How to Get a YouTube Channel ID from a URL in PHP

If you have a YouTube channel URL like:

https://www.youtube.com/@%EC%B6%94%EC%B6%94%EB%A3%A8%EC%A3%BC%EC%B6%98

…and you need the Channel ID (the one that starts with UC...), YouTube doesn’t include it directly in handle-based URLs. The easiest and most reliable way is to use the YouTube Data API v3.

Step 1: Get a YouTube Data API Key

The YouTube Data API is free for up to 10,000 requests per day, which is more than enough for most projects.

1. Go to Google Cloud Console
   https://console.cloud.google.com/ 
2. Create a Project
   • Click the project dropdown → New Project
   • Name it (e.g., YouTubeAPIProject) → Create
3. Enable YouTube Data API v3
   • Go to the API page
   • Click Enable
4. Create an API Key
   • In the left menu: APIs & Services → Credentials
   • Click Create Credentials → API key
   • Copy the key shown
5. (Optional) Restrict the Key
   • Click your new API key
   • Under API Restrictions, choose YouTube Data API v3
   • Under Application Restrictions, limit by IP or HTTP referrer

Step 2: PHP Script to Get Channel ID from a Handle

<?php function getYouTubeChannelIdFromHandle($handle, $apiKey) {
    $url = "https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/channels?part=id&forHandle=" . urlencode($handle) . "&key=" . $apiKey;
    $json = file_get_contents($url);
    $data = json_decode($json, true);

    return $data['items'][0]['id'] ?? null;
}

$apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";  // Replace with your real key $handle = "@추추루주춘"; // Your YouTube handle

$channelId = getYouTubeChannelIdFromHandle($handle, $apiKey);

echo "Channel ID: " . $channelId;

Step 3: Test Your Key

Visit this URL in your browser (replace YOUR_API_KEY):

https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/channels?part=id&forHandle=@추추루주춘&key=YOUR_API_KEY

If successful, you’ll get:

{
  "items": [
    {
      "id": "UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
    }
  ]
} 

💡 Notes

• API usage is free within the quota (10,000 lookups/day).
• No scraping is required, so this method is stable.
• Works with handles, custom URLs, and direct channel URLs.