using OAuth 2.0. Key steps include setting up a project in the API Console, enabling the YouTube Data API, creating an API key and OAuth 2.0 credentials. The guide provides instructions for running code samples that retrieve information, replacing placeholder strings with personal credentials, and completing user authorization in the browser.\n"],null,["This quickstart guide explains how to set up a simple, Python\ncommand-line application that makes requests to the YouTube Data API. This\nquickstart actually explains how to make two API requests:\n\n1. You will use an API key, which identifies your application, to retrieve information about the GoogleDevelopers YouTube channel.\n2. You will use an OAuth 2.0 client ID to submit an *authorized* request that retrieves information about your own YouTube channel.\n\n| **Note:** More generally, you can follow the instructions for the first example for any use case that uses an API key or the instructions for the second example for any use case that requires authorization using OAuth 2.0. See the [use cases and code samples tool](/youtube/v3/code_samples/code_snippets) for more examples.\n\nPrerequisites\n\nTo run this quickstart, you'll need:\n\n- Python 2.7 or Python 3.5+\n\n- The `pip` package management tool\n\n- The Google APIs Client Library for Python:\n\n pip install --upgrade google-api-python-client\n\n- The `google-auth-oauthlib` and `google-auth-httplib2` libraries for user\n authorization.\n\n pip install --upgrade google-auth-oauthlib google-auth-httplib2\n\nStep 1: Set up your project and credentials\n\nCreate or select a project in the [API Console](https://console.cloud.google.com/). Complete the following tasks in the API Console for your project:\n\n1. In the [library panel](https://console.developers.google.com/apis/library),\n search for the YouTube Data API v3. Click into the listing for that API and\n make sure the API is enabled for your project.\n\n2. In the [credentials\n panel](https://console.developers.google.com/apis/credentials),\n create two credentials:\n\n 1. **Create an API key**\n You will use the API key to make API requests that do\n not require user authorization. For example, you do not need user\n authorization to retrieve information about a public YouTube channel.\n\n 2. **Create an OAuth 2.0 client ID**\n\n Set the application type to **Other**. You need to use OAuth 2.0\n credentials for requests that require user authorization. For example,\n you need user authorization to retrieve information about the currently\n authenticated user's YouTube channel.\n\n Download the JSON file that contains your OAuth 2.0 credentials. The\n file has a name like `client_secret_CLIENTID.json`, where `CLIENTID` is\n the client ID for your project.\n\nStep 2: Set up and run the sample\n\nUse the APIs Explorer widget in the side panel to obtain sample code for\nretrieving information about the GoogleDevelopers YouTube channel. This request\nuses an API key to identify your application, and it does not require user\nauthorization or any special permissions from the user running the sample.\n\n1. Open the documentation for the API's [channels.list](/youtube/v3/docs/channels/list) method.\n2. On that page, the \"Common use cases\" section contains a table that explains\n several common ways that the method is used. The first listing in the table\n is for listing results by channel ID.\n\n Click the code symbol for the first listing to open and populate the\n fullscreen APIs Explorer.\n\n3. The left side of the fullscreen APIs Explorer shows the following:\n\n 1. Below the **Request parameters** header, there is a list of parameters\n that the method supports. The `part` and `id` parameter values should\n be set. The `id` parameter value, `UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw`, is the\n ID for the GoogleDevelopers YouTube channel.\n\n 2. Below the parameters, there is a section named **Credentials** . The\n pulldown menu in that section should display the value **API key**. The\n APIs Explorer uses demo credentials by default to make it easier to get\n started. But you'll use your own API key to run the sample locally.\n\n4. The right side of the fullscreen APIs Explorer shows tabs with code samples\n in different languages. Select the **Python** tab.\n\n5. Copy the code sample and save it in a file named\n `example.py`.\n\n6. In the sample that you downloaded, find the `YOUR_API_KEY` string and\n replace that with the API key that you created in step 1 of this quickstart.\n\n7. Run the sample from the command line. In your working directory, run:\n\n\n `python example.py`\n8. The sample should execute the request and print the response to `STDOUT`.\n\nStep 3: Run an authorized request\n\nIn this step, you'll modify your code sample so that instead of retrieving\ninformation about the GoogleDevelopers YouTube channel, it retrieves information\nabout *your* YouTube channel. This request does require user authorization.\n\n1. Go back to the documentation for the API's\n [channels.list](/youtube/v3/docs/channels/list) method.\n\n2. In the \"Common use cases\" section, click the code symbol for the third\n listing in the table. That use case is to call the `list` method for \"my\n channel.\"\n\n3. Again, in the left side of the fullscreen APIs Explorer, you will see a\n list of parameters followed by the **Credentials** section. However, there\n are two changes from the example where you retrieved information about the\n GoogleDevelopers channel:\n\n 1. In the parameters section, instead of the `id` parameter value being\n set, the `mine` parameter value should be set to `true`. This instructs\n the API server to retrieve information about the currently authenticated\n user's channel.\n\n 2. In the **Credentials** section, the pulldown menu should select the\n option for **Google OAuth 2.0**.\n\n In addition, if you click the **Show scopes** link, the\n **https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.readonly** scope should be\n checked.\n\n4. As with the previous example, select the **Python** tab,\n copy the code sample, and save it to `example.py`.\n\n\n In the code, find the `YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET_FILE.json` string and replace\n it with the location of the client secret file you downloaded in step 1\n of this quickstart.\n5. Run the sample from the command line. In your working directory, run:\n\n\n `python example.py`\n6. \u003cbr /\u003e\n\n\n Copy the URL from the console and open it in your browser.\n\n If you are not already logged into your Google account, you will be\n prompted to log in. If you are logged into multiple Google accounts, you\n will be asked to select one account to use for the authorization.\n7. Click the button to grant your application access to the scopes specified in\n your code sample.\n\n8. \u003cbr /\u003e\n\n\n Copy the auth code from the browser and paste it into your terminal. You can\n then close the browser tab used for the auth flow.\n\n The API response should again be printed to `STDOUT`.\n\nFurther reading\n\n- [Google Developers Console help documentation](/console/help/new)\n- [Google APIs Client Library for Python documentation](/api-client-library/python)\n- [YouTube Data API PyDoc documentation](https://developers.google.com/resources/api-libraries/documentation/youtube/v3/python/latest/)\n- [YouTube Data API reference documentation](/youtube/v3/docs)"]]