Docs · Channel details

Channel details

A channel's subscribers, total views, video count, join date, country, links and description.

1 credit per callFresh within 6 hoursMCP tool: youtube_channel

GEThttps://api.lurkapi.com/v1/youtube/channel

When to use this

Use it to size up a creator: subscribers, lifetime views, number of videos, when they joined, where they're based and the links on their profile. Pass channelId, handle or a channel url (/@handle, /channel/UC…, /c/… and /user/… links all work).

YouTube rounds subscriber counts (519M), so subscriberCount is rounded too; viewCount and videoCount are exact from the about panel. If that panel is unavailable, the header supplies rounded videoCount, while views, join date, country and links can be missing. email is always null: YouTube only shows business emails to signed-in viewers.

Unknown and terminated channels return 404 not_found.

Parameters

All parameters go in the query string.

Parameter	Description
`channelId` stringoptional	Channel id, e.g. `UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA`. Pass this or `handle`.
`handle` stringoptional	Channel handle, with or without the @, e.g. `MrBeast`. Pass this or `channelId`. Example `MrBeast`
`url` stringoptional	Channel URL, e.g. `https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast`. Instead of `channelId` or `handle`.

Example request

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your key, or set LURKAPI_KEY for the code. Get a free key.

curlJavaScriptPython

JavaScript · reads your key from LURKAPI_KEY

const params = new URLSearchParams({
  handle: "MrBeast",
});
const res = await fetch(`https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/youtube/channel?${params}`, {
  headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.LURKAPI_KEY },
});
const data = await res.json();
if (!data.success) throw new Error(`${data.code}: ${data.error}`);
console.log(data.links);

Python · reads your key from LURKAPI_KEY

import os
import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/youtube/channel",
    params={
        "handle": "MrBeast",
    },
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["LURKAPI_KEY"]},
    timeout=60,
)
data = res.json()
if not data["success"]:
    raise RuntimeError(f"{data['code']}: {data['error']}")
print(data["links"])

Example response

A real response from this endpoint, captured from the live API and trimmed to a couple of items. Strings over 96 characters (mostly signed media URLs) are cut short and end in ….

Show the example response (2 KB)

{
  "success": true,
  "credits_remaining": 999995,
  "credits_charged": 1,
  "channelId": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
  "channel": "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
  "handle": "MrBeast",
  "name": "MrBeast",
  "description": "SUBSCRIBE FOR A COOKIE!\nNew MrBeast or MrBeast Gaming video every single…",
  "avatar": {
    "image": {
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/nxYrc_1_2f77DoBadyxMTmv7ZpRZapHR5jbuYe…",
          "width": 72,
          "height": 72
        },
        {
          "url": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/nxYrc_1_2f77DoBadyxMTmv7ZpRZapHR5jbuYe…",
          "width": 120,
          "height": 120
        },
        {
          "url": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/nxYrc_1_2f77DoBadyxMTmv7ZpRZapHR5jbuYe…",
          "width": 160,
          "height": 160
        },
        {
          "url": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/nxYrc_1_2f77DoBadyxMTmv7ZpRZapHR5jbuYe…",
          "width": 900,
          "height": 900
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "avatarUrl": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/nxYrc_1_2f77DoBadyxMTmv7ZpRZapHR5jbuYe…",
  "banner": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/mHMO_eEMp0dPvh0ADwXhPXNYb_GnjSVsLI8biq…",
  "isVerified": true,
  "isFamilySafe": true,
  "subscriberCount": 519000000,
  "subscriberCountText": "519M subscribers",
  "videoCount": 1004,
  "videoCountText": "1,004 videos",
  "viewCount": 141227305543,
  "viewCountText": "141,227,305,543 views",
  "joinedDate": "2012-02-19",
  "joinedDateText": "Joined Feb 19, 2012",
  "country": "United States",
  "email": null,
  "links": [
    "https://www.themostdangerousgames.com/",
    "https://www.instagram.com/mrbeast/",
    "https://twitter.com/MrBeast",
    "https://facebook.com/mrbeast/"
  ],
  "twitter": "https://twitter.com/MrBeast",
  "instagram": "https://www.instagram.com/mrbeast/",
  "tags": "mrbeast6000, beast, mrbeast, Mr.Beast, mr",
  "keywords": [
    "mrbeast6000",
    "beast",
    "mrbeast",
    "Mr.Beast",
    "mr"
  ]
}

Response fields

Every field of a successful response. [] marks a list: a[].b is the b of each item in a. nullable fields can be null; optional fields can be missing.

Show all 33 fields

Field	Type	Description
success	true	Always true here; errors have `success: false`.
credits_remaining	number	Your balance after this call. On anonymous playground calls: free tries left today.
credits_charged	number	Credits this call cost; 0 on free endpoints. On anonymous playground calls: tries used (1).
channelId	string	Channel id, `UC…`.
channel	string	Channel page, e.g. `https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast` (or /channel/UC… without a handle).
handle	stringnullable	Handle without the @, e.g. `MrBeast`; null if the channel has none.
name	string	Channel name.
description	string	The full channel description.
avatar	objectnullable	Channel picture in several sizes (YouTube's own shape). `avatarUrl` is the largest.
avatar.image	object	The picture.
avatar.image.sources	object[]	The same picture in several sizes, smallest first.
avatar.image.sources[].url	string	Image URL.
avatar.image.sources[].width	number	Width in pixels.
avatar.image.sources[].height	number	Height in pixels.
avatarUrl	stringnullable	Largest channel picture URL (900 px).
banner	stringnullable	Largest banner image URL; null without a banner.
isVerified	boolean	Has YouTube's verified or official artist badge.
isFamilySafe	boolean	YouTube marks the channel family safe.
subscriberCount	numbernullable	Subscribers, rounded as YouTube shows them (519M → 519000000). null when hidden.
subscriberCountText	stringnullable	e.g. "519M subscribers".
videoCount	numbernullable	Public videos, Shorts and past streams. Exact from the about panel; rounded as videoCountText if that panel is unavailable.
videoCountText	stringnullable	e.g. "1,004 videos".
viewCount	numbernullable	Lifetime views across the channel, exact; null if the about panel is unavailable.
viewCountText	stringnullable	e.g. "141,227,305,543 views".
joinedDate	stringnullable	When the channel was created, `YYYY-MM-DD`.
joinedDateText	stringnullable	e.g. "Joined Feb 19, 2012".
country	stringnullable	Country the channel lists, e.g. "United States"; null if it lists none.
email	null	Always null: YouTube only shows a channel's business email to signed-in viewers.
links	string[]	The links on the channel's profile (website, socials, store), in the channel's order.
twitter	stringnullable	The X / Twitter link from `links`, if any.
instagram	stringnullable	The Instagram link from `links`, if any.
tags	stringnullable	The channel's keywords, comma-separated, e.g. "mrbeast6000, beast, mrbeast"; null if none.
keywords	string[]	The same keywords as a list.

Caching and freshness

Responses are cached for up to 6 hours, so a repeat call within that window can return the same data. It still costs 1 credit.

Errors

Errors return { success: false, error, code, docs } with the HTTP status below. Validation errors, 401/402/429 rejections and 5xx failures are free; not_found is charged (how charging works). All error codes.

Status	Code	Meaning
401	`missing_api_key`	No API key. Send it in the `x-api-key` header.
401	`invalid_api_key`	The key is unknown or was revoked.
402	`insufficient_credits`	Not enough credits for this call. Buy a pack or wait for tomorrow's top-up.
404	`not_found`	The endpoint, or the thing you asked for (ad, post, subreddit), doesn't exist. Charged when the platform was checked.
405	`method_not_allowed`	Endpoints take GET with query params.
429	`rate_limited`	Too many calls at once. Wait for the `retry-after` seconds, then retry.
500	`internal_error`	Something broke on our side. Retry; 5xx errors are free.
502	`upstream_error`	The platform didn't give a usable answer. Retry; 5xx errors are free.
503	`upstream_busy`	All our connections to the platform are busy. Retry in a few seconds; 5xx errors are free.
504	`upstream_timeout`	The platform took over 30 seconds to answer. Retry; timeouts are free.

Use it in Claude

Once LurkAPI is connected to Claude, this endpoint is the youtube_channel tool. Ask in plain English, for example:

Ask Claude

Use LurkAPI's youtube_channel with handle "MrBeast" and summarize what you find.

Claude calls youtube_channel with arguments like these, and each call costs 1 credit:

Tool arguments

{
  "handle": "MrBeast"
}

Tool results skip nulls and empty lists to save tokens.