YouTube

gog youtube (alias gog yt) reads public YouTube data with an API key or uses account OAuth for private reads and mutations.

#Configure access

For public channel, video, activity, playlist, comment, and search reads, enable YouTube Data API v3 and store an API key:

gog config set youtube_api_key YOUR_API_KEY
gog yt videos list --chart mostPopular --region US --max 5

Account reads use the default youtube.readonly scope:

gog auth add you@gmail.com --services youtube
gog yt activities list --mine --account you@gmail.com

Subscription and playlist mutations require the explicit youtube.force-ssl extra scope:

gog auth add you@gmail.com --services youtube \
  --extra-scopes https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.force-ssl \
  --force-consent

The account must already have a YouTube channel. If the API returns youtubeSignupRequired, initialize the channel once at youtube.com and retry.

#Read playlists and liked videos

List the playlists owned by a channel or by the authenticated user:

gog yt playlists list --channel-id UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw
gog yt playlists list --mine --account you@gmail.com

List the videos inside a playlist with playlists items list. Public playlists work with an API key; private playlists and the special LL (liked videos) playlist need account OAuth. Use --all to page through large playlists:

gog yt playlists items list --playlist-id PLAYLIST_ID --all
gog yt playlists items list --playlist-id LL --account you@gmail.com --all

Read your liked (or disliked) videos directly with videos list --my-rating. This is a per-user read, so it always uses account OAuth:

gog yt videos list --my-rating like --account you@gmail.com --max 50
gog yt videos list --my-rating dislike --account you@gmail.com --json

Both reads work with the default youtube.readonly scope; no extra scope is required.

#Choose video fields

videos list keeps its compact historical default: snippet, contentDetails, and statistics. Request every field available for arbitrary videos with --parts all, or pass an exact comma-separated list:

gog yt videos list --id VIDEO_ID --parts all --json
gog yt videos list --id YOUR_VIDEO_ID --parts snippet,fileDetails --account you@gmail.com --json

all excludes the owner-only fileDetails, processingDetails, and suggestions parts. Explicit lists are passed through unchanged so authenticated owners can request those fields for their own uploads. Do not combine all with other part names.

#Manage subscriptions

List one page or fetch every page:

gog yt subscriptions list --max 50 --account you@gmail.com
gog yt subscriptions list --all --account you@gmail.com --json

Subscribe with a channel ID:

gog yt subscriptions subscribe \
  --channel-id UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw \
  --account you@gmail.com

Unsubscribe using either the subscription ID returned by subscriptions list or a channel ID. Channel-ID removal performs the subscription lookup for you:

gog yt subscriptions unsubscribe --id SUBSCRIPTION_ID \
  --account you@gmail.com --force
gog yt subscriptions unsubscribe --channel-id UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw \
  --account you@gmail.com --force

#Manage playlists

New playlists default to private. Set --privacy unlisted or --privacy public only when broader visibility is intended.

gog yt playlists create --title "Research" \
  --description "Videos to review" \
  --account you@gmail.com --json

gog yt playlists add --playlist-id PLAYLIST_ID --video-id VIDEO_ID \
  --position 0 --account you@gmail.com

Remove a known playlist item directly, or let gog find the item by playlist and video ID:

gog yt playlists remove --item-id PLAYLIST_ITEM_ID \
  --account you@gmail.com --force
gog yt playlists remove --playlist-id PLAYLIST_ID --video-id VIDEO_ID \
  --account you@gmail.com --force

Delete a playlist:

gog yt playlists delete PLAYLIST_ID --account you@gmail.com --force

#Automation and safety

Every subscription and playlist mutation supports --dry-run. Dry runs do not create an API service or make a network request:

gog yt playlists add --playlist-id PLAYLIST_ID --video-id VIDEO_ID \
  --account you@gmail.com --dry-run --json

Unsubscribe, playlist-item removal, and playlist deletion prompt before the mutation. Use --force only after checking the target, or combine --no-input --force in deliberate automation.

Use --json for structured output or --plain for stable TSV. Human progress, prompts, and warnings remain on stderr.

See the generated references for youtube subscriptions and youtube playlists for every flag.