YouTube comments API

YouTube Comments API

Fetch a cursor-paginated page of public comments on one YouTube post, with the commenter's handle and each comment's metrics.

Input: Public YouTube post URL. Returns: a page of results with a cursor for the next, in YouTube's own field names. Price: 1 credit per call; failed reads are free.

Try this API Read reference

GET /v1/youtube/comments Public YouTube post URL · Cursor page

Illustrative response

GET /v1/youtube/comments

URL url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wq3VHsL_bElimit=20

Each call1 credit

Retrieval failurefree

{
  "success": true,
  "available": true,
  "creditsCharged": 1,
  "data": {
    "comments": [
      {
        "author": "public_commenter",
        "text": "This is exactly what I needed today.",
        "likes": 128,
        "replyCount": 6
      }
    ],
    "commentCount": 1,
    "fetchedAt": "2026-08-28T09:41:44Z"
  }
}

Key fields shown · full response below

See it in action

Try it with a sample URL.

The snippets use the production endpoint. Replace the sample URL with your own public target before running them.

Try this API live

Pick a sample input

Start from a valid shape, then replace the sample value with your public target.

Selected NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wq3VHsL_bE Open

Preview the request

Use a server-side key and send parameters as query values.

GET https://api.sourcevine.io/v1/youtube/comments

curl -G 'https://api.sourcevine.io/v1/youtube/comments' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer sv_live_...' \
  --data-urlencode 'url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wq3VHsL_bE' \
  --data-urlencode 'limit=20'

const params = new URLSearchParams({
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wq3VHsL_bE",
  "limit": "20",
});

const res = await fetch('https://api.sourcevine.io/v1/youtube/comments?' + params, {
  headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer sv_live_...' },
});

const body = await res.json();
console.log(body.data);

import requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://api.sourcevine.io/v1/youtube/comments",
    params={"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wq3VHsL_bE", "limit": "20"},
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer sv_live_..."},
)

body = r.json()
print(body["data"])

Replays the recorded response. Nothing leaves your browser.

Read the response

Every success includes availability, a fetch timestamp and billing context.

GET /v1/youtube/comments Not run

Hit Show sample response to see the response.

A real YouTube Comments API response, recorded against the public target above.

available 1 credit recorded

Comments0

Cost1 credit

{
  "data": {
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wq3VHsL_bE",
    "cached": false,
    "videoId": "9wq3VHsL_bE",
    "comments": [],
    "fetchedAt": "2026-09-02T07:03:30Z",
    "nextCursor": null,
    "commentCount": 0,
    "cacheAgeSeconds": null,
    "sourceTimestamp": null
  },
  "success": true,
  "available": true
}

Ship it anywhere

Use this API from code, no-code tools, MCP clients and agents.

We build and maintain theseFirst-party surfaces, versioned with the API.

HTTP Any backend, worker or cron job MCP Available as a tool in npx @sourcevine/mcp

Works anywhere that can make an HTTP requestNo plugin to install, and none to wait for.

Make HTTP → Make a request Zapier Webhooks by Zapier → Custom Request n8n HTTP Request node Agents Scoped reads for a tool-using model

Response

Response fields.

Each response includes typed availability, a fetch timestamp, and only the public fields this API promises.

Field	Type	Meaning
videoId	string	The public post or video id.
comments	array	Public comments returned for the requested post.
comments[].commentId	string	Platform comment or reply id.
comments[].author	string \| null	Public username only. No profile bio or contact fields.
comments[].likes	integer \| null	Public like count when the platform reports it.
comments[].replyCount	integer \| null	Reply count when the platform reports it; null means unknown, not zero.
comments[].replyCursor	string \| null	Pass as continuation_token to the YouTube Comment Replies API for this comment's replies.
nextCursor	string \| null	Pass as cursor to request the next page.
fetchedAt	ISO datetime	When Sourcevine read the public page.
sourceTimestamp	ISO datetime \| null	The platform timestamp when it is available.
cached	boolean	True when this answer repeats an identical request made moments earlier.
cacheAgeSeconds	integer	Seconds since the reading was taken.
url	string
commentCount	integer

Request flow

How a request is handled.

01 Send a public URL
Send a public YouTube post URL. Sourcevine resolves ids, validates the resource type and returns a typed response.
02 Checked
A URL of the wrong kind or platform is refused with a 400 before any fetch, and not charged.
03 Read
The public data is read when you call. An identical request moments earlier is answered again, free.
04 Typed availability
Deleted, private and unsupported resources return explicit statuses, so clients can stop retrying facts about the world.
05 JSON back
YouTube names stay intact, so your code reads subscriberCount instead of reverse-engineering a generic schema.

fetchedAtcreditsChargedavailable

Every response carries fetchedAt and the platform timestamp, so you know how old a reading is before you act on it. YouTube Comments API fits recurring comments checks in dashboards, spreadsheets, workflows and agents.

Boundaries

What this API does not return.

No contact or bio fields
Bios, email addresses, phone numbers, postal addresses and messenger handles are outside the response contract.
No private data
Private accounts, restricted content and unavailable resources return typed availability instead of guessed data.
No comments or downloads
List APIs return recent public post metadata and metrics. They do not return comment bodies, media files or hidden analytics.

Use cases

Where teams use YouTube Comments API.

Creator monitoring

Pull the latest public posts from a watched account on a schedule.

Campaign capture

Build a dataset of recent brand mentions or campaign posts before reporting.

Lead enrichment

See whether a profile is active before spending human review time.

Content ops

Feed recent public videos into moderation, analytics or publishing workflows.

Pricing

1 credit per call, and nothing for a failed read.

The response and X-Credits-Charged header tell you what happened, including when it is zero.

Charged1 credit

AnsweredThe public data came back.
Not found or privateThe lookup was made, and that is the answer. The response says which.
Empty resultThe lookup was made and found nothing to return, such as an account with no posts.

Not charged0 credits

Failure on our sideA timeout or a read we could not complete.
Unsupported URLThe wrong kind of URL: refused before any fetch.
Cache hitAn identical request moments earlier, answered again.

FAQ

Common questions.

What does YouTube Comments API return?

Fetch a cursor-paginated page of public comments on one YouTube post, with the commenter's handle and each comment's metrics.

How is it billed?

A call costs 1 credit, including an empty result. Retrieval failures are not charged.

What happens when the resource is private or deleted?

The request returns available=false with a typed availability status. Not-found and private results are charged like any lookup; unsupported URLs and retrieval failures are not.

Does Sourcevine return contact data?

No. Bios, emails, phone numbers, postal addresses and private or restricted content are outside the public response contract.

Do I need to log in to YouTube?

No. Your integration authenticates with a Sourcevine API key. You do not need to supply YouTube credentials or a session.

YouTube Comments API

Try it with a sample URL.

Pick a sample input

Preview the request

Read the response

Use this API from code, no-code tools, MCP clients and agents.

Response fields.

How a request is handled.

What this API does not return.

Where teams use YouTube Comments API.

Creator monitoring

Campaign capture

Lead enrichment

Content ops

1 credit per call, and nothing for a failed read.

Common questions.

What does YouTube Comments API return?

How is it billed?

What happens when the resource is private or deleted?

Does Sourcevine return contact data?

Do I need to log in to YouTube?

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