Youtube

YouTube

Access the YouTube Data API v3 with managed OAuth authentication. Search videos, manage playlists, access channel information, and interact with comments and subscriptions.

Quick Start

# Search for videos
python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://gateway.maton.ai/youtube/youtube/v3/search?part=snippet&q=coding+tutorial&type=video&maxResults=10')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Base URL

https://gateway.maton.ai/youtube/{native-api-path}

Replace {native-api-path} with the actual YouTube Data API endpoint path. The gateway proxies requests to www.googleapis.com and automatically injects your OAuth token.

Authentication

All requests require the Maton API key in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer $MATON_API_KEY

Environment Variable: Set your API key as MATON_API_KEY:

export MATON_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"

Getting Your API Key

1. Sign in or create an account at maton.ai
2. Go to maton.ai/settings
3. Copy your API key

Connection Management

Manage your Google OAuth connections at https://ctrl.maton.ai.

List Connections

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections?app=youtube&status=ACTIVE')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Create Connection

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
data = json.dumps({'app': 'youtube'}).encode()
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections', data=data, method='POST')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Get Connection

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections/{connection_id}')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Response:

{
  "connection": {
    "connection_id": "21fd90f9-5935-43cd-b6c8-bde9d915ca80",
    "status": "ACTIVE",
    "creation_time": "2025-12-08T07:20:53.488460Z",
    "last_updated_time": "2026-01-31T20:03:32.593153Z",
    "url": "https://connect.maton.ai/?session_token=...",
    "app": "youtube",
    "metadata": {}
  }
}

Open the returned url in a browser to complete OAuth authorization.

Delete Connection

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections/{connection_id}', method='DELETE')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Specifying Connection

If you have multiple YouTube connections, specify which one to use with the Maton-Connection header:

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://gateway.maton.ai/youtube/youtube/v3/channels?part=snippet&mine=true')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
req.add_header('Maton-Connection', '21fd90f9-5935-43cd-b6c8-bde9d915ca80')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

If omitted, the gateway uses the default (oldest) active connection.

API Reference

Search

Search Videos, Channels, or Playlists

GET /youtube/youtube/v3/search

Query parameters:

• part - Required: snippet
• q - Search query
• type - Filter by type: video, channel, playlist
• maxResults - Results per page (1-50, default 5)
• order - Sort order: date, rating, relevance, title, viewCount
• publishedAfter - Filter by publish date (RFC 3339)
• publishedBefore - Filter by publish date (RFC 3339)
• channelId - Filter by channel
• videoDuration - short (<4min), medium (4-20min), long (>20min)
• pageToken - Pagination token

Example:

curl -s -X GET "https://gateway.maton.ai/youtube/youtube/v3/search?part=snippet&q=machine+learning&type=video&maxResults=10&order=viewCount" -H "Authorization: Bearer $MATON_API_KEY"

Response:

{
  "kind": "youtube#searchListResponse",
  "nextPageToken": "CAUQAA",
  "pageInfo": {
    "totalResults": 1000000,
    "resultsPerPage": 10
  },
  "items": [
    {
      "kind": "youtube#searchResult",
      "id": {
        "kind": "youtube#video",
        "videoId": "abc123xyz"
      },
      "snippet": {
        "publishedAt": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
        "channelId": "UCxyz123",
        "title": "Machine Learning Tutorial",
        "description": "Learn ML basics...",
        "thumbnails": {
          "default": {"url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/abc123xyz/default.jpg"}
        },
        "channelTitle": "Tech Channel"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Videos

Get Video Details

GET /youtube/youtube/v3/videos?part=snippet,statistics,contentDetails&id={videoId}

Parts available:

• snippet - Title, description, thumbnails, channel info
• statistics - View count, likes, comments
• contentDetails - Duration, dimension, definition
• status - Upload status, privacy status
• player - Embedded player HTML

Example:

curl -s -X GET "https://gateway.maton.ai/youtube/youtube/v3/videos?part=snippet,statistics&id=dQw4w9WgXcQ" -H "Authorization: Bearer $MATON_API_KEY"

Get My Videos (Uploaded)

GET /youtube/youtube/v3/search?part=snippet&forMine=true&type=video&maxResults=25

Rate Video (Like/Dislike)

POST /youtube/youtube/v3/videos/rate?id={videoId}&rating=like

Rating values: like, dislike, none

Get Trending Videos

GET /youtube/youtube/v3/videos?part=snippet,statistics&chart=mostPopular&regionCode=US&maxResults=10

Get Video Categories

GET /youtube/youtube/v3/videoCategories?part=snippet&regionCode=US

Channels

Get Channel Details

GET /youtube/youtube/v3/channels?part=snippet,statistics,contentDetails&id={channelId}

Get My Channel

GET /youtube/youtube/v3/channels?part=snippet,statistics,contentDetails&mine=true

Response:

{
  "items": [
    {
      "id": "UCxyz123",
      "snippet": {
        "title": "My Channel",
        "description": "Channel description",
        "customUrl": "@mychannel",
        "publishedAt": "2020-01-01T00:00:00Z",
        "thumbnails": {...}
      },
      "statistics": {
        "viewCount": "1000000",
        "subscriberCount": "50000",
        "videoCount": "100"
      },
      "contentDetails": {
        "relatedPlaylists": {
          "uploads": "UUxyz123"
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Get Channel by Username

GET /youtube/youtube/v3/channels?part=snippet,statistics&forUsername={username}

Playlists

List My Playlists

GET /youtube/youtube/v3/playlists?part=snippet,contentDetails&mine=true&maxResults=25

Get Playlist

GET /youtube/youtube/v3/playlists?part=snippet,contentDetails&id={playlistId}

Create Playlist

POST /youtube/youtube/v3/playlists?part=snippet,status
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "snippet": {
    "title": "My New Playlist",
    "description": "A collection of videos",
    "defaultLanguage": "en"
  },
  "status": {
    "privacyStatus": "private"
  }
}

Privacy values: public, private, unlisted

Update Playlist

PUT /youtube/youtube/v3/playlists?part=snippet,status
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "id": "PLxyz123",
  "snippet": {
    "title": "Updated Playlist Title",
    "description": "Updated description"
  },
  "status": {
    "privacyStatus": "public"
  }
}

Delete Playlist

DELETE /youtube/youtube/v3/playlists?id={playlistId}

Playlist Items

List Playlist Items

GET /youtube/youtube/v3/playlistItems?part=snippet,contentDetails&playlistId={playlistId}&maxResults=50

Add Video to Playlist

POST /youtube/youtube/v3/playlistItems?part=snippet
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "snippet": {
    "playlistId": "PLxyz123",
    "resourceId": {
      "kind": "youtube#video",
      "videoId": "abc123xyz"
    },
    "position": 0
  }
}

Remove from Playlist

DELETE /youtube/youtube/v3/playlistItems?id={playlistItemId}

Subscriptions

List My Subscriptions

GET /youtube/youtube/v3/subscriptions?part=snippet&mine=true&maxResults=50

Check Subscription to Channel

GET /youtube/youtube/v3/subscriptions?part=snippet&mine=true&forChannelId={channelId}

Subscribe to Channel

POST /youtube/youtube/v3/subscriptions?part=snippet
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "snippet": {
    "resourceId": {
      "kind": "youtube#channel",
      "channelId": "UCxyz123"
    }
  }
}

Unsubscribe

DELETE /youtube/youtube/v3/subscriptions?id={subscriptionId}

Comments

List Video Comments

GET /youtube/youtube/v3/commentThreads?part=snippet,replies&videoId={videoId}&maxResults=100

Add Comment to Video

POST /youtube/youtube/v3/commentThreads?part=snippet
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "snippet": {
    "videoId": "abc123xyz",
    "topLevelComment": {
      "snippet": {
        "textOriginal": "Great video!"
      }
    }
  }
}

Reply to Comment

POST /youtube/youtube/v3/comments?part=snippet
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "snippet": {
    "parentId": "comment123",
    "textOriginal": "Thanks for your comment!"
  }
}

Delete Comment

DELETE /youtube/youtube/v3/comments?id={commentId}

Code Examples

JavaScript

const headers = {
  'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.MATON_API_KEY}`
};

// Search videos
const results = await fetch(
  'https://gateway.maton.ai/youtube/youtube/v3/search?part=snippet&q=tutorial&type=video&maxResults=10',
  { headers }
).then(r => r.json());

// Get video details
const video = await fetch(
  'https://gateway.maton.ai/youtube/youtube/v3/videos?part=snippet,statistics&id=dQw4w9WgXcQ',
  { headers }
).then(r => r.json());

// Create playlist
await fetch(
  'https://gateway.maton.ai/youtube/youtube/v3/playlists?part=snippet,status',
  {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { ...headers, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      snippet: { title: 'My Playlist', description: 'Videos I like' },
      status: { privacyStatus: 'private' }
    })
  }
);

Python

import os
import requests

headers = {'Authorization': f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}'}

# Search videos
results = requests.get(
    'https://gateway.maton.ai/youtube/youtube/v3/search',
    headers=headers,
    params={'part': 'snippet', 'q': 'tutorial', 'type': 'video', 'maxResults': 10}
).json()

# Get video details
video = requests.get(
    'https://gateway.maton.ai/youtube/youtube/v3/videos',
    headers=headers,
    params={'part': 'snippet,statistics', 'id': 'dQw4w9WgXcQ'}
).json()

# Create playlist
response = requests.post(
    'https://gateway.maton.ai/youtube/youtube/v3/playlists?part=snippet,status',
    headers=headers,
    json={
        'snippet': {'title': 'My Playlist', 'description': 'Videos I like'},
        'status': {'privacyStatus': 'private'}
    }
)

Notes

• Video IDs are 11 characters (e.g., dQw4w9WgXcQ)
• Channel IDs start with UC (e.g., UCxyz123)
• Playlist IDs start with PL (user) or UU (uploads)
• Use pageToken for pagination through large result sets
• The part parameter is required and determines what data is returned
• Quota costs vary by endpoint - search is expensive (100 units), reads are cheap (1 unit)
• Some write operations require channel verification
• IMPORTANT: When using curl commands, use curl -g when URLs contain brackets (fields[], sort[], records[]) to disable glob parsing
• IMPORTANT: When piping curl output to jq or other commands, environment variables like $MATON_API_KEY may not expand correctly in some shell environments. You may get "Invalid API key" errors when piping.

Error Handling

Troubleshooting: Invalid API Key

When you receive a "Invalid API key" error, ALWAYS follow these steps before concluding there is an issue:

1. Check that the MATON_API_KEY environment variable is set:

echo $MATON_API_KEY

2. Verify the API key is valid by listing connections:

python <<'EOF'
import urllib.request, os, json
req = urllib.request.Request('https://ctrl.maton.ai/connections')
req.add_header('Authorization', f'Bearer {os.environ["MATON_API_KEY"]}')
print(json.dumps(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(req)), indent=2))
EOF

Resources

• YouTube Data API Overview
• Search
• Videos
• Channels
• Playlists
• PlaylistItems
• Subscriptions
• Comments
• Quota Calculator