YouTube API

The YouTube Application Programming Interface (YouTube API) allows developers to access video statistics and YouTube channels data via two types of calls, REST and XML-RPC. Google describe YouTube's API resources as "APIs and Tools that let you bring the YouTube experience to your webpage, application or device." ^[1]

Players and Player APIs

The Players and Player APIs section identifies ways you can let your users watch YouTube videos in your application and control the playback experience. With an embedded YouTube player, you can integrate the YouTube video playback experience directly in your web page or application. You can use player parameters to customize the player's appearance, and you can also use Player APIs to control the player directly from your web page or app. ^[2]

Player APIs and tools

Android

• Player API
• Player API sample app
• Player API Reference
• YouTube Direct sample app

The minimum version supported of Android for the most recent versions of the API's is currently version 2.2. The Android device must be running the YouTube app version 4.2.16. Then using a web key, it is possible to use Googles API's through a developer enabled Android phone. ^[3]

iOS

• Player IFrame API
• YouTube Direct Sample App

Using the iOS versions of the APIs is very similar to the Android explanation. However it involves using the Google Cloud Console. From there you are able to control the APIs and set up the APIs to work with your videos. You will also need a Client ID and a Client Secret; which can both be downloaded from Google's API Site. After this, it is a simple process of running the sample and the APIs should then be properly integrated. ^[4]

Other APIs include resources that can be implemented into a 3rd party website. These are the usual social network integrated APIs that we regularly come across such as the Facebook like button or the Twitter follow button. YouTube widget APIs include:

• Subscribe Button
• Upload Widget
• Player API Demo
• Player API Code Playground

Data and Analytics APIs

The Data and Analytics APIs section briefly describes APIs that let your application access features and data normally available on the YouTube website. ^[5]

YouTube API V3

The YouTube Data API (v3) lets you incorporate YouTube functionality into your own application. You can use the API to fetch search results and to retrieve, insert, update, and delete resources like videos or playlists.

In conjunction with the YouTube Player APIs and the YouTube Analytics API, the API lets your application provide a full-fledged YouTube experience that includes search and discovery, content creation, video playback, account management, and viewer statistics.

youtube.activities.insert	Posts a bulletin for a specific channel. (The user submitting the request must be authorized to act on the channel's behalf.) Note: Even though an activity resource can contain information about actions like a user rating a video or marking a video as a favorite, you need to use other API methods to generate those activity resources. For example, you would use the API's videos.rate() method to rate a video and the playlistItems.insert() method to mark a video as a favorite.
youtube.activities.list	Returns a list of channel activity events that match the request criteria. For example, you can retrieve events associated with a particular channel, events associated with the user's subscriptions and Google+ friends, or the YouTube home page feed, which is customized for each user.
youtube.channelBanners.insert	Uploads a channel banner image to YouTube. This method represents the first two steps in a three-step process to update the banner image for a channel: - Call the channelBanners.insert method to upload the binary image data to YouTube. The image must have a 16:9 aspect ratio and be at least 2120x1192 pixels. - Extract the url property's value from the response that the API returns for step 1. - Call the channels.update method to update the channel's branding settings. Set the brandingSettings.image.bannerExternalUrl property's value to the URL obtained in step 2.
youtube.channelSections.delete	Deletes a channelSection.
youtube.channelSections.insert	Adds a channelSection for the authenticated user's channel.
youtube.channelSections.list	Returns channelSection resources that match the API request criteria.
youtube.channelSections.update	Update a channelSection.
youtube.channels.list	Returns a collection of zero or more channel resources that match the request criteria.
youtube.channels.update	Updates a channel's metadata.
youtube.guideCategories.list	Returns a list of categories that can be associated with YouTube channels.
youtube.i18nLanguages.list	Returns a list of supported languages.
youtube.i18nRegions.list	Returns a list of supported regions.
youtube.liveBroadcasts.bind	Binds a YouTube broadcast to a stream or removes an existing binding between a broadcast and a stream. A broadcast can only be bound to one video stream.
youtube.liveBroadcasts.control	Controls the settings for a slate that can be displayed in the broadcast stream.
youtube.liveBroadcasts.delete	Deletes a broadcast.
youtube.liveBroadcasts.insert	Creates a broadcast.
youtube.liveBroadcasts.list	Returns a list of YouTube broadcasts that match the API request parameters.
youtube.liveBroadcasts.transition	Changes the status of a YouTube live broadcast and initiates any processes associated with the new status. For example, when you transition a broadcast's status to testing, YouTube starts to transmit video to that broadcast's monitor stream. Before calling this method, you should confirm that the value of the status.streamStatus property for the stream bound to your broadcast is active.
youtube.liveBroadcasts.update	Updates a broadcast. For example, you could modify the broadcast settings defined in the liveBroadcast resource's contentDetails object.
youtube.liveStreams.delete	Deletes a video stream.
youtube.liveStreams.insert	Creates a video stream. The stream enables you to send your video to YouTube, which can then broadcast the video to your audience.
youtube.liveStreams.list	Returns a list of video streams that match the API request parameters.
youtube.liveStreams.update	Updates a video stream. If the properties that you want to change cannot be updated, then you need to create a new stream with the proper settings.
youtube.playlistItems.delete	Deletes a playlist item.
youtube.playlistItems.insert	Adds a resource to a playlist.
youtube.playlistItems.list	Returns a collection of playlist items that match the API request parameters. You can retrieve all of the playlist items in a specified playlist or retrieve one or more playlist items by their unique IDs.
youtube.playlistItems.update	Modifies a playlist item. For example, you could update the item's position in the playlist.
youtube.playlists.delete	Deletes a playlist.
youtube.playlists.insert	Creates a playlist.
youtube.playlists.list	Returns a collection of playlists that match the API request parameters. For example, you can retrieve all playlists that the authenticated user owns, or you can retrieve one or more playlists by their unique IDs.
youtube.playlists.update	Modifies a playlist. For example, you could change a playlist's title, description, or privacy status.
youtube.search.list	Returns a collection of search results that match the query parameters specified in the API request. By default, a search result set identifies matching video, channel, and playlist resources, but you can also configure queries to only retrieve a specific type of resource.
youtube.subscriptions.delete	Deletes a subscription.
youtube.subscriptions.insert	Adds a subscription for the authenticated user's channel.
youtube.subscriptions.list	Returns subscription resources that match the API request criteria.
youtube.thumbnails.set	Uploads a custom video thumbnail to YouTube and sets it for a video.
youtube.videoCategories.list	Returns a list of categories that can be associated with YouTube videos.
youtube.videos.delete	Deletes a YouTube video.
youtube.videos.getRating	Retrieves the ratings that the authorized user gave to a list of specified videos.
youtube.videos.insert	Uploads a video to YouTube and optionally sets the video's metadata.
youtube.videos.list	Returns a list of videos that match the API request parameters.
youtube.videos.rate	Add a like or dislike rating to a video or remove a rating from a video.
youtube.videos.update	Updates a video's metadata.
youtube.watermarks.set	Uploads a watermark image to YouTube and sets it for a channel.
youtube.watermarks.unset	Deletes a watermark.

Buttons, Widgets, and Tools

The Buttons, Widgets, and Tools section describes other tools you can use to add YouTube functionality to your app or to test YouTube APIs. ^[6]

How To Use YouTube's API

To use YouTube's API, a developer must acquire a Developer ID - this is an additional property that is attached to the developer's YouTube account. The information that is available to developers is similar to the information that can be acquired by accessing YouTube's many RSS feeds. Since the integration of Google and YouTube it is possible to log into YouTube using an existing Google account. An easy to use tutorial can be found as a YouTube video. ^[7]
The API's have since been extended and are now compatible with many mobile operating platforms such as Android and iOS. Quite obviously the Android API's are more complete with the iOS resources somewhat lacking. A list of this API's available for both platforms are below:

Other YouTube API's (the traditional API's) include:
Analytics API's

• Getting Started
• Code Samples
• API Reference
• Sample Requests
• Sample Application

Data API

• Getting Started
• Sample Requests
• Guides and Tutorials
• API Reference
• API Explorer

Advantages

A great advantage of using YouTube's API's is that 3rd party companies are able to arrange pay per click coupled with advertising for your videos. This allows the video uploader to receive money for the work they have put into their videos. ^[8] YouTube API's also allow a tighter integration of the video service into a 3rd party website. This essentially means that the user does not need to click a link to go to the YouTube video. Instead, they are able to view the video in the same page that they are visiting. ^[9] Another advantage of using the YouTube APIs is that it is easier to select the specific data and videos to be stored on a 3rd party site. ^[10]

Disadvantages

During a period that included March 2006, API calls from Flash were disabled due to security concerns. These, however, have since been re-enabled. ^[11]
There are also problems currently (October 2014) with the orientation on Android devices. Even by adding the fullscreen to the AndroidManifest, it still does not load properly in the correct full screen orientation. ^[12]
YouTube also does not allow videos to run whilst the Android device is sleeping. This can be seen as an annoyance for some users. Particularly if the user is trying to use YouTube as a replacement music player. ^[13]
Quotas limit the activity of some users ^[14]
Overall, the YouTube API's help the user with certain pieces of code. If the code snippet is already present, there is no need for each user to recreate this code as it has been supplied by YouTube themselves. ^[15]

See also

• Comparison of video services
• Viral video
• YouTube

References

1. "API Resources". YouTube API. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
2. "Players and Player APIs" . Retrieved 28 November 2014.
3. Francis, William. "Using Google's API In Your Android Apps". TechRepublic UK. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
4. "YouTube Direct Lite for iOS". GitHub. GitHub Inc. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
5. "Data and Analytics APIs" . Retrieved 28 November 2014.
6. "Buttons, Widgets, and Tools" . Retrieved 28 November 2014.
7. "Obtaining a simple API key for use with the YouTube API". ZixMp4. Google Developers. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
8. Litt, Michael. "How To: Benefit From Using YouTube". VidYard. VidYard. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
9. Wagner, Janet. "The Increasing Importance of APIs In Web Development". Tuts+. Tuts+. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
10. Arno, Christian (16 October 2014). "The Advantages of Social Media APIs". Search Engine Journal. Search Engine Journal. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
11. "First time using YouTube's APi" . Retrieved 2007-03-17.
12. "what the advantage or disadvantages if i used youtube-API or present the video in a webview". StackOverflow. StackOverflow. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
13. bh6712121. "Why Steam Music Won't Replace My Music Player". YouTube. bh6712121. Archived from the original on 2015-07-20. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
14. "YouTube Data API (V3) - Quota Calculator".
15. Purifier, HTML. "Embedding YouTube Videos". HTML Purifier. HTML Purifier. Retrieved 27 October 2014.

External links

• YouTube's RSS system
• YouTube's Developer home