youtube-search-python

What it is and what it does

youtube-search-python queries YouTube to return video, channel, and playlist metadata without requiring the official Data API v3. It provides both synchronous and asynchronous search interfaces, returning results with titles, view counts, thumbnails, and channel information. The library depends only on httpx for HTTP requests.

The package was last updated on 2022-06-23 and is now archived and unmaintained. While it may still work for basic searches, YouTube's interface changes since then mean functionality could break without warning, and no fixes will be provided.

Use it for:

• Prototype a music discovery tool that searches YouTube for songs and displays metadata
• Build a channel monitoring script that periodically searches for new uploads from creators
• Create a playlist aggregator that searches YouTube and collects video information
• Develop a video analysis tool that gathers search results and metadata for offline study

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Search YouTube for videos, channels, and playlists without the official YouTube Data API, returning metadata like titles, view counts, and thumbnails.

No. The package is abandoned as of 2022-06-23 with no maintenance since then. While it may function for simple searches today, YouTube's ongoing changes mean it will likely break without warning and receive no fixes. For production use, rely on the official YouTube Data API or an actively maintained alternative.

Install

youtube-search-python on PyPI

pip install youtube-search-python

uv add youtube-search-python

poetry add youtube-search-python

Installing youtube-search-python

Before you install

Installation is straightforward with low friction, but the package has been abandoned since June 2022 and is no longer maintained. The repository is archived with no updates or bug fixes expected.

License in practice

MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions, suitable for both open-source and commercial projects.

Quickstart

pip install youtube-search-python

from youtubesearchpython import VideosSearch

videosSearch = VideosSearch('NoCopyrightSounds', limit=2)
print(videosSearch.result())

yt-dlp must be installed separately (pip install yt-dlp) to use StreamURLFetcher as of v1.6.1

Verify before relying

• Whether YouTube's terms of service permit scraping via this library
• Current reliability given YouTube interface changes since June 2022
• Whether yt-dlp integration (required for StreamURLFetcher as of v1.6.1) remains functional

Package facts

Evidence: youtube_search_python-1.6.6-py3-none-any.whl

Tags

More WWW/HTTP packages