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](../fetcher/SKILL.md):

# 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)

{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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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):

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

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

Free: searchendpoints, describeendpoint, checkbalance. Paid: fetchdata (any endpoint above), topupcredits, plus the named shortcut youtubesearch_video. Drop the headers block to pay per call with x402 instead — see the [fetcher skill](../fetcher/SKILL.md) 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](../fetcher/SKILL.md)
• Site: <https://youtube.fetcher.sh>;