This page explains how to use the YouTube Data API (v3) to perform functions related to retrieving and updating channel data. A
channel
resource includes playlist IDs that identify a channel's uploaded and liked videos. To fetch this information when calling the
channels.list
method, make sure the
part
parameter value includes the
contentDetails
resource part.
Retrieve information about a channel
Call the
channels.list
method to retrieve information about a particular channel. There are a few ways to identify the channel:
Set a channel's branding information
This example updates a channel's branding options. The example has two steps:
-
Step 1: Retrieve the channel's branding options
Call the
channels.list
method and set the
part
parameter value to
brandingSettings
and the
mine
parameter value to
true
.
https://developers.google.com/apis-explorer/#p/youtube/v3/youtube.channels.list?
part=brandingSettings
&mine=true
Your application could display the retrieved settings, allowing the user to modify the settings to update.
-
Step 2: Update the channel's branding options
Call the
channels.list
method and set the following values:
- Set the
id
property to the channel's unique YouTube channel ID. The ID can be extracted from the API response in step 1.
- Set the
part
parameter value to
brandingSettings
.
The link to the API Explorer below creates a
channel
resource with the following branding settings:
{
"id": "CHANNEL_ID",
"brandingSettings": {
"channel": {
"description": "A great channel to be enjoyed by all.",
"moderateComments": true,
"showRelatedChannels": true,
"showBrowseView": true,
"featuredChannelsTitle": "Featured Channel Stuff",
"featuredChannelsUrls": [
"UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw",
"UCBR8-60-B28hp2BmDPdntcQ",
"UCK8sQmJBp8GCxrOtXWBpyEA"
],
"profileColor": "#006600"
}
}
}
To complete the request in the APIs Explorer, you need to set the
id
property's value to the channel ID of the authenticated user's channel. You should also set the image properties to match your current settings.
https://developers.google.com/apis-explorer/#p/youtube/v3/youtube.videos.update?
part=brandingSettings
Manage channel sections
The API supports the
channelSections.list
,
channelSections.insert
,
channelSections.update
, and
channelSections.delete
methods for managing channel sections. A channel section is a set of videos that are featured on a channel. For example, a section could include a channel's latest uploads, most popular uploads, or videos from one or more playlists.
The example below retrieves the channel sections for Google's official YouTube channel. The request calls the
channelSections.list
method and sets the
channelId
parameter value to
UCK8sQmJBp8GCxrOtXWBpyEA
, which is the channel ID for Google's channel.
https://developers.google.com/apis-explorer/#p/youtube/v3/youtube.channelSections.list?
part=snippet,contentDetails
&channelId=UCK8sQmJBp8GCxrOtXWBpyEA
This request requires authorization if, instead of using the
channelId
parameter, you set the
mine
parameter value to
true
. That parameter indicates that you are retrieving channel sections for the currently authenticated user's channel.
Upload and set a watermark image for a channel
You can call the
watermarks.set
method to upload a watermark image and set it for a channel. The image then displays during playbacks of the specified channel's videos. You can also specify a target channel to which the image will link as well as timing details that determine when the watermark appears and how long it is visible.
The
watermarks.unset
method deletes a channel's watermark image.
Unfortunately, this query cannot be tested using the APIs Explorer because the APIs Explorer does not support the ability to upload media files, which is a requirement for this method.