YouTube · Guide

How to get YouTube channel streams

TL;DR

To get YouTube channel streams, sign up for a free Captapi key, then send one GET request to /v1/youtube/channel-streams with your input. You get clean JSON back in seconds for ~20 credits (1/result) per call — no OAuth, scraping or platform SDKs. List YouTube channel streams with full metadata for each item.

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How to get YouTube channel streams (step by step)

1
Get a free API key
Create a free Captapi account (100 credits, no card) and generate an API key from the dashboard.
2
Call the YouTube Channel Streams API
Send an authenticated GET request to /v1/youtube/channel-streams with your input. No OAuth, no scraping setup.
3
Read the JSON response
Parse the clean JSON response. Pass cache=true for a free 24h cache hit; default is always fresh.

Code example

curl "https://api.captapi.com/v1/youtube/channel-streams?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2F%40MrBeast" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer capt_live_..."
# or: -H "x-api-key: capt_live_..."

What the response looks like

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
    "totalReturned": 5,
    "streams": [
      {
        "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaMdXZMvT3w",
        "title": "Survive 30 Days On An Island With Your Ex, Win $250,000",
        "publishedAt": "2026-05-16T16:00:01.000Z",
        "viewCount": 89925200,
        "durationSeconds": 2349,
        "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AaMdXZMvT3w/maxresdefault.jpg",
        "channelName": "MrBeast"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpQSUjNsNm0",
        "title": "7 Days Stranded in The Arctic",
        "publishedAt": "2026-05-30T16:00:02.000Z",
        "viewCount": 91519007,
        "durationSeconds": 1935,
        "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GpQSUjNsNm0/maxresdefault.jpg",
        "channelName": "MrBeast"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYlODtkyw_I",
        "title": "Survive 30 Days Chained To A Stranger, Win $250,000",
        "publishedAt": "2026-06-27T16:00:05.000Z",
        "viewCount": 55908561,
        "durationSeconds": 2104,
        "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iYlODtkyw_I/maxresdefault.jpg",
        "channelName": "MrBeast"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__fmDj0ZJ1Q",
        "title": "50 YouTube Legends Fight For $1,000,000",
        "publishedAt": "2026-06-13T16:00:00.000Z",
        "viewCount": 69251098,
        "durationSeconds": 1927,
        "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/__fmDj0ZJ1Q/maxresdefault.jpg",
        "channelName": "MrBeast"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zy5VLcEbZc",
        "title": "I Stranded 100 People In The Wilderness For $250,000",
        "publishedAt": "2026-05-02T16:00:01.000Z",
        "viewCount": 135166859,
        "durationSeconds": 2220,
        "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6Zy5VLcEbZc/maxresdefault.jpg",
        "channelName": "MrBeast"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Billing metadata (credits charged, cache hit/miss) is returned in the X-Captapi-Credits and X-Captapi-Cache response headers.

Request 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.
limit	integer	No	Max items to return (default 20, max 200). Billed per result.
cache	boolean	No	Set true to serve from the 24h response cache. Default false — always fetch fresh data.

Frequently asked questions

What does the YouTube Channel Streams API do?

The YouTube Channel Streams API lets you list items in bulk with metadata from a public YouTube channel streams using one GET request to /v1/youtube/channel-streams. It returns clean JSON — no OAuth or infrastructure setup required.

How many credits does the YouTube Channel Streams API cost?

At the default limit this endpoint costs 20 credits (1 per result). Billing scales with how many results you request. Pass cache=true to serve from the 24h shared cache (0 credits on hit); default is always fresh. 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 Streams 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 shared cache (0 credits on hit); default is always fresh. Use it for analytics, monitoring, and content automation.

Ready to get YouTube channel streams?

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