YouTube API

YouTube data on demand: video/channel/playlist search with real filters (upload date, duration, sort order), channel and video lookups, videos, shorts, live streams, playlist contents, comments, hashtag feeds, and trending — one plain HTTP GET per call, paid as you go. No developer console project, no OAuth consent screen, no daily quota.

Base URL:

https://youtube.fetcher.sh

Authentication

Two ways to pay, same data — full mechanics in the

fetcher

skill:

bash

# 1. Prepaid credits (recommended — get a key at https://fetcher.sh/topup
#    or via POST /api/credits/topup, see the fetcher skill)
export FETCHER_API_KEY="bby_live_xxxxxxxxxxxx"
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/search/video?query=hello"

# 2. x402 pay-per-call — omit the header; a GET with no payment returns 402
#    with machine-readable payment requirements (USDC on Base, Polygon,
#    Arbitrum, Monad, or Solana). @x402/fetch signs and retries automatically.

Every response is

{ "status": number, "message": string, "data": ... }

; the HTTP status mirrors

status

Endpoints (15 — all GET, $0.005/call)

Endpoint	What it returns
`/api/search/video`	Videos matching a query; upload date, duration, sort filters
`/api/search/channel`	Channels matching a query
`/api/search/playlist`	Playlists matching a query
`/api/channel/{id}`	Channel details by ID
`/api/channel/handle/{handle}`	Channel details by @handle
`/api/channel/path`	Channel details by custom URL path
`/api/channel/{id}/videos`	A channel's videos
`/api/channel/{id}/shorts`	A channel's shorts
`/api/channel/{id}/live-streams`	A channel's live streams
`/api/video/{id}`	Video (or short) details
`/api/video/{id}/comments`	A video's comments
`/api/shorts/{id}`	Short details
`/api/playlist/{id}/videos`	A playlist's videos
`/api/hashtag/{tag}`	Videos under a hashtag
`/api/trending`	Trending videos, optionally by region

{id}

{handle}

{tag}

are path parameters. Optional

cursor

lang

geo

refine results;

query

(search) and

channelPath

(path lookup) are required where they appear.

Scenarios

Uploaded this week:

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "query=ai agents" -G \
  --data-urlencode "uploadDate=week" \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/search/video"

Most viewed, long-form only:

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "query=x402 protocol" -G \
  --data-urlencode "sortBy=view_count" \
  --data-urlencode "duration=long" \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/search/video"

Newest first:

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "query=stablecoin payments" -G \
  --data-urlencode "sortBy=upload_date" \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/search/video"

Other

uploadDate

values:

hour

today

month

year

. Other

duration

values:

short

medium

. Other

sortBy

values:

relevance

rating

Search channels or playlists:

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "query=lofi hip hop" -G \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/search/channel"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "query=lofi hip hop" -G \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/search/playlist"

A channel by ID, handle, or custom path — then its videos, shorts, and live streams:

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/channel/handle/mkbhd"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" -G \
  --data-urlencode "channelPath=@mkbhd" \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/channel/path"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/channel/UCBJycsmduvYEL83R_U4JriQ/videos"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/channel/UCBJycsmduvYEL83R_U4JriQ/shorts"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/channel/UCBJycsmduvYEL83R_U4JriQ/live-streams"

A video's details and comments, or a short's details:

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/video/dQw4w9WgXcQ"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "sort=top" -G \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/video/dQw4w9WgXcQ/comments"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/shorts/abc123XYZ90"

A playlist's videos, videos under a hashtag, and trending (by region):

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/playlist/PLFgquLnL59alCl_2TQvOiD5Vgm1hCaGSI/videos"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/hashtag/shorts"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "geo=US" -G \
  "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/api/trending"

MCP

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube": {
      "url": "https://youtube.fetcher.sh/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer bby_live_..." }
    }
  }
}

Free:

search_endpoints

describe_endpoint

check_balance

. Paid:

fetch_data

(any endpoint above),

topup_credits

, plus the named shortcut

youtube_search_video

. Drop the

headers

block to pay per call with x402 instead — see the

fetcher

skill for the full flow.

Errors

```
400
```
— missing/invalid parameter (message names it)
```
401
```
— unknown or rotated key
```
402
```
— payment required (x402 challenge) or
```
topup_required
```
(credits exhausted)
```
404
```
— not a priced path
No rate limits; no refunds on upstream failures (settlement precedes delivery)

Reference

Full agent setup: https://youtube.fetcher.sh/skill.md
OpenAPI 3.1 contract: https://youtube.fetcher.sh/openapi.json
Condensed catalog: https://youtube.fetcher.sh/llms.txt
Payment, credits, and MCP deep dive:
```
fetcher
```
skill
Site: https://youtube.fetcher.sh

youtube-api

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

YouTube API

Authentication

Endpoints (15 — all GET, $0.005/call)

Scenarios

MCP

Errors

Reference