YouTube Channel ID Extractor

A powerful Apify Actor that extracts YouTube channel IDs from various URL formats including direct channel links, @usernames, custom URLs, and legacy user URLs. Uses yt-dlp for reliable channel resolution.

🎯 Features

• 🔗 Multiple URL Formats - Supports all YouTube channel URL types
• 🎯 Direct Extraction - Instant extraction from channel/ID URLs
• 🔍 Username Resolution - Resolves @username to channel ID
• 🌐 Custom URL Support - Handles youtube.com/c/customname
• 👤 User URL Support - Processes youtube.com/user/username
• 📊 Batch Processing - Extract multiple channel IDs at once
• ✅ Error Handling - Graceful handling of invalid URLs
• 📈 Detailed Output - Includes URL type and resolution method

📥 Input

{
  "channelUrls": www.youtube.com/@rotonmusictv
  "useApifyProxy": True
}

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
channelUrls	String/Array	Yes	-	YouTube channel URLs (one per line)
useApifyProxy	Boolean	No	false	Enable Apify Proxy

Supported URL Formats

1. Direct Channel ID: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC...
2. Username Handle: https://www.youtube.com/@username
3. Custom URL: https://www.youtube.com/c/channelname
4. Legacy User: https://www.youtube.com/user/username

Input Examples

Single Channel:

{
  "channelUrls": "https://www.youtube.com/@youtube"
}

Multiple Channels:

{
  "channelUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/@youtube",
    "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
    "https://www.youtube.com/c/YouTube",
    "https://www.youtube.com/user/YouTube"
  ]
}

Text Area Format:

{
  "channelUrls": "https://www.youtube.com/@youtube\nhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw\nhttps://www.youtube.com/c/YouTube"
}

📤 Output

Successful Extraction (Direct)

{
  "youtubeChannelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
  "channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
  "urlType": "direct",
  "status": "success"
}

Successful Extraction (Resolved)

{
  "youtubeChannelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@youtube",
  "channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
  "urlType": "username",
  "identifier": "youtube",
  "status": "success"
}

Failed Extraction

{
  "youtubeChannelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@invalidchannel",
  "channelId": "Not Found",
  "urlType": "username",
  "identifier": "invalidchannel",
  "error": "Failed to resolve channel ID",
  "status": "failed"
}

Summary Record

{
  "_summary": {
    "extractedAt": "2026-01-18T12:00:00.000Z",
    "totalChannels": 3,
    "successCount": 2,
    "failedCount": 1,
    "channels": [...]
  }
}

🚀 Usage

On Apify Platform

1. Navigate to Actor page
2. Click "Try for free" or "Start"
3. Paste YouTube channel URLs (one per line)
4. Click "Start"
5. View results in Dataset

🛠️ How It Works

1. URL Parsing - Extracts identifier from URL using regex
2. Direct Channel IDs - Returns immediately if URL contains channel ID
3. Username Resolution - Uses yt-dlp to resolve @username to channel ID
4. Custom URL Resolution - Resolves custom URLs via yt-dlp
5. Error Handling - Reports failures with detailed error messages
6. Batch Processing - Processes all URLs sequentially
7. Summary Generation - Creates summary record with statistics

Invalid YouTube URL

• Ensure URL contains youtube.com or youtu.be
• Check URL is properly formatted
• Example: https://www.youtube.com/@username ✅

Channel ID Not Found

• Channel might be deleted or private
• @username might be incorrect
• Some channels may not have public IDs
• Try using direct channel/ID URL format

Resolution Timeout

• Enable useApifyProxy if getting blocked
• Some channels may take longer to resolve
• Verify channel exists and is public

📊 Output Data Fields

Field	Type	Description
youtubeChannelUrl	String	Original input URL
channelId	String	Extracted YouTube channel ID
urlType	String	URL format type (direct/username/custom/user)
identifier	String	Extracted identifier (for non-direct URLs)
status	String	"success" or "failed"
error	String	Error message (only if failed)

💡 Tips for Best Results

1. URL Format: Use complete URLs with https://
2. Batch Size: Process 10-20 channels at a time
3. Error Checking: Always check status field
4. Direct URLs: Use channel/ID format when possible (fastest)
5. Validation: Verify URLs are YouTube channel links

🆚 Comparison with Original Script

Feature	Original Script	Apify Actor
Input	Terminal prompt	Web form / API
Output	Local JSON file	Apify Dataset
Multiple URLs	Manual loop	Batch processing ✅
VS Code Integration	Auto-open	N/A (cloud-based)
Error Handling	Basic	Comprehensive ✅
Proxy Support	No	Yes ✅
Cloud Storage	No	Yes ✅
API Access	No	Yes ✅

🎯 URL Format Examples

✅ Supported:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw
https://www.youtube.com/@youtube
https://www.youtube.com/c/YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/YouTube

❌ Not Supported:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=... (video URLs)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=... (playlist URLs)