Help Miscellaneous
Playlists and search on Youtube
Two ways to search
Program provides two ways to search on Youtube and to load Youtube playlists and channels. First one (let's call it "WEB" way) extracts all info from the corresponding web pages. Second one (let's call it "API" way) uses Youtube Data API to get all the info.
WEB way can break from time to time due to internal changes on the site. Also in case of playlists it currently can retrieve not more than 100 items. But unlike the API way it does not have the usage limits and does not require any extra setup. This is default way used in the program.
API way works only if you supply Youtube Data API key (how to get it is described below in the Youtube Data API key topic). Unlike WEB way, the chance that it will break is very low, but Youtube applies usage limits for it (a "quota").
Program decides which way to use basing on the API key. If it is configured (via program options) then API way is used. Otherwise WEB way is used.
The next page of search results and playlists is always retrieved using the same way as the first page. So if you switch between WEB and API ways, it is better to restart search.
Comparison table
Below is a comparison table of WEB and API ways. Note, Youtube does not share dislike count so none of them can show it.
| Difference | WEB | API |
|---|---|---|
| Variety of search filters | Exclusive features: 4K, 360°, VR180, HDR | API does not provide a way to search for 4K, 360°, VR180, HDR |
| Search items per page | 20 | 50 |
| Search results completeness | No likes | Complete |
| Upload date in search results | Relative, approximated (e.g. "5 years ago"), localized in the program language | Absolute, exact (date+time), localized in the system language |
| View count in search results | Approximated (e.g. "18M" for ~18 million), localized in the program language | Exact number |
| Playlist items per page | 100 | 50 |
| Playlist items total | Currently up to 100 | Full playlist |
| Playlist item properties | No upload date, likes, view count | All |
| Possibility to break due to internal changes on the site | Average | Low |
Youtube Data API key
Youtube Data API can be used for free.
To obtain API key, follow instructions in this topic (steps 1-3). In step 2 (obtaining authorization credentials) follow instructions for API key creation. When selecting API key type, select Browser key type.
To enter API key in the program, go to menu Tools Options Advanced net.yt_api_key.
Youtube Data API has a "quota" thing, aka daily limit for requests project can make using particular API key. Quota resets at midnight Pacific Time (PT). Once limit is reached, key becomes unusable until that time.
New projects get 10000 quota limit (reminder: it is per-day limit). Within this limit you can get for example 100 search pages. You can learn more about quota costs using Quota Calculator and related documentation.
Help Miscellaneous Playlists and search on Youtube