API Reference

YouTube API

Upload videos, Shorts, and manage YouTube channels with a single API call.

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Quick Start

Get started in 3 steps

Get API Key

Connect Account

Use our OAuth flow to connect YouTube accounts.

Start Posting

Make API calls to post content to YouTube.

Upload a YouTube video

JavaScript

const response = await fetch('https://getlate.dev/api/v1/posts', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    content: 'Learn how to build a REST API from scratch...',
    mediaItems: [{ type: 'video', url: 'https://example.com/tutorial.mp4' }],
    platforms: [{
      platform: 'youtube',
      accountId: 'acc_abc123',
      platformSpecificData: {
        title: 'REST API Tutorial for Beginners',
        visibility: 'public'
      }
    }],
    tags: ['api', 'tutorial', 'programming'],
    publishNow: true
  })
});

const post = await response.json();
console.log(post.post._id); // '65f1c0a9e2b5af0012ab34cd'

Endpoints

YouTube Endpoints

POST/v1/posts

Upload or schedule a YouTube video or Short

GET/v1/posts/{id}

Get status and details of a YouTube upload

DELETE/v1/posts/{id}

Cancel a scheduled YouTube upload

GET/v1/profiles

List all connected YouTube channels

View full API reference

Media Specs

Media Requirements

Type	Format	Max Size	Notes
Video	MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV	256 GB	Up to 12 hours duration
Shorts	MP4, MOV	256 GB	Up to 60 sec, 9:16 aspect
Thumbnail	JPEG, PNG	2 MB	1280x720 recommended
Title	Text	100 chars	Required for videos

Late automatically transcodes and optimizes media for YouTube's requirements.

Rate Limits

API Limits

YouTube's Data API has quota limits that reset daily. Late manages your quota usage and queues uploads to avoid hitting limits.

Late handles all rate limiting automatically. We queue and retry requests as needed.

Capabilities

Features

Upload long-form videos and Shorts
Schedule video premieres
Custom thumbnails support
Tags, descriptions, and playlists
Privacy settings (public/unlisted/private)
Multi-channel management
Webhook notifications for processing status

Response

Response Example

Response

200 OK

{
  "post": {
    "_id": "65f1c0a9e2b5af0012ab34cd",
    "status": "published",
    "content": "Learn how to build a REST API from scratch...",
    "platforms": [{
      "platform": "youtube",
      "accountId": { "_id": "acc_abc123", "username": "YourChannel" },
      "status": "published",
      "platformPostId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
      "platformPostUrl": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
    }],
    "createdAt": "2025-01-10T10:30:00Z"
  },
  "message": "Post published successfully"
}

Start building with YouTube API

Skip the YouTube Data API complexity. Late handles OAuth, video processing, and quota limits so you can ship faster.

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