youtubei.js
Advanced tools
An object-oriented library that allows you to search, get detailed info about videos, subscribe, unsubscribe, like, dislike, comment, download videos and much more!
An object-oriented wrapper around the Innertube API, which is what YouTube itself uses.
Innertube is an API used across all YouTube clients, it was made to simplify the internal structure of the platform and make it easy to push updates. This library takes advantage of that API, therefore providing a simple & efficient way to interact with YouTube programmatically.
And big thanks to @gatecrasher777 for his research on the workings of the Innertube API!
As of now, this is one of the most advanced & stable YouTube libraries out there, here's a short summary of its features:
Do note that you must be signed-in to perform actions that involve an account, such as commenting, subscribing, sending messages to a live chat, etc.
No, YouTube.js does not use any official API so no API keys are required.
npm install youtubei.js
First of all we're gonna start by initializing the Innertube instance. And to make things faster, you should do this only once and reuse the Innertube object when needed.
const Innertube = require('youtubei.js');
const youtube = await new Innertube();
Doing a simple search:
// YouTube:
const search = await youtube.search('Looking for life on Mars - Documentary');
// YTMusic:
const search = await youtube.search('Interstellar Main Theme', { client: 'YTMUSIC' });
{
query: string,
corrected_query: string,
estimated_results: number,
videos: [
{
id: string,
title: string,
description: string,
url: string,
metadata:{
view_count: string,
short_view_count_text: {
simple_text: string,
accessibility_label: string
},
thumbnails: [Array],
duration: {
seconds: number,
simple_text: string,
accessibility_label: string
},
published: string,
badges:[Array],
owner_badges:[Array]
}
}
//...
]
}
{
songs: [
{
id: string,
title: string,
artist: string,
album: string,
duration: string,
thumbnail: {
thumbnails: [Array]
}
},
//...
],
videos: [
{
id: string,
title: string,
author: string,
views: string,
duration: string,
thumbnail: {
thumbnails: [Array]
}
}
//...
],
albums: [
{
title: string,
author: string,
year: string,
thumbnail: {
thumbnails: [Array]
}
},
//...
],
playlists: [
{
title: string,
description: string,
total_items: number,
duration: string,
year: string,
items: [
{
id: string,
title: string,
author: string,
duration: string,
thumbnail: [Array]
}
]
}
]
}
Get search suggestions:
const suggestions = await youtube.getSearchSuggestions('QUERY', {
client: 'YOUTUBE' // Use YTMUSIC if you want music search suggestions
})
[
{
text: string, bold_text: string
},
//...
]
Get details about a given video:
const video = await youtube.getDetails('VIDEO_ID');
{
title: string,
description: string,
thumbnail: {
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
},
metadata: {
embed: {
iframeUrl: string,
flashUrl: string,
width: number,
height: number,
flashSecureUrl: string
},
likes: number,
dislikes: number,
view_count: number,
average_rating: number,
length_seconds: number,
channel_id: string,
channel_url: string,
external_channel_id: string,
allow_ratings: boolean,
is_live_content: boolean,
is_family_safe: boolean,
is_unlisted: boolean,
is_private: boolean,
is_liked: boolean,
is_disliked: boolean,
is_subscribed: boolean,
subscriber_count: string,
current_notification_preference: string,
likes: { count: number, short_count_text: string },
publish_date_text: string,
has_ypc_metadata: boolean,
category: string,
channel_name: string,
publish_date: string,
upload_date: string,
keywords: [Array]
}
}
Get comments:
const comments = await youtube.getComments('VIDEO_ID');
// Or:
const video = await youtube.getDetails('VIDEO_ID');
const comments = await video.getComments();
// Get comments continuation:
const continuation = await comments.getContinuation();
{
comments: [
{
text: string,
author: {
name: string,
thumbnail: [
{
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
}
],
channel_id: string
},
metadata:{
published: string,
is_liked: boolean,
is_channel_owner: boolean,
like_count: number,
reply_count: number,
id: string
}
},
//...
],
comment_count: string // not available in continuations
}
Get home feed:
const homefeed = await youtube.getHomeFeed();
[
{
id: string,
title: string,
description: string,
channel: string,
metadata: {
view_count: string,
short_view_count_text: { simple_text: string, accessibility_label: string },
thumbnail: {
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
},
moving_thumbnail: {
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
},
published: string,
duration: {
seconds: number,
simple_text: string,
accessibility_label: string
},
badges: string,
owner_badges: [Array]
}
}
// ...
]
Get subscriptions feed:
const mysubsfeed = await youtube.getSubscriptionsFeed();
{
today: [
{
id: string,
title: string,
channel: string,
metadata: {
view_count: string,
short_view_count_text: { simple_text: string, accessibility_label: string },
thumbnail: {
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
},
moving_thumbnail: {
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
},
published: string,
badges: string,
owner_badges: [Array]
}
}
//...
],
yesterday: [
{
id: string,
title: string,
channel: string,
metadata: {
view_count: string,
short_view_count_text: { simple_text: string, accessibility_label: string },
thumbnail: {
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
},
moving_thumbnail: {
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
},
published: string,
badges: string,
owner_badges: [Array]
}
}
//...
],
this_week: [
id: string,
title: string,
channel: string,
metadata: {
view_count: string,
thumbnail: {
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
},
moving_thumbnail: {
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
},
published: string,
badges: string,
owner_badges: [Array]
}
}
// ...
]
}
Get watch history:
const history = await youtube.getHistory();
[
{
id: string,
title: string,
description: string,
channel: {
name: string,
url: string
},
metadata: {
view_count: string,
short_view_count_text: { simple_text: string, accessibility_label: string },
thumbnail: {
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
},
moving_thumbnail: {
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
},
published: string,
duration: {
seconds: number,
simple_text: string,
accessibility_label: string
},
badges: string,
owner_badges: [Array]
}
}
]
Get notifications:
const notifications = await youtube.getNotifications();
[
{
title: string,
sent_time: string,
channel_name: string,
channel_thumbnail: {
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
},
video_thumbnail: {
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
},
video_url: string,
read: boolean,
notification_id: string
},
//...
]
Get unseen notifications count:
const notifications = await youtube.getUnseenNotificationsCount();
Get song lyrics:
const search = await youtube.search('Never give you up', { client: 'YTMUSIC' });
const lyrics = await youtube.getLyrics(search.songs[0].id);
Get playlist:
const search = await youtube.search('Interstellar Soundtrack', {
client: 'YTMUSIC'
});
// YouTube Music
const playlist = await youtube.getPlaylist(search.playlists[0].id, {
client: 'YTMUSIC'
});
// YouTube (default)
const playlist = await youtube.getPlaylist(search.playlists[0].id);
{
title: string,
description: string,
total_items: number,
duration: string,
year: string,
items: [
{
id: string,
title: string,
author: string,
duration: string,
thumbnail: [Array]
},
//...
}
{
title: string,
description: string,
total_items: string,
last_updated: string,
views: string,
items: [
{
id: string,
title: string,
author: string,
duration: {
seconds: number,
simple_text: string,
accessibility_label: string
},
thumbnail: [Array]
},
//...
]
}
The library makes it easy to interact with YouTube programmatically. However, don't forget that you must be signed in to use the following features!
await youtube.interact.subscribe('CHANNEL_ID');
await youtube.interact.unsubscribe('CHANNEL_ID');
await youtube.interact.like('VIDEO_ID');
await youtube.interact.dislike('VIDEO_ID');
await youtube.interact.removeLike('VIDEO_ID');
await youtube.interact.comment('VIDEO_ID', 'Haha, nice video!');
// Options: ALL | NONE | PERSONALIZED
await youtube.interact.changeNotificationPreferences('CHANNEL_ID', 'ALL');
These methods will always return { success: true, status_code: 200 } if successful.
It is also possible to manage an account's settings:
await youtube.account.info();
{
name: string,
photo: [
{
url: string,
width: number,
height: number
}
],
country: string,
language: string;
}
await youtube.account.settings.notifications.setSubscriptions(true);
await youtube.account.settings.notifications.setRecommendedVideos(true);
await youtube.account.settings.notifications.setChannelActivity(true);
await youtube.account.settings.notifications.setCommentReplies(true);
await youtube.account.settings.notifications.setSharedContent(true);
await youtube.account.settings.privacy.setSubscriptionsPrivate(true);
await youtube.account.settings.privacy.setSavedPlaylistsPrivate(true);
YouTube.js isn't able to download live content yet, but it does allow you to fetch live chats plus you can also send messages!
const Innertube = require('youtubei.js');
async function start() {
const youtube = await new Innertube();
const search = await youtube.search('Lofi girl live');
const video = await youtube.getDetails(search.videos[0].id);
const livechat = video.getLivechat();
// Updated stats about the livestream
livechat.on('update-metadata', (data) => {
console.info('Info:', data);
});
// Fired whenever there is a new message or other chat events
livechat.on('chat-update', (message) => {
console.info(`- ${message.author.name}\n${message.text}\n\n`);
if(message.text == '!info') {
livechat.sendMessage('Hello! This message was sent from YouTube.js');
}
});
}
start();
Stop fetching the live chat:
livechat.stop();
Delete a message:
const msg = await livechat.sendMessage('Nice livestream!');
await msg.deleteMessage();
YouTube.js provides an easy-to-use and simple downloader:
const fs = require('fs');
const Innertube = require('youtubei.js');
async function start() {
const youtube = await new Innertube();
const search = await youtube.search('Looking for life on Mars - documentary');
const stream = youtube.download(search.videos[0].id, {
format: 'mp4', // Optional, defaults to mp4 and I recommend to leave it as it is unless you know what you're doing
quality: '360p', // if a video doesn't have a specific quality it'll fall back to 360p, also ignored when type is set to audio
type: 'videoandaudio' // can be “video”, “audio” and “videoandaudio”
});
stream.pipe(fs.createWriteStream(`./${search.videos[0].title}.mp4`));
stream.on('start', () => {
console.info('[DOWNLOADER]', 'Starting download now!');
});
stream.on('info', (info) => {
// { video_details: {..}, selected_format: {..}, formats: {..} }
console.info('[DOWNLOADER]', `Downloading ${info.video_details.title} by ${info.video_details.metadata.channel_name}`);
});
stream.on('progress', (info) => {
process.stdout.clearLine();
process.stdout.cursorTo(0);
process.stdout.write(`[DOWNLOADER] Downloaded ${info.percentage}% (${info.downloaded_size}MB) of ${info.size}MB`);
});
stream.on('end', () => {
process.stdout.clearLine();
process.stdout.cursorTo(0);
console.info('[DOWNLOADER]', 'Done!');
});
stream.on('error', (err) => console.error('[ERROR]', err));
}
start();
You can also specify a range:
const stream = youtube.download(VIDEO_ID, {
//...
type: 'videoandaudio',
range: { start: 0, end: 1048576 * 5 }
});
Cancelling a download:
stream.cancel();
Alternatively, you can get the deciphered streaming data and handle the download yourself:
const streaming_data = await youtube.getStreamingData(search.videos[0].id, {
format: 'mp4',
quality: '360p',
type: 'videoandaudio'
});
{
selected_format: {
itag: number,
mimeType: string,
bitrate: number,
initRange: { start: string, end: string },
indexRange: { start: string, end: string },
lastModified: string,
contentLength: string,
quality: string,
projectionType: string,
averageBitrate: number,
highReplication: boolean,
audioQuality: string,
approxDurationMs: string,
audioSampleRate: string,
audioChannels: number,
loudnessDb: number,
url: string,
has_audio: boolean,
has_video: boolean
},
formats: [
{
itag: number,
mimeType: string,
bitrate: number,
initRange: { start: string, end: string },
indexRange: { start: string, end: string },
lastModified: string,
contentLength: string,
quality: string,
projectionType: string,
averageBitrate: number,
highReplication: boolean,
audioQuality: string,
approxDurationMs: string,
audioSampleRate: string,
audioChannels: number,
loudnessDb: number,
url: string,
has_audio: boolean,
has_video: boolean
}
//...
]
}
When signing in to your account, you have two options:
OAuth:
const fs = require('fs');
const Innertube = require('youtubei.js');
const creds_path = './yt_oauth_creds.json';
async function start() {
const creds = fs.existsSync(creds_path) && JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(creds_path).toString()) || {};
const youtube = await new Innertube();
youtube.ev.on('auth', (data) => {
if (data.status === 'AUTHORIZATION_PENDING') {
console.info(`Hello!\nOn your phone or computer, go to ${data.verification_url} and enter the code ${data.code}`);
} else if (data.status === 'SUCCESS') {
fs.writeFileSync(creds_path, JSON.stringify(data.credentials));
console.info('Successfully signed-in, enjoy!');
}
});
youtube.ev.on('update-credentials', (data) => {
fs.writeFileSync(creds_path, JSON.stringify(data.credentials));
console.info('Credentials updated!', data);
});
await youtube.signIn(creds);
//...
}
start();
Cookies:
const Innertube = require('youtubei.js');
async function start() {
const youtube = await new Innertube(COOKIE_HERE);
//...
}
start();
Pull requests are welcome. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.
Please make sure to update tests as appropriate.
This project is not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by YouTube or any of their affiliates or subsidiaries. All trademarks, logos and brand names are the property of their respective owners.
Should you have any questions or concerns please contact me directly via email.
FAQs
A JavaScript client for YouTube's private API, known as InnerTube.
The npm package youtubei.js receives a total of 22,973 weekly downloads. As such, youtubei.js popularity was classified as popular.
We found that youtubei.js demonstrated a healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released less than a year ago. It has 1 open source maintainer collaborating on the project.
Did you know?
Socket for GitHub automatically highlights issues in each pull request and monitors the health of all your open source dependencies. Discover the contents of your packages and block harmful activity before you install or update your dependencies.
Security News
Ransomware negotiators share how modern cybercriminals operate like corporations, using specialized teams, negotiation tactics, and reputation management.
Security News
PyPI confirms no security flaws were exploited in the Ultralytics supply chain attack and highlights improvements for safer package publishing.
Security News
Research
The Socket Research Team breaks down a malicious wrapper package that uses obfuscation to harvest credentials and exfiltrate sensitive data.