YouTube Channel Shorts API
Channel Shorts with cursor pagination — same row shape as channel-videos (exact publishedAt).
GET request to /v1/youtube/channel-shorts that responds with clean JSON and costs 2 credits. Pass cache=true for a free 24h cache hit; default is always fresh. Start with 100 free credits — no credit card.What is the YouTube Channel Shorts API?
Lists a channel's Shorts tab with nextCursor + hasMore (same cursor as channel-videos). Each row is player-enriched via reel_item_watch + ANDROID: exact publishedAt, publishedTimeText when the shelf exposes a relative label, viewCount + viewCountIsApproximate, durationSeconds/durationFormatted, genre, badges, commentCount trio, thumbnailUrl (prefers cover over frame-2 stills), and nested channel{}. Flat 2 credits on the native path. Not an alias of Video Details.
What you get
- cursor ↔ nextCursor + hasMore (zero id overlap across pages)
- exact publishedAt from reel_item_watch microformat
- Shared row shape with channel-videos
Try it
Fill in the parameters below and copy a ready-to-run request, or open the live Playground to run it against your account (no API key paste).
Parameters
curl "https://api.captapi.com/v1/youtube/channel-shorts?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2F%40MrBeast" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer capt_live_..."
# or: -H "x-api-key: capt_live_..."Edit the parameters and the code updates instantly. Switch languages and hit copy.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"data": {
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
"totalReturned": 2,
"shorts": [
{
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Df5Y-2ndQyU",
"title": "Read My Book, You Could Win $1,000,000",
"publishedAt": null,
"viewCount": 8900000,
"durationSeconds": null,
"thumbnailUrl": null,
"channelName": "MrBeast"
},
{
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/egvLKQe6I4I",
"title": "Don't Pop the Balloon",
"publishedAt": null,
"viewCount": 90000000,
"durationSeconds": null,
"thumbnailUrl": null,
"channelName": "MrBeast"
}
]
}
}Billing metadata is returned in response headers: X-Captapi-Credits (credits charged), X-Captapi-Cache (hit or miss), and X-Captapi-Source. Failed requests (4xx/5xx) are never charged. See the full list of error codes in the error reference.
Response structure
A successful call returns success and a data object with the following fields:
Top-level fields
urlCanonical URL of the item.totalReturnedNumber of items returned in this response.
Shorts
Each item in shorts contains:
urlCanonical URL of the item.titleTitle of this shorts item.publishedAtISO-8601 when available; approximate from relative labels on list cards — see publishedTimeText.viewCountView count.durationSecondsLength in seconds for this item (full media length, or a segment span when the endpoint documents a start/end).thumbnailUrlThumbnail image URL.channelNameName of the channel.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| url | string | Yes | YouTube channel URL, @handle, bare handle, or UC... channel ID, e.g. https://youtube.com/@handle or @mkbhd. The URL platform must match this endpoint's platform. Do not pass cross-platform URLs, e.g. YouTube to TikTok, Instagram to Facebook, LinkedIn to X/Twitter, or Pinterest to Rumble. |
| cursor | string | No | Pagination cursor. Leave empty for the first page; then pass the nextCursor value returned in the previous response. |
| limit | integer | No | Max items to return (default 20, max 200). Flat 2 credits per call. |
| cache | boolean | No | Set true to serve from the 24h response cache (0 credits on hit). Default false — always fetch fresh. |
Authentication: send your key as Authorization: Bearer capt_live_.... A typical call costs 2 credits. Pass cache=true for a free 24h cache hit; default is always fresh.
youtube_channel_shorts via @captapi/mcp. Set it up →How it works
- 1. Sign up — get 100 free credits, no card required.
- 2. Create a key from your dashboard.
- 3. Send one request to
/v1/youtube/channel-shortsand parse the JSON response.
Use cases
Content Pipelines
Ingest a channel's catalog in bulk.
Monitoring
Detect new uploads automatically.
Archiving
Snapshot a creator's library — metadata plus CDN media URLs (re-fetch before mediaUrlsExpireAt).
Analytics
Aggregate performance across many videos.
Frequently asked questions
What does the YouTube Channel Shorts API do?+
The YouTube Channel Shorts API lets you list items in bulk with metadata from a public YouTube Short using one GET request to /v1/youtube/channel-shorts. It returns clean JSON — no OAuth or infrastructure setup required.
How many credits does the YouTube Channel Shorts API cost?+
Each successful call costs 2 credits. Pass cache=true to serve from the 24h cache (0 credits on hit); default is always fresh. Selected profile endpoints also accept cacheMaxAge=1d|3d|7d|14d|30d. Failed or empty results are never charged.
Do I need a YouTube API key or OAuth?+
No. A single Captapi key works across every platform Captapi supports — YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, Reddit, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Rumble, Spotify, Kwai, and more. We handle proxies, rate limits, retries, and authentication for you.
Is the YouTube Channel Shorts API suitable for production use?+
Yes. It is a stable REST endpoint with predictable JSON and automatic retries. Pass cache=true to serve from the 24h cache (0 credits on hit); default is always fresh. Selected profile endpoints also accept cacheMaxAge=1d|3d|7d|14d|30d. Use it for analytics, monitoring, and content automation.
More YouTube APIs
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