/v1/search"platform": "youtube"YouTube Search API
Find videos by keyword.
Search YouTube videos by keyword and get back text, author and views, as JSON over HTTP or from your AI client over MCP. A call to the YouTube Search API costs 2 credits ($0.004 to $0.0067 depending on the pack), failed calls are free, and the response has the same format as every other call. Last tested 2026-11-01.
Last updated:
limit: 100 and one call pages for you: at most 5 pages, 10 credits. It stops once it has them or the list ends; pages it does not use are not charged, and neither are pages that fail. Reading 1,000 items comes to about 100 credits, about $0.33.Daily watch: tell your AI “watch this daily” and this call runs by itself every day, sending only what is new: at most 62 credits a month, about $0.21. How to set it up
What you get from the YouTube Search API.
From a recorded answer.
A recorded call returned 20 items; here is the first, field by field. Names and text are removed from the sample; the numbers are as recorded.
| Field | In the recorded answer |
|---|---|
| url | removed from the sample |
| format | video |
| title | removed from the sample |
| text | null: YouTube cannot give it |
| published_at | null: YouTube cannot give it |
| author.id | removed from the sample |
| author.username | removed from the sample |
| author.name | removed from the sample |
| author.verified | null: YouTube cannot give it |
| author.followers | null: YouTube cannot give it |
| metrics.likes | null: YouTube cannot give it |
| metrics.comments | null: YouTube cannot give it |
| metrics.shares | null: YouTube cannot give it |
| metrics.collects | null: YouTube cannot give it |
| metrics.views | 1,840 |
| metrics.reposts | null: YouTube cannot give it |
| images | 1 entry |
| hashtags | null: YouTube cannot give it |
| is_pinned | null: YouTube cannot give it |
2 credits a call (≈ $0.004–$0.0067): about 1,500 calls for $10.
YouTube Search API: request and response
curl https://api.socialtoai.com/v1/search \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SOCIALTOAI_API_KEY" \ -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "platform": "youtube", "query": "meteor shower" }'import osimport uuidimport requestsresponse = requests.post( "https://api.socialtoai.com/v1/search", headers={ "Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['SOCIALTOAI_API_KEY']}", # A new key for each request; the same one again retries it without paying twice. "Idempotency-Key": str(uuid.uuid4()), }, json={ "platform": "youtube", "query": "meteor shower", },)print(response.json())# Connected over MCP? Ask in plain words.Search YouTube for videos about "meteor shower".# Your AI calls the search tool with:{ "platform": "youtube", "query": "meteor shower"}valuesortpublished_within{ "platform": "youtube", "status": "ok", "items": [ { "platform": "youtube", "id": "…", "ref": "…", "approx": [], "type": "content", "url": "https://example.com/…", "format": "video", "title": "…", "text": null, "published_at": null, "author": { "id": "…", "username": "…", "name": "…", "verified": null, "followers": null }, "metrics": { "likes": null, "comments": null, "shares": null, "collects": null, "views": 1840, "reposts": null }, "images": ["https://example.com/…"], "hashtags": null, "is_pinned": null } ], "unavailable": ["text", "published_at", "author.verified", "author.followers", "metrics.likes", "metrics.comments", "metrics.shares", "metrics.collects", "metrics.reposts", "hashtags", "is_pinned"], "page": { "has_more": true, "cursor": "cur_…", "cursor_expires_at": "2026-10-12T19:20:45.000Z" }, "cost_credits": 2}nullcomments nullshares nullcollects nullviews 1,840Names and text were removed from the sample; the numbers are as recorded.
YouTube Search API parameters.
6 parameters, 2 required.
Send them as a JSON body with POST. Your key goes in the Authorization header, never in the URL.
| Name | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| platform | string | Required | — | Always "youtube" on this page. |
| query | string | Required | — | Search terms |
| sort | string | Optional | "relevance" | By relevance, or most viewed first"relevance""popular" |
| published_within | string | Optional | — | Published within the last period"day""week""month""year" |
| type | string | Optional | — | "user": accounts instead of posts (2 credits)."user" |
| cursor | string | Optional | — | Pass page.cursor from the last response to get the next page. |
YouTube Search API response fields.
What YouTube cannot give is marked.
| Field | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| items[].url | string | A link that opens the item. |
| items[].format | string | video, image, text or article. |
| items[].title | string | The title. |
| items[].text | stringalways null | The body text or caption. |
| items[].published_at | stringalways null | When it was published, ISO 8601 in UTC. |
| items[].author.id | string | The author's account ID. |
| items[].author.username | string | The author's handle. |
| items[].author.name | string | The author's display name. |
| items[].author.verified | booleanalways null | Whether the author is verified. |
| items[].author.followers | integeralways null | The author's follower count. |
| items[].metrics.likes | integeralways null | Likes. |
| items[].metrics.comments | integeralways null | Comments. |
| items[].metrics.shares | integeralways null | Shares. |
| items[].metrics.collects | integeralways null | Saves. |
| items[].metrics.views | integer | Views or plays. |
| items[].metrics.reposts | integeralways null | Reposts. |
| items[].images | string[] | Image addresses. |
| items[].hashtags | string[]always null | Hashtags, without the #. |
| items[].is_pinned | booleanalways null | Whether the author pinned it. |
nullFields YouTube cannot giveRead null as “YouTube did not give this”, not as zero. These are always null on this call:
textThe body text or caption.published_atWhen it was published, ISO 8601 in UTC.author.verifiedWhether the author is verified.author.followersThe author's follower count.metrics.likesLikes.metrics.commentsComments.metrics.sharesShares.metrics.collectsSaves.metrics.repostsReposts.hashtagsHashtags, without the #.is_pinnedWhether the author pinned it.
Send the parameter and the call returns something else:
type=useraccounts instead of posts2 creditsCompared with the TikTok Search API, this call also gives title and images but does not give text, posted at, author followers, likes, comments, shares, saves or hashtags.
Every item also has platform, id, ref, approx and type; the response around the items is the same on every call. Response format
YouTube Search API: paging and billing.
5 calls per second per key, 20 after a purchase; going over is not charged. Rate limits
A failed call costs 0 credits and is never retried on its own. Error codes
“Last tested” above is the last day a real call of this interface succeeded. Each call reads from the platform, and fetched_at in the answer is when it was read. The same request sent again with the same key within 5 minutes is a replay (replayed: true): 0 credits, and the answer as first read.
Once connected over MCP, these questions use the YouTube Search API.
Search YouTube for videos about "meteor shower".
2 creditssearch {"platform":"youtube","query":"meteor shower"}Find YouTube accounts about "nasa".
2 creditssearch {"platform":"youtube","query":"nasa","type":"user"}
Give this to your AI.
Copy it into Claude or ChatGPT.
How to connectUse the SocialToAI MCP server (https://mcp.socialtoai.com/mcp) for this: Search YouTube for videos about "meteor shower".Call the search tool with {"platform":"youtube","query":"meteor shower"}. Needed: query; optional: sort (relevance, popular), published_within (day, week, month, year).For many items pass limit (limit=100 is at most 5 pages) and one call pages for you; each page costs 2 credits and unused pages are not charged.Before you start, work out how many credits it will take in all and ask me; call it only after I agree.What usually comes next, with the ref or username it returns: detail (Detail), comments (Comments).If SocialToAI is not connected yet, tell me how to connect it; never ask me to paste a key into the chat.Answer with a link to every item you used, and tell me how many credits it cost.Paste it into a chat once SocialToAI is connected over MCP. There is no key in it: Claude and ChatGPT sign in, other clients send a key in a header.
These ready-made tools call it when they run.
brand-buzzHow people feel about it on each platform, what comes up most, and the posts behind it
find-creatorsCreators who make that content, with their size, recent posts and how well each fits
creator-cardTheir accounts on other platforms, the numbers on each, and how sure the match is
Work scenarios that use it.
brand-monitoringYour AI tells you what people say about a brand: the share of each attitude, what they praise and what they complain about, with the posts behind each point.
content-ideasYour AI reads what was posted on a subject this week and tells you which angles took off, with the posts, their numbers and what they have in common.
review-miningYour AI reads review videos' comments and shop reviews of a product, and tells you what buyers praise, what they complain about and how often, with quotes.
The same call on other platforms.
All platforms and prices/v1/search{ "platform": "youtube", "query": "meteor shower" }2 creditsper callRead next.
What its own API allows, who can use it and what it costs, with sources.
a brand, daily, across platforms: attitudes and the posts behind them, from 16 credits a run
Let your AI read YouTube.