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YouTube
GET /v1/youtube/shorts/video-details

YouTube Shorts Stats API

YouTube Short metadata — same schema as Video Details, with isShort:true; long-form videos get HTTP 422.

1 credit per request
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TL;DR
YouTube Short metadata — same schema as Video Details, with isShort:true; long-form videos get HTTP 422. The YouTube Shorts Stats API (YouTube) is a single authenticated GET request to /v1/youtube/shorts/video-details that responds with clean JSON and costs 1 credit. 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 Shorts Stats API?

Same field schema as YouTube Video Details (title, channel, duration, view/like/comment counts, tags, timings.path, …) but scoped to Shorts: response always includes platform, isShort:true, durationSeconds + durationFormatted, and a youtube.com/shorts/{id} URL. Uses reel_item_watch for publishDate / description / @handle (ANDROID player often omits Shorts microformat). Thumbnails prefer vertical / channel covers over landscape frame-2 stills. commentCountIsApproximate is true when YouTube only exposes a compact total (e.g. 11K→11000). defaultLanguage / defaultAudioLanguage are present (null when YouTube omits them). genre / categoryId / isFamilySafe are omitted when unavailable. Videos longer than 3 minutes — even if pasted as /shorts/{id} — return HTTP 422; use Video Details for those. Flat 1 credit.

What you get

  • Same schema as Video Details + isShort: true + platform
  • publishedAt / description / channelHandle from reel_item_watch
  • durationSeconds + durationFormatted; commentCountIsApproximate
  • Canonical shorts URL; HTTP 422 for long-form (>3 min)
  • Flat 1 credit

Try it

Open in Playground

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

Sign in to run live
curl "https://api.captapi.com/v1/youtube/shorts/video-details?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fshorts%2FegvLKQe6I4I" \
  -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/shorts/egvLKQe6I4I",
    "id": "egvLKQe6I4I",
    "title": "Don't Pop the Balloon",
    "description": "Don't pop the balloon...",
    "channelName": "MrBeast",
    "channelId": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
    "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
    "publishedAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
    "durationSeconds": 51,
    "durationFormatted": "00:00:51",
    "viewCount": 97835773,
    "likeCount": 2500000,
    "commentCount": 12000,
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/egvLKQe6I4I/hqdefault.jpg",
    "genre": "Entertainment",
    "tags": [],
    "isShort": true,
    "contentType": "short"
  }
}

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.
  • idStable platform ID for the item.
  • titleTitle of the item.
  • descriptionDescription text.
  • channelNameName of the channel.
  • channelIdStable channel id (YouTube UC… when applicable).
  • channelUrlURL of the channel.
  • publishedAtPublish date (ISO 8601) when the platform exposes an absolute timestamp.
  • durationSecondsLength in seconds for this item (full media length, or a segment span when the endpoint documents a start/end).
  • durationFormattedHuman-readable duration.
  • viewCountView count.
  • likeCountLike count as an integer. Compact UI labels ("727K") are expanded here; see likeCountText for the original string.
  • commentCountComment count.
  • thumbnailUrlThumbnail image URL.
  • genreMusic genre.
  • tagsTags attached to the item.
  • isShortIs short. Example: true.
  • contentTypeContent type. Example: "short".

Parameters

NameTypeRequiredDescription
urlstringYesPublic YouTube Shorts URL, e.g. https://youtube.com/shorts/ID (≤3 min). Long-form videos return HTTP 422 — use the matching /v1/youtube/… endpoint instead. 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.
cachebooleanNoSet 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 1 credit. Pass cache=true for a free 24h cache hit; default is always fresh.

Using an AI agent? This endpoint is the MCP tool youtube_shorts_details via @captapi/mcp. Set it up →

How it works

  1. 1. Sign up — get 100 free credits, no card required.
  2. 2. Create a key from your dashboard.
  3. 3. Send one request to /v1/youtube/shorts/video-details and parse the JSON response.

Use cases

Metadata Enrichment

Resolve a URL to structured fields for storage and CRM.

Dashboards

Power reporting with clean JSON instead of HTML scrapes.

Research

Collect entity metadata at scale for analysis.

Frequently asked questions

What does the YouTube Shorts Stats API do?+

The YouTube Shorts Stats API lets you fetch full metadata and key stats from a public YouTube Short using one GET request to /v1/youtube/shorts/video-details. It returns clean JSON — no OAuth or infrastructure setup required.

How many credits does the YouTube Shorts Stats API cost?+

Each successful call costs 1 credit. 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 Shorts Stats 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

YouTube Transcript APIYouTube Audio Transcript APIYouTube Summarizer APIYouTube Video Details APIYouTube Comments APIYouTube Channel Details APIYouTube Search APIYouTube Channel Videos APIYouTube Playlist Videos APIYouTube Playlist APIYouTube Shorts Transcript APIYouTube Shorts Summarizer APIYouTube Shorts Comments APIYouTube Channel Shorts APIYouTube Trending Shorts APIYouTube Channel Streams APIYouTube Hashtag Search APIYouTube Comment Replies APIYouTube Channel Playlists APIYouTube Community Posts APIYouTube Community Post Details APIYouTube Video Sponsors API

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YouTube Shorts Stats API | Captapi — Captapi