API reference

YouTube Search API

Search YouTube for videos, channels and playlists (Data API search.list; 100 quota units per call).

Read as Markdown Use with an AI agent

Endpoint

GET/v1/youtube/searchlive · proven1 credit

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Parameters

Query parameters

Useful optional inputs

region — Select the documented source market or request location.
Read this endpoint’s region semantics; it does not generally prove creator residence.
fit — Use fit=goal with a task description to replace confidently irrelevant records with recall stubs and reduce agent context.
No fit surcharge; full evidence is retained for 24 hours when stored, and the response size target is soft.
dry_run — Read a free estimate before fetching sources or scheduling paid work.
Zero credits; cache status and availability are snapshots rather than guarantees.

Name	Required	Description	Example
`query`	yes	Search query	`lofi hip hop`
`type`	no	Result kinds: video, channel, playlist (comma-separable) Accepted values (comma-separated): video, channel, playlist. Case, spaces, hyphens and underscores are interchangeable.	`video`
`sortBy`	no	relevance, date, rating, title or views (maps to order/viewCount) Accepted values: relevance, date, rating, title, views, viewCount, viewcount. Case, spaces, hyphens and underscores are interchangeable.	`date`
`duration`	no	short, medium or long (forces video results) Accepted values: short, medium, long. Case, spaces, hyphens and underscores are interchangeable.	`medium`
`uploadDate`	no	hour/today/week/month/year — mapped to publishedAfter Accepted values: hour, lasthour, today, day, week, thisweek, month, thismonth, year, thisyear. Case, spaces, hyphens and underscores are interchangeable.	`week`
`region`	no	ISO-3166 region code (maps to regionCode)	`US`
`max_results`	no	Results per page, max 50	`25`
`cursor`	no	Opaque page token from a previous response	`CAUQAA`
`include_metrics`	no	Opt in to one bounded video-metrics batch and one channel-handle batch at the same one-credit price. Original records, precise dates and continuation survive partial enrichment. Check data.enrichment for completion. Accepted values: true, false. Case, spaces, hyphens and underscores are interchangeable.	`true`
`dry_run`	no	Read a zero-credit estimate without fetching sources, running AI, or reserving credits. Cache status is a snapshot, not a guarantee at execution. Accepted values: 1, 0, true, false. Case, spaces, hyphens and underscores are interchangeable.	`1`
`judgments`	no	Add bounded AI labels to eligible returned records (default on). off preserves the original data shape. Unclassified records remain present; labels depend on evidence, time, capacity and the existing request budget. No label surcharge. Accepted values: on, off. Case, spaces, hyphens and underscores are interchangeable.	`on`
`label`	no	Set none to disable labels; default enables the endpoint’s label set. Equivalent to judgments=off. Accepted values: default, none. Case, spaces, hyphens and underscores are interchangeable.	`none`
`label_evidence`	no	Include exact supporting sentences and zero-based sentence indexes when a label has validated evidence. No extra charge or change to decisions. Accepted values: 1, 0, true, false. Case, spaces, hyphens and underscores are interchangeable.	`1`
`exclude`	no	Optionally remove confidently labelled engagement bait. Uncertain and unclassified records stay; removed IDs and an owner-bound recall reference are returned. Accepted values: engagement_bait. Case, spaces, hyphens and underscores are interchangeable.	`engagement_bait`
`fit`	no	Use goal to replace confidently irrelevant records with recall stubs. Keeps first, last, relevant and uncertain records; preserves order. Full evidence is stored for 24 hours when available. Accepted values: goal. Case, spaces, hyphens and underscores are interchangeable.	`goal`
`goal`	no	Required with fit=goal: describe the task in at most 600 characters. Supplied text is task context, never permission to act on posts.	`Find concrete product complaints`
`tokens`	no	Optional soft response target for fit=goal, 256–32000. Safety and evidence retention take priority, so the returned result may exceed it.	`4000`

Examples

Make the request

curl

curl "https://www.monocrawl.com/v1/youtube/search?query=lofi%20hip%20hop" \
  -H "x-api-key: mn_your_key_here"

TypeScript

typescript

const key = process.env.MONOCRAWL_API_KEY;
if (!key) throw new Error('Set MONOCRAWL_API_KEY on your server.');
const res = await fetch(
  "https://www.monocrawl.com/v1/youtube/search?query=lofi%20hip%20hop",
  { headers: { "x-api-key": key } },
);
const body = await res.json();

if (!body.success) {
  // one error shape for every endpoint — see /docs/errors
  throw new Error(`${body.error.type}: ${body.error.message}`);
}

console.log(body.data, "credits left:", body.credits_remaining);

Python

python

import os
import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://www.monocrawl.com/v1/youtube/search?query=lofi%20hip%20hop",
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["MONOCRAWL_API_KEY"]},
    timeout=60,
)
body = res.json()

if not body["success"]:
    # one error shape for every endpoint — see /docs/errors
    raise RuntimeError(f"{body['error']['type']}: {body['error']['message']}")

print(body["data"], "credits left:", body["credits_remaining"])

Response

Response fields and example

This example is illustrative, not a captured live response. Variable-cost operations may settle a charge different from the list price below. A successful response puts the platform payload in data and reports the exact credits used, remaining balance, request id and cache status beside it.

200 · application/json

{
  "success": true,
  "platform": "youtube",
  "endpoint": "/v1/youtube/search",
  "data": {
    "items": [
      {
        "kind": "video",
        "id": "abcdefghijk",
        "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abcdefghijk",
        "title": "A quieter desk setup",
        "channel": {
          "id": "UC_example",
          "name": "Example Channel"
        }
      }
    ],
    "cursor": null,
    "has_more": null
  },
  "credits_used": 1,
  "credits_remaining": 99,
  "request_id": "req_…",
  "cached": false
}

The example is illustrative and shows a documented subset of data. The fields below are optional across supported sources; nullable fields can also be absent. Preserve unknown values and accept additional fields.

Schema basis: reviewed response shaper. See schema coverage and validation limits.

Download the data JSON Schema. Validate response.data, not the whole envelope. A valid shape does not establish that every field or source record was returned.

Field inside data	Type	Meaning
`items`	`array`	Records in this response page.
`items[].kind`	`string \| null`	Result kind: video, channel or playlist.
`items[].id`	`string \| null`	Source identifier. Preserve its exact string value; do not convert large IDs to numbers.
`items[].url`	`string \| null`	Original source URL when supplied.
`items[].title`	`string \| null`	Search-result title.
`items[].description`	`string \| null`	Search snippet, not the full video description.
`items[].published_at`	`string \| null`	Source publication time, normalized to an ISO date-time when available.
`items[].channel`	`object`	Nested response fields; optional unless explicitly documented.
`items[].channel.id`	`string \| null`	Source identifier. Preserve its exact string value; do not convert large IDs to numbers.
`items[].channel.name`	`string \| null`	Channel display name.
`items[].channel.handle`	`string \| null`	Optional public channel handle from include_metrics=true.
`items[].channel.avatar_url`	`string \| null`	Original source URL when supplied.
`items[].channel.subscribers`	`number \| null`	Public subscribers; can be rounded reported by the source; null or absent is unknown, not zero.
`items[].channel.subscribers_hidden`	`boolean \| null`	Whether public subscribers are hidden.
`items[].metrics`	`object \| null`	Optional include_metrics=true enrichment; null if the video detail is unavailable.
`items[].metrics.views`	`number \| null`	Views reported by the source; null or absent is unknown, not zero.
`items[].metrics.likes`	`number \| null`	Likes reported by the source; null or absent is unknown, not zero.
`items[].metrics.comments`	`number \| null`	Comments reported by the source; null or absent is unknown, not zero.
`items[].metrics.duration_seconds`	`number \| null`	Duration in seconds.
`count`	`number \| null`	Returned row count when supplied; not the full source total.
`cursor`	`string \| null`	Opaque next-page token. A missing token does not prove full history was retrieved.
`has_more`	`boolean \| null`	Source continuation indicator; null means unknown.
`enrichment`	`object`	Nested response fields; optional unless explicitly documented.
`enrichment.metrics`	`string \| null`	ok, partial, unavailable or not_needed. ok requires views and duration for every distinct video; engagement counts may still be null.
`enrichment.channels`	`string \| null`	ok, partial, unavailable or not_needed.
`enrichment.videos_matched`	`number \| null`	Distinct video IDs matched in the optional batch.
`enrichment.channels_matched`	`number \| null`	Distinct channel IDs with at least one optional field.
`enrichment.channel_handles_matched`	`number \| null`	Distinct channel IDs with handles.
`enrichment.channel_avatars_matched`	`number \| null`	Distinct channel IDs with avatars.
`enrichment.channel_subscribers_matched`	`number \| null`	Distinct channel IDs with public subscriber counts.
`_warnings`	`array`	Collection limitations or component warnings. Read before interpreting coverage.

Search rows describe discovery results. Use the appropriate detail endpoint for statistics and full record fields.

include_metrics=true adds bounded optional metrics and channel handles at the search price. Original order, precise dates and continuation survive missing details. Check enrichment and response warnings; fallback sources can omit enrichment.

Failures use the typed error envelope. A confirmed uncharged or refunded failure reports zero; a pending reconciliation can report an unknown charge. Read credits_used and error.details.billing_status, and keep request_id for recovery. Response contract · Error reference

YouTube Search API

Query parameters

Make the request

Response fields and example

Useful next calls

First call in under a minute