YouTube Video ID Finder

Building embed codes: The standard YouTube embed uses the video ID directly. `<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/[VIDEO_ID]">`. The video ID is the core of every embed code.

Creating direct video links: The short YouTube URL format is `https://youtu.be/[VIDEO_ID]`. If you know the ID, you can construct this URL without opening the video.

YouTube API calls: The YouTube Data API v3 uses video IDs as the primary identifier for most requests. If you're building anything that fetches video data programmatically, you need the ID.

Thumbnail URLs: YouTube thumbnail URLs are structured with the video ID: `https://img.youtube.com/vi/[VIDEO_ID]/maxresdefault.jpg`. Know the ID, know the thumbnail URL.

Cross-referencing videos: If you're maintaining a database or spreadsheet of videos, storing the video ID (not the full URL) is the most compact and permanent identifier.

Verifying video identity: URLs can break. Titles can change. But the video ID never changes for a video's lifetime on the platform.

If you want to find the video ID without a tool, look at the URL:

For a standard URL like `https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ`, the video ID is the value after `v=`: dQw4w9WgXcQ

For a short URL like `https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ`, the video ID is the last part of the path: dQw4w9WgXcQ

For a Shorts URL like `https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dQw4w9WgXcQ`, the video ID is after `/shorts/`: dQw4w9WgXcQ

Every format has the ID in a predictable location. The tool handles the parsing so you don't have to count characters.

YouTube uses different ID formats for different content types:

Video IDs: 11 characters. Start with any letter/number. Example: `dQw4w9WgXcQ`

Channel IDs: 24 characters starting with "UC". Example: `UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx`

Playlist IDs: Usually 34 characters starting with "PL". Example: `PLxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx`

Shorts: Same format as regular video IDs - Shorts are just videos uploaded in vertical format.

If you're working with an API or automation and need to understand which ID type to use for which call, the length and prefix make it clear.

If you've just started building any kind of website or tool that features YouTube content, the video ID is the technical foundation for everything.

Once you have it, you can:

• Construct the embed code directly: `<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/[ID]" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>`
• Access the thumbnail: `https://img.youtube.com/vi/[ID]/maxresdefault.jpg`
• Build the short share link: `https://youtu.be/[ID]`
• Query the YouTube API for all video metadata

That's four different technical outputs from one 11-character string. This tool gets you that string in under 10 seconds.