The Cheapest YouTube API for Developers

# Search. type=video is the default; channel and playlist are the other two.
curl "https://apiserpent.com/api/social/youtube/search?q=react+hooks&num=10&order=viewCount" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

# Up to 50 videos in ONE billed call — use ids, not a loop over id.
curl "https://apiserpent.com/api/social/youtube/video?ids=dQw4w9WgXcQ,9bZkp7q19f0" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

# A channel by handle, with its 10 most recent uploads and its posting cadence.
curl "https://apiserpent.com/api/social/youtube/channel?id=@mkbhd&include_videos=true" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

# A playlist, as full video records rather than bare ids.
curl "https://apiserpent.com/api/social/youtube/playlist?id=PLexample&video_count=25" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

import requests

BASE = "https://apiserpent.com/api/social/youtube"
HEAD = {"X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}

# 1. Three pages of 50 rows = three billed calls, 150 rows.
rows, token = [], None
for _ in range(3):
    params = {"q": "sourdough starter", "num": 50, "order": "date"}
    if token:
        params["page_token"] = token
    data = requests.get(f"{BASE}/search", headers=HEAD, params=params, timeout=60).json()
    rows += data["results"]
    token = data.get("nextPageToken")
    if not token:
        break

# 2. Statistics for 50 of them in ONE more call, not fifty.
ids = ",".join(r["id"] for r in rows[:50])
stats = requests.get(f"{BASE}/video", headers=HEAD, params={"ids": ids}, timeout=60).json()

for v in stats["results"]:
    print(v["title"], v["viewCount"], v["engagementRate"], v["durationFormatted"])

const res = await fetch(
  'https://apiserpent.com/api/social/youtube/channel' +
  '?id=@mkbhd&include_videos=true&video_count=20',
  { headers: { 'X-API-Key': process.env.SERPENT_KEY } }
);
const ch = await res.json();

console.log(ch.title, ch.subscriberCount, ch.videoCount);
console.log('cadence:', ch.publishingFrequency);      // needs 2+ dated uploads
console.log('last upload:', ch.lastVideoDate);
console.log('still active:', ch.isActive);            // true within 14 days

// The derived keys are only present when the rows carry a publish date —
// a channel that has never uploaded gets the rows and no invented aggregates.
for (const v of ch.recentVideos ?? []) {
  console.log(v.publishedAt, v.title, v.viewCount);
}

{
  "success": true,
  "query": "react hooks",
  "type": "video",
  "results": [
    {
      "position": 1,
      "id": "exampleVid01",
      "type": "video",
      "title": "React Hooks, the Whole Story",
      "description": "Every hook in one sitting, with the rules that...",
      "channelId": "UCexampleChannel00000001",
      "channelTitle": "Example Dev",
      "publishedAt": "2026-02-14T14:00:16Z",
      "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/exampleVid01/hqdefault.jpg",
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exampleVid01"
    }
  ],
  "totalResults": 1000000,
  "nextPageToken": "CAMQAA",
  "prevPageToken": null,
  "meta": {
    "elapsed": "2535ms",
    "timestamp": "2026-09-08T10:14:15.354Z"
  }
}

// GET /api/social/youtube/video — one flat record per id
{
  "results": [
    {
      "id": "exampleVid01",
      "title": "React Hooks, the Whole Story",
      "tags": ["react", "hooks", "frontend"],
      "categoryId": "28",
      "duration": "PT21M13S",
      "durationFormatted": "21:13",
      "durationSeconds": 1273,
      "isShort": false,
      "viewCount": 1842911,
      "likeCount": 64210,
      "commentCount": 2184,
      "engagementRate": 3.6
    }
  ],
  "totalResults": 1
}