YouTube Channels
YouTube channel tools via TranscriptOut.com.
Setup
If $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY is not set, read references/auth-setup.md and follow the instructions there to get and store the key.
Required Header
Every request needs one header:
- Authorization:
Bearer $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY
Every response is one JSON envelope. Success: {"ok": true, "request_id": "...", "data": {...}}. Error: {"ok": false, "code": "...", "detail": "...", "request_id": "..."}. Branch on the machine-readable code, not on the human text. The remaining credit balance rides in the X-Credits-Remaining response header.
API Reference
Base URL: https://api.transcriptout.com/v1. Full reference with the latest parameters and schemas: transcriptout.com/docs.
GET /v1/channel/latest · 1 credit
The ~15 most recent videos of a channel, served from its RSS feed: the fastest and cheapest way to check what a creator published recently.
curl -s "https://api.transcriptout.com/v1/channel/latest?name=@kurzgesagt" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY"
name accepts an @handle, a channel name, a UC... channel ID or a channel URL. No resolve step needed: pass the handle directly.
GET /v1/channel/videos · 1 credit/page
Every video from a channel's Videos tab, newest first.
# First page (100 videos)
curl -s "https://api.transcriptout.com/v1/channel/videos?name=@3blue1brown" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY"
# Next pages
curl -s "https://api.transcriptout.com/v1/channel/videos?next_page_token=TOKEN" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY"
# IDs only, 500 per page (feed these into the bulk job)
curl -s "https://api.transcriptout.com/v1/channel/videos?name=@3blue1brown&ids_only=true" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY"
Provide name on the first call and only next_page_token afterwards. limit goes up to 100, or up to 500 with ids_only=true (the response is then video_ids[] instead of full video objects). The response carries next_page_token and has_more.
GET /v1/channel/search · 1 credit/page
Search inside one channel using YouTube's native relevance search. A result whose title lacks the query word is normal: it is relevance, not substring match.
curl -s "https://api.transcriptout.com/v1/channel/search?name=@kurzgesagt&q=QUERY&limit=30" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY"
| Param | Required | Default | Validation |
|---|---|---|---|
name |
yes* | - | @handle, channel name, UC... ID or URL (*or next_page_token) |
q |
yes* | - | query to search within the channel |
limit |
no | 30 |
1-100 |
next_page_token |
no | - | token from a previous page |
Cheaper and better-ranked than downloading the catalogue and grepping it.
Typical workflow
Start with channel/latest when recent uploads are enough. channel/videos is for genuine catalogue work.
# Cheapest first: what did they post lately?
curl -s "https://api.transcriptout.com/v1/channel/latest?name=@handle" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY"
# Whole catalogue as IDs when bulk work follows
curl -s "https://api.transcriptout.com/v1/channel/videos?name=@handle&ids_only=true" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIPTOUT_API_KEY"
Errors
| Code | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 400/422 | Bad parameter | Fix the request. Credit refunded automatically |
| 401 | Bad or missing API key | Check the key. It must start with sk_ |
| 402 | Out of credits | transcriptout.com/billing |
| 404 | No captions on that language/track, or bad ID | Definitive answer, do not retry. Try another lang or kind=auto. Billed |
| 410 | Video removed | Do not retry |
| 451 | Age-restricted or members-only | Do not retry |
| 429 | Rate limit (200 req/min per key) | Wait, respect Retry-After. Refunded |
| 502 | Failed on YouTube's side | One retry is reasonable. Billed |
| 503 | Service at capacity | Retry after Retry-After. Refunded |
Every error body carries a machine-readable code and a request_id. Include the request_id when contacting support.