channel_info
string
required
A channel id (UC…) or a handle (@mrbeast or bare mrbeast). Handles are resolved for you and cached.
YouTube API · Channel Lookup
Channel Lookup
Resolve a channel handle ⇄ id. YouTube hides the channel id, so turn the @handle you have into the id the API needs.
Send a handle (@mrbeast or bare mrbeast) or a channel id (UC…) and get back the canonical {channel_id, handle, title}. Free, and the mapping is cached, so it stays fast. Every channel endpoint also accepts a handle directly; this endpoint is for when you just need the id itself.
POST
/api/v1/channel/lookup
Free
Use your Tubefield API key instantly, or inspect the sample response first.
curl
curl -X POST https://tubefield.com/api/v1/channel/lookup \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-API-Key: $TUBEFIELD_API_KEY" \
-d '{"channel_info": "@mrbeast"}'Sample response
{
"channel_id": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
"handle": "@mrbeast",
"target": "@mrbeast",
"title": "MrBeast"
}API Playground
Run a real /api/v1/channel/lookup request. No key? We show the real sample result so you can still inspect the shape.
Endpoint
POST /api/v1/channel/lookup
Auth header
X-API-Key
Cost
Free
Leave empty to inspect the response shape without spending API balance.
Sample mode: explore the real response shape for free. Add a key to run a live request.
Response
POST /api/v1/channel/lookup
sample
{
"channel_id": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
"handle": "@mrbeast",
"target": "@mrbeast",
"title": "MrBeast"
}
Request and response
The full contract for /api/v1/channel/lookup: what to send and what comes back.
Request body
Response fields
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
channel_id |
string | null | Canonical channel id (UC…), or null when the input resolves to no channel (still a free, billable 200). |
handle |
string | null | The channel's handle (e.g. @mrbeast) when known. |
title |
string | null | Channel title when known. |
Code examples
Copy, paste, swap in your API key.
curl -X POST https://tubefield.com/api/v1/channel/lookup \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-API-Key: " \
-d '{"channel_info": "@mrbeast"}'What developers build with it
Common ways Channel Lookup ends up in production.
Turning a YouTube @handle into the channel id the API needs.
Normalising user-pasted channel handles before a batch job.
Confirming a channel's canonical id and handle in one call.
Status codes
The same predictable contract on every endpoint.
200 |
Success. The lookup completed and was charged, even if the response is empty. |
401 |
Missing or unknown API key. |
402 |
Not enough balance on the account. |
422 |
Invalid request body (wrong shape or types). |
429 |
Rate limit exceeded: max 10 requests per second per API key. |
Other endpoints
Explore the rest of the YouTube API.
Video Detail
/api/v1/video/detail
Video Comments
/api/v1/video/comments
Video Transcript
/api/v1/video/transcript
Channel Detail
/api/v1/channel/detail
Channel Videos
/api/v1/channel/videos
Channel Playlists
/api/v1/channel/playlists
Playlist Detail
/api/v1/playlist/detail
Playlist Videos
/api/v1/playlist/videos
Video Search
/api/v1/search/videos
Search Result (SERP)
/api/v1/search/result
Account Balance
/api/v1/account/balance
Pay once. Spend when needed.
New accounts start with a free API balance. Paid balance never expires, so it can sit until your workflows need it.
$0.50 free
$0.50 free balance to start. About 150 standard requests. Get an API key in seconds with no credit card.
- Access all endpoints
- No credit card required
- Good for first tests
$10 one-time
Adds $10 to your API balance for steady production traffic and early automated jobs.
- Balance never expires
- Fixed per-request pricing
- Useful for small pipelines
Pro
Most popular
$100 one-time
$130 spendable balance, including a $30 bonus. The sweet spot for production workloads.
- $100 + $30 free balance
- Best value per workload
- Built for automated pipelines
FAQ
Questions before you connect?
Pricing & Balance
Every endpoint has a fixed per-request price in USD, shown on its docs page, and charged against your API balance, so you always know what each call costs.
YouTube charges far more underlying quota for search than for direct lookups. Video Search costs $0.01 / request; every other endpoint costs $0.003 / request.
No. Your API balance never expires, so you can use it whenever your workflows need it. In the unlikely event TubeField is ever discontinued, unused paid balance is refunded.
Paid API requests stop with a 402 until you add more balance. This keeps spend predictable and prevents unexpected charges.
API & Integration
Create and manage API keys from your account, then send your key in the X-API-Key header from your app, scripts, or internal tools.
Yes. Your dashboard shows every request, its cost, and your remaining balance, so you can track spend while building and running automated workflows.
Yes, a completed lookup is billable even when the answer is empty (for example a video with comments turned off). Errors like 402 or 429 are never charged.
We enforce a rate limit of 10 requests per second per API key. If you exceed it, the API returns HTTP 429. Build exponential backoff (briefly pausing before retrying) into your application code.
Our support team responds to email inquiries within 1 business day. We can help with account, billing, and API integration questions.
Give your product and agents YouTube data.
Start with a free key and about 150 free requests, on REST, MCP, or both.