Handytool
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YouTube video & channel ID extractor

Extract the video ID, channel ID, handle or playlist ID from any YouTube URL — watch, Shorts, youtu.be, embed or @handle links all supported.

Paste a YouTube URL, handle or bare ID above to extract every identifier.

The URL is parsed locally with regex — nothing is fetched from YouTube, and no API key is used.

About the YouTube video & channel ID extractor

Handytool's YouTube ID extractor parses any YouTube URL and pulls out the pieces you actually need — 11-character video ID, UC-prefixed channel ID, @handle, playlist ID and start-time timestamp. It recognises watch URLs, youtu.be shorteners, Shorts, /embed/, /live/, /channel/, /user/, /c/ and @handle formats, so you never have to string-slice URLs by hand again. Useful for developers wiring up the YouTube Data API, writers collecting embed IDs, and anyone migrating between URL formats.

YouTube video & channel ID extractor features

  • 01

    Every URL format supported

    Watch links, youtu.be, Shorts, live, embed, playlists, /channel/UC…, /user/name, /c/name and @handle — all parsed with a single paste. Bare 11-character IDs and UC-prefixed channel IDs are recognised too.

  • 02

    Canonical URL + thumbnail URL

    Beyond the raw ID, the tool generates a clean canonical watch URL (with the start timestamp preserved) and the standard hqdefault thumbnail URL — saving a second tool lookup.

  • 03

    Browser-only, fast feedback

    Regex-based parsing runs as you type. Nothing is fetched, so there's no rate limit and no YouTube API key needed. The URL never leaves your device.

YouTube video & channel ID extractor FAQ

How do I get a YouTube video ID from a URL?
Paste any YouTube URL — watch, Shorts, youtu.be or embed — and the tool extracts the 11-character video ID. The same ID works in the YouTube Data API, oEmbed, thumbnails and embed codes.
Can this tool find a YouTube channel ID from a handle?
It recognises @handle URLs and returns the handle itself, but YouTube does not expose the UC-prefixed channel ID for handles without an API call. For the raw channel ID, visit the channel page and copy the URL from the /channel/UC… format.
Does it work with YouTube Shorts?
Yes. Shorts URLs follow the youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID pattern. The tool returns the same 11-character ID you'd get from a regular watch URL — they're interchangeable.
What about private or unlisted videos?
The tool only parses the URL — it never contacts YouTube. Unlisted URLs work fine because the ID is part of the URL you paste. Private videos with no shareable URL obviously cannot be parsed.
Does it extract timestamps and playlist IDs?
Yes. If the URL has a ?t= or ?start= timestamp, it's returned in both seconds and mm:ss form. Playlist IDs from ?list= are extracted separately from the video ID.

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