Google Apps Script Quickstart

Complete the steps described in the rest of this page, and in just a few minutes you'll have a simple Google Apps Script that makes requests to the YouTube Data API.

The sample application demonstrates how to add YouTube channel data to a spreadsheet.

Prerequisites

To run this quickstart, you'll need:

• Access to the internet and a web browser.
• A Google account.
• Access to Google Drive.

Step 1: Create the script

1. Open Google Drive in your web browser.
2. Click New > Google Sheets .
3. In the new spreadsheet, click Extensions > Apps Script .
4. Replace the contents of the script editor with the following code:

   // Note: Apps Script automatically requests authorization
   // based on the API's used in the code.
   
   function channelsListByUsername(part, params) {
     var response = YouTube.Channels.list(part,
                                          params);
     var channel = response.items[0];
     var dataRow = [channel.id, channel.snippet.title, channel.statistics.viewCount];
     SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().appendRow(dataRow);
   }
   
   function getChannel() {
     var ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
     var channelName = ui.prompt("Enter the channel name: ").getResponseText();
     channelsListByUsername('snippet,contentDetails,statistics',
                            {'forUsername': channelName});
   }
   
   function getGoogleDevelopersChannel() {
     channelsListByUsername('snippet,contentDetails,statistics',
                            {'forUsername': 'GoogleDevelopers'});
   }
   
   function onOpen() {
     var firstCell = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet().getRange(1, 1).getValue();
     if (firstCell != 'ID') {
       var headerRow = ["ID", "Title", "View count"];
       SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().appendRow(headerRow);
     }
     var ui = SpreadsheetApp.getUi();
     ui.createMenu('YouTube Data')
     .addItem('Add channel data', 'getChannel')
     .addSeparator()
     .addItem('Add GoogleDevelopers data', 'getGoogleDevelopersChannel')
     .addToUi();
   }
   quickstart.gs
   

5. Click Save .
6. Click Untitled project at the top left, type Quickstart , and click Rename .

Step 2: Turn on the YouTube Data API

1. At the left, click Editor code .
2. At the left, next to "Services," click Add a service add .
3. Click YouTube Data API , then click Add .

Step 3: Run the sample

1. Reload your spreadsheet. If it is the first time you are loading the spreadsheet after adding the code, the first row should populate with ID , Title , and View count headers.

2. In the menu bar, click YouTube Data > Add GoogleDevelopers data to add information about the GoogleDevelopers channel to your spreadsheet. (The YouTube Data menu should appear next to the standard menus – File, Edit, View, etc.)
   
   The first time you run the sample, it will prompt you to authorize access:

   1. Click Review permissions .
   2. Choose an account.
   3. Click Allow .

3. In the menu bar, click YouTube Data > Add channel data to add data for a channel of your choice. When prompted, enter the channel name (e.g. "GoogleDevelopers" or "SaturdayNightLive") and click OK . The script retrieves data for that channel and adds it to the spreadsheet.

Further reading

• Google Apps Script Advanced Services documentation
• YouTube Data API reference documentation

Troubleshooting

ReferenceError: "[API NAME]" is not defined

This error occurs when the API hasn't been toggled on in the Apps Script code editor. Revisit Step 2.b and ensure the corresponding toggle is set to on .