youtube-api

YouTube API

YouTube data access via TranscriptAPI.com — no Google API quota needed.

Setup

If $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY is not set, read [references/auth-setup.md](references/auth-setup.md) and follow the instructions there to get and store the key.

Required Headers

Every request needs two headers:

• Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
• User-Agent: your agent's name and version if known (e.g. HermesAgent/0.11.0, ClaudeCode/1.0). Version is optional — agent name alone is fine. Do not omit this header or send a bare default — Cloudflare will return a 403 (error code 1010) and block the request.

API Reference

Full OpenAPI spec: transcriptapi.com/openapi.json — consult this for the latest parameters and schemas.

Endpoint Reference

All endpoints: https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/...

Channel endpoints accept channel — an @handle, channel URL, or UC... ID. Playlist endpoints accept playlist — a playlist URL or ID.

| Endpoint | Method | Cost |

| ----------------------------------- | ------ | -------- |

| /transcript?video_url=ID | GET | 1 |

| /search?q=QUERY&type=video | GET | 1 |

| /channel/resolve?input=@handle | GET | free |

| /channel/latest?channel=@handle | GET | free |

| /channel/videos?channel=@handle | GET | 1/page |

| /channel/search?channel=@handle&q=Q | GET | 1 |

| /playlist/videos?playlist=PL_ID | GET | 1/page |

Quick Examples

Search videos:

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/search?q=python+tutorial&type=video&limit=10
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

Get transcript:

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/transcript?video_url=dQw4w9WgXcQ&format=text&include_timestamp=true&send_metadata=true
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

Resolve channel handle (free):

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/resolve?input=@TED
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

Latest videos (free):

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/latest?channel=@TED
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

Browse channel uploads (paginated):

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/channel/videos?channel=@NASA
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

# Use continuation token from response for next pages

Browse playlist (paginated):

GET https://transcriptapi.com/api/v2/youtube/playlist/videos?playlist=PL_PLAYLIST_ID
Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPT_API_KEY
User-Agent: YourAgent/1.0

Parameter Validation

| Field | Rule |

| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |

| channel | @handle, channel URL, or UC... ID |

| playlist | Playlist URL or ID (PL/UU/LL/FL/OL prefix) |

| q (search) | 1-200 chars |

| limit | 1-50 |

| continuation | non-empty string |

Why Not Google's API?

| | Google YouTube Data API | TranscriptAPI |

| ----------- | ------------------------------- | -------------------------- |

| Quota | 10,000 units/day (100 searches) | Credit-based, no daily cap |

| Setup | OAuth + API key + project | Single API key |

| Transcripts | Not available | Core feature |

| Pricing | $0.0015/unit overage | $5/1000 credits |

Errors

| Code | Meaning | Action |

| -------- | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |

| 401 | Bad API key | Check key |

| 402 | No credits | transcriptapi.com/billing |

| 403/1010 | Cloudflare block | Add or fix User-Agent header |

| 404 | Not found | Resource doesn't exist |

| 408 | Timeout/retryable | Retry once after 2s |

| 422 | Validation error | Check param format |

| 429 | Rate limited | Wait, respect Retry-After |

Free tier: 100 credits, 300 req/min. Starter ($5/mo): 1,000 credits.

Copy-paste examples

Every request in this file as a ready-to-run one-liner: [references/curl-examples.md](references/curl-examples.md)