Youtube API Integration With C# .NET

YouTube is one of the largest video-sharing platforms on the internet, with billions of users worldwide. As a result, many developers are looking to integrate YouTube into their applications. Using YouTube API can provide a number of benefits for your application. With this integration, you can fetch information about YouTube videos, channels, and playlists, as well as upload, manage and monitor your own YouTube content.

In this article, we will explore the basics of integrating YouTube API in .NET Core, including how to get started with the API, and also We will take a look at how to fetch YouTube videos using .NET Core. We will be using the Google API Client Library for .NET, which is a free and open-source library that provides easy access to Google APIs.

To get started, you need to create a Google API Console project. This allows you to access the YouTube API and use it in your .NET Core application. Here's how you can do it:

Step 1. Create a Google API Console Project

1. Go to the Google API Console (https://console.developers.google.com)

2. Click on the "Select a Project" drop-down menu and then click on "NEW PROJECT".

3. Enter a project name, such as "YouTubeTest" and click on "Create".

4. After your project has been created, click on "Library" menu inside your project and click on  "YouTube Data API v3" under the "YouTube APIs" section.

5. Click on "Enable" to enable the API.

6. From the Credentials menu, click on "Create credentials" and then choose "API key".

Now we have an API Key, This key will be used later while using the YouTube API in our project.

Step 2. Create a new C# console application in Visual Studio

Step 3. Install the Google API Client Library for .NET

To use the YouTube API in your .NET Core application, you need to install the Google API Client Library for .NET. This library provides a simple and easy-to-use interface for accessing Google APIs. Here's how you can install it:

Go to the Package Manager Console and enter the following command:

Install-Package Google.Apis.YouTube.v3

Step 4

Now, include the following namespaces in the class file.

using Google.Apis.Services;
using Google.Apis.YouTube.v3;

Step 5

Now, add the following method to your class file.

In the Given method, you need to replace your API key. 

private async Task GetYouTubeVideos() {
    var youtubeService = new YouTubeService(new BaseClientService.Initializer() {
        ApiKey = "REPLACE_ME",
            ApplicationName = this.GetType().ToString()
    });
    var searchListRequest = youtubeService.Search.List("snippet");
    searchListRequest.Q = "My Videos"; // Replace with your search term.
    searchListRequest.MaxResults = 50;
    // Call the search.list method to retrieve results matching the specified query term.
    var searchListResponse = await searchListRequest.ExecuteAsync();
    List < string > videos = new List < string > ();
    List < string > channels = new List < string > ();
    List < string > playlists = new List < string > ();
    // Add each result to the appropriate list, and then display the lists of
    // matching videos, channels, and playlists.
    foreach(var searchResult in searchListResponse.Items) {
        switch (searchResult.Id.Kind) {
            case "youtube#video":
                videos.Add(string.Format("{0} ({1})", searchResult.Snippet.Title, searchResult.Id.VideoId));
                break;
            case "youtube#channel":
                channels.Add(string.Format("{0} ({1})", searchResult.Snippet.Title, searchResult.Id.ChannelId));
                break;
            case "youtube#playlist":
                playlists.Add(string.Format("{0} ({1})", searchResult.Snippet.Title, searchResult.Id.PlaylistId));
                break;
        }
    }
    Console.WriteLine(string.Format("Videos:\n{0}\n", string.Join("\n", videos)));
    Console.WriteLine(string.Format("Channels:\n{0}\n", string.Join("\n", channels)));
    Console.WriteLine(string.Format("Playlists:\n{0}\n", string.Join("\n", playlists)));
}

The above code sample calls the API's search.list method to retrieve search results associated with a particular keyword.

Step 6

Use the above method in your class as the following,

static void Main(string[] args)
{
	new Program().GetYouTubeVideos().GetAwaiter().GetResult();
	Console.ReadLine();
}

The code will result the following result. 

So here we have seen a very basic example of how to get video details. You can do a lot more using the same API.

You can refer YouTube API document to use more functionality from the below link.

https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs

Summary

The YouTube Data API allows accessing YouTube data and functionality through a RESTful interface. It provides various functionalities including retrieving information about channels, videos, playlists, comments, and captions.

The API also provides functionality for adding, updating, and deleting videos, comments, playlists, and captions. Additionally, it can be used to search for videos and channels, and retrieve trending videos. With the API, we can manage authentication and authorization, and can also analyze and monitor usage metrics.

So In this article, we have taken a look at how to fetch YouTube videos using .NET C#. By using the Google API Client Library for .NET.

I hope you will find this article helpful. If you have any suggestions, then please feel free to ask in the comment section.

Thank you.