How long is a YouTube video ID?

All YouTube video IDs are exactly 11 characters long. They contain letters (A-Z, a-z), digits (0-9), hyphens (-), and underscores (_). With 64 possible characters in each of the 11 positions — 64 to the 11th power — there are over 73 quintillion unique IDs, far more than YouTube will ever need.

What URL formats does this tool support?

The YouTube Video ID Extractor supports: standard watch URLs (youtube.com/watch?v=), youtu.be short links, YouTube Shorts URLs (/shorts/), embed URLs (youtube.com/embed/), YouTube Live URLs (/live/), and playlist URLs with a video parameter. All 11-character video IDs are supported regardless of other query parameters in the URL.

How do I use a video ID to get the thumbnail?

YouTube serves thumbnails at predictable CDN URLs: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VIDEO_ID/maxresdefault.jpg for HD, hqdefault.jpg for HQ, sddefault.jpg for SD, and mqdefault.jpg for MQ. Replace VIDEO_ID with the extracted ID. Or use the YouTube Thumbnail Downloader — paste the original YouTube URL to download thumbnails in all available resolutions.

Can I use a YouTube video ID with the YouTube Data API?

Yes. The YouTube Data API v3 uses video IDs as the primary identifier for video endpoints. Pass the ID as the id parameter in a videos.list API request to retrieve full video metadata — title, description, view counts, duration, tags, and more. The API requires a separate API key from Google Cloud Console, but the video ID itself is freely extracted from any public YouTube URL using this tool.

What is the difference between a video ID and a channel ID?

YouTube video IDs are exactly 11 characters and identify a specific video. YouTube channel IDs start with UC and are 24 characters total — they identify a channel. When a URL contains /channel/UCxxxxxxxxxx, the long string is a channel ID, not a video ID. This extractor only identifies 11-character video IDs from URLs that reference a specific video, not channel or playlist pages.

Does the extractor work for private or unlisted videos?

The extractor reads the video ID from the URL structure — it will successfully extract the ID from a private or unlisted video URL if you have the URL. However, the thumbnail preview shown after extraction loads from YouTube's public CDN, which returns a placeholder image for private videos since the thumbnail is not publicly accessible. The extracted 11-character ID itself is correct and can be used in private API calls where you have access.

Why does a YouTube URL have extra characters after the 11-character video ID?

Everything after the 11-character ID is an optional parameter, not part of the ID. Common ones are &list= (the playlist the video was opened from), &t= (a start timestamp in seconds), &index= (position in a playlist), and &si= or &pp= (share and analytics tracking tokens). None of them change which video the URL points to. The extractor reads only the 11-character ID and ignores the rest, so you can paste a full share URL with tracking parameters and still get the clean ID. Use that ID with the YouTube Thumbnail Downloader to pull the video's thumbnail.

Can I build a YouTube short link or embed code from the video ID?

Yes. The youtu.be short link format is https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID. The embed URL format is https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID. Both are generated automatically after extraction and shown as quick links below the extracted ID. You can also construct a standard watch URL as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID.

Free · All URL Formats · 11-Char Video ID

YouTube Video
ID Extractor

Q: What is a YouTube video ID?

A YouTube video ID is an 11-character alphanumeric string that uniquely identifies each video on YouTube. It appears in the URL after 'v=' in standard watch links (e.g., youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ), as the last segment in youtu.be short links, or as the last segment after /shorts/ in Shorts URLs. The video ID is used by YouTube's API, by thumbnail CDN URLs, and by embed codes to reference a specific video.

Paste any YouTube URL — watch, youtu.be, Shorts, embed, playlist, or live — and instantly extract the 11-character video ID. Copy it in one click, preview the thumbnail, and access direct links to download the thumbnail in any resolution.

All YouTube URL Formats

Supports every YouTube URL format: standard watch links, youtu.be short links, YouTube Shorts, embed URLs, live stream URLs, and playlist links with a video parameter. Paste anything — the extractor handles it.

Instant — No Server Request

The video ID is extracted entirely in your browser using JavaScript regex. No network request is made — results appear instantly after you click Extract, with no loading or waiting.

One-Click Copy

Click Copy to put the extracted video ID on your clipboard instantly — ready to paste into API calls, embed codes, development tools, or the YouTube thumbnail CDN URL pattern.

Thumbnail Preview + Download Link

After extraction, see the video's HD thumbnail preview and get a direct link to download it at full resolution using the YouTube Thumbnail Downloader.

How it works

How to Extract a YouTube Video ID in 2 Steps

Paste any YouTube URL — the 11-character video ID is ready to copy in under a second.

Paste the YouTube URL

Paste any YouTube video URL into the input field — standard watch links (youtube.com/watch?v=), youtu.be short links, YouTube Shorts (/shorts/), embed URLs (/embed/), live streams (/live/), or playlist URLs with a video parameter. The extractor parses every format and locates the 11-character ID automatically.

Copy the Extracted Video ID

Click Extract ID. The 11-character video ID appears instantly alongside a thumbnail preview and quick links to the watch page, the youtu.be short link, and the embed URL. Click Copy to put the ID on your clipboard — ready to paste into API calls, embed codes, or the YouTube Thumbnail Downloader for instant thumbnail access.

Supported Formats

All YouTube URL Formats the Extractor Supports

Paste any of these URL formats and the extractor will find the video ID automatically.

URL Format	Example	ID Location
Standard watch	`youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ`	After `v=`
Short link	`youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ`	Path segment
YouTube Shorts	`youtube.com/shorts/dQw4w9WgXcQ`	After `/shorts/`
Embed URL	`youtube.com/embed/dQw4w9WgXcQ`	After `/embed/`
Live stream	`youtube.com/live/dQw4w9WgXcQ`	After `/live/`
Playlist with video	`youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&list=PL…`	After `v=`
Nocookie embed	`youtube-nocookie.com/embed/dQw4w9WgXcQ`	After `/embed/`

All YouTube video IDs are exactly 11 characters long and contain only letters (A–Z, a–z), digits (0–9), hyphens (-), and underscores (_). If a URL contains a different pattern, it is not a video URL — it may be a channel, playlist, or other YouTube page.

About Video IDs

What Is a YouTube Video ID and How Is It Used?

A YouTube video ID is the unique 11-character identifier that YouTube assigns to every video uploaded to the platform. It is the key to accessing all public metadata and assets for a video — including thumbnails, which are served by YouTube's image CDN at predictable URLs constructed from the video ID.

The YouTube thumbnail CDN URL pattern is: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VIDEO_ID/maxresdefault.jpg. Replace VIDEO_ID with the extracted 11-character ID to access the thumbnail directly. Available quality variants include mqdefault.jpg (320×180), hqdefault.jpg (480×360), sddefault.jpg (640×480), and maxresdefault.jpg (1280×720). The YouTube Thumbnail Downloader uses this pattern to retrieve all available resolutions for any video.

For developers, the video ID is the primary parameter for YouTube Data API v3 requests. Fetching video details, statistics, captions, and related content all require the video ID. The embed URL pattern is https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID — paste the extracted ID to construct an embeddable player for any video. The short link pattern is https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID — useful for sharing and analytics tracking.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions About the YouTube Video ID Extractor

Common questions about YouTube video IDs and the extractor tool.

: A YouTube video ID is the unique 11-character alphanumeric string that identifies each video on YouTube. It appears after v= in standard watch URLs, as the last path segment in youtu.be links, and after /shorts/ in Shorts URLs. It is used by YouTube's CDN, API, and embed system to reference a specific video.
: The extractor supports: standard watch URLs (youtube.com/watch?v=), youtu.be short links, YouTube Shorts (/shorts/), embed URLs (/embed/), YouTube Live (/live/), playlist URLs with a video parameter, and youtube-nocookie.com embed URLs.
: All YouTube video IDs are exactly 11 characters long. They contain letters (A–Z, a–z), digits (0–9), hyphens (-), and underscores (_). With 64 possible characters in each of the 11 positions — 64 to the 11th power — there are over 73 quintillion unique IDs, far more than YouTube will ever need.
: YouTube serves thumbnails at predictable CDN URLs: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VIDEO_ID/maxresdefault.jpg for HD, hqdefault.jpg for HQ, sddefault.jpg for SD, and mqdefault.jpg for MQ. Replace VIDEO_ID with the extracted ID. Or use the YouTube Thumbnail Downloader — paste the original YouTube URL to download thumbnails in all available resolutions.
: Yes. The YouTube Data API v3 uses video IDs as the primary identifier for video endpoints. Pass the ID as the id parameter in a videos.list API request to retrieve full video metadata — title, description, view counts, duration, tags, and more. A separate Google Cloud API key is required, but the video ID itself is freely extracted from any public YouTube URL using this tool.
: YouTube video IDs are exactly 11 characters and identify a specific video. YouTube channel IDs start with UC and are 24 characters total — they identify a channel. When a URL contains /channel/UCxxxxxxxxxx, the long string is a channel ID, not a video ID. This extractor only works with video URLs that reference a specific video.
: The extractor reads the video ID from the URL structure — so it will successfully extract the ID from a private or unlisted video URL if you have the link. However, the thumbnail preview loads from YouTube's public CDN, which returns a placeholder for private videos since the thumbnail is not publicly accessible. The extracted 11-character ID is still correct.
: Everything after the 11-character ID is an optional parameter, not part of the ID. Common ones are &list= (the playlist the video was opened from), &t= (a start timestamp), &index= (playlist position), and &si= or &pp= (share and analytics tracking tokens). None of them change which video the URL points to. The extractor reads only the 11-character ID and ignores the rest, so you can paste a full share URL with tracking parameters and still get the clean ID — then use it with the YouTube Thumbnail Downloader to pull the video's thumbnail.
: Yes. The youtu.be short link is https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID and the embed URL is https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID. Both are generated automatically after extraction and shown as quick links below the extracted ID — ready to copy and use in your project.