API guide

The YouTube API in 2026.Uploads stay private until the audit.

The YouTube Data API v3 is free and counted in quota. Uploading is videos.insert, a resumable upload carrying the title, description and privacy. Since June 2026 a project gets 100 uploads a day in their own bucket, but videos from projects created after July 28, 2020 stay private until YouTube's compliance audit, which has no published timeline.

Checked October 6, 2026. Breakreach is our product.

# 1. Open a resumable upload with the video's metadatacurl -i -X POST "https://www.googleapis.com/upload/youtube/v3/videos?uploadType=resumable&part=snippet,status" \  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=UTF-8" \  -H "X-Upload-Content-Type: video/mp4" \  -H "X-Upload-Content-Length: $BYTES" \  -d '{    "snippet": {"title": "Morning Light, brewed as a pour-over",      "description": "Our new blend.", "categoryId": "22"},    "status": {"privacyStatus": "public",      "selfDeclaredMadeForKids": false}  }' # 2. Send the file to the session URI from the Location header.#    From an unaudited project, the video stays private.curl -X PUT "$LOCATION" \  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \  -H "Content-Type: video/mp4" \  --data-binary @brew.mp4

1/2 POST /upload/youtube/v3/videosSending

Published · now

Morning Light, brewed as a pour-over

Northbeam Coffee · Just now

The YouTube API at a glanceWhat it takes before the first post.

Price: Free. Usage is counted in quota units, not billed
Upload quota: 100 uploads a day per project, in their own bucket since June 1, 2026, plus 10,000 units a day for other calls
Public uploads: Only after YouTube's API compliance audit, for projects created after July 28, 2020. Until then, uploads are private
Review time: No published timeline for the audit. Google's OAuth verification is a separate review
Accounts you can post to: The channel of the Google account that authorized your app
Refresh tokens: Expire after 7 days while the OAuth consent screen is in Testing
Shorts: No flag: a square or vertical video of up to 3 minutes becomes a Short
Scheduling: publishAt, on a private video that was never published

Checked on October 6, 2026, from YouTube's developer documentation and terms.

Our recommendation

To post to YouTube from your product, use Breakreach's API.We built it, so here's the case.

See the request

Videos go out public through Breakreach's Google project: no project of your own to verify, and no audit to wait for
One JSON request instead of a resumable upload: send a public video URL, and the first line becomes the title
Uploads at the time you set, retried on temporary errors, and the same request posts the video to TikTok, Reels and the rest

When to use YouTube's API directly. Breakreach's REST API uploads public videos titled from the first line, without thumbnails, tags, playlists or edits after publishing. For those, use the Data API with your own audited project.

How to get access to the YouTube APIFrom a developer account to your first real post.

1Create a Google Cloud projectIn the Google Cloud console, with any Google account.
2Enable the YouTube Data API v3In the project's API library.
3Set up the OAuth consent screen and a clientRequest youtube.upload. While the consent screen is in Testing, refresh tokens expire after 7 days.
4Verify the app with GoogleA public app asking for YouTube scopes goes through Google's OAuth verification: a privacy policy, a homepage on a verified domain, a demo video of the OAuth flow and a reason for each scope. Unverified apps are capped at 100 users.
5Pass YouTube's API compliance auditUntil then, videos uploaded from projects created after July 28, 2020 are restricted to private. The same Audit and Quota Extension Form asks for more quota.

Google's estimates for OAuth verification are about 10 business days for sensitive scopes and about 6 weeks for restricted ones, not guaranteed. YouTube publishes no timeline for its audit: the team says it will contact you as soon as possible.

How to post with the YouTube APIThe requests in the demo above, one by one.

1Open a resumable sessionPOST to /upload/youtube/v3/videos?uploadType=resumable&part=snippet,status with the metadata: title, description, categoryId and privacyStatus. YouTube answers 200, with the session URI in the Location header.
2Send the filePUT the bytes to that URI. A 201 returns the video resource with its id. If the upload breaks, a PUT with Content-Range: bytes */TOTAL answers 308 with what arrived, and you resume from there.

Chunks must be multiples of 256 KB, except the last. There's no Shorts flag: YouTube files a square or vertical video of up to 3 minutes as a Short. publishAt schedules a video only if it's private and was never published.

Common YouTube API errorsWhat they mean and how to fix them.

Error	What it means	Fix
`403 quotaExceeded`	The day's bucket is used up: 100 uploads, or 10,000 units for other calls.	Wait for midnight Pacific Time, or ask for more with the Audit and Quota Extension Form.
`400 uploadLimitExceeded`	The channel reached its own daily upload limit.	Upload again the next day.
`403 insufficientPermissions`	The token has no upload scope.	Authorize again with youtube.upload.
`401 youtubeSignupRequired`	The Google account has no YouTube channel.	Create a channel, then authorize again.
`400 invalidTitle, invalidDescription`	A title over 100 characters or with < or >, or a description over 5,000 bytes.	Trim the metadata.
`No error, but the video is private`	The project hasn't passed YouTube's compliance audit.	Apply with the Audit and Quota Extension Form.

YouTube API limitsRate limits, text and media.

QuotaBy default, 100 videos.insert calls a day at 1 unit each, in their own bucket, 100 search.list calls, and 10,000 units for everything else. Quotas reset at midnight Pacific Time, and every request costs at least 1 unit, even an invalid one.
What other calls costvideos.list and channels.list cost 1 unit; videos.update, thumbnails.set and commentThreads.insert 50; captions.insert 400.
TextTitle up to 100 characters, without < or >. Description up to 5,000 bytes. Tags up to 500 characters in total.
FilesUp to 256 GB or 12 hours. Videos over 15 minutes need a verified account, and each channel has a daily upload limit across the web, mobile and the API.
ThumbnailsJPEG or PNG up to 50 MB through the API since September 14, 2026, for verified accounts.

Is the YouTube API free?

Yes, in money: YouTube's API terms set no fees, and usage is counted in quota units. What's scarce is quota, and public visibility before the audit.

Uploads used to eat the quota: about 1,600 units each until December 4, 2025, so 6 a day on the default 10,000. Since June 1, 2026 they have their own bucket of 100 a day at 1 unit each. More takes the Audit and Quota Extension Form.

Through Breakreach, a YouTube channel counts like any other connected account: the first 2 are free, then $5 a month each up to 20.

Ways to post to YouTube from code

	What you set up	Price	Posts to YouTube
Breakreach	An API key. Accounts connect through Breakreach's reviewed apps, or your users connect theirs on a hosted page	First 2 accounts free, then $5 a month per account (less from 21)	Yes, Public
YouTube's own API	A Google Cloud project, OAuth verification and YouTube's audit	Free, in quota	Yes
Upload-Post	An API key	Free for 2 profiles and 10 uploads a month; Basic $24 a month for 5 profiles	Yes
Zernio	An API key	First 2 accounts free, then $6 per account up to 10, $3 up to 100, $1 after	Yes
Ayrshare	An API key	From $149 a month for 1 profile, no free plan	Yes
Outstand	An API key	$19 a month for 3,000 posts, then per post	Yes

Checked on October 6, 2026, from YouTube's developer documentation and each company's pricing page. Breakreach is our product.

What the YouTube API can't do

Upload public videos from an unaudited project created after July 28, 2020
Mark a video as a Short: YouTube decides from its shape and length
Set a custom thumbnail for an unverified account
Go past 100 uploads a day per project without a quota extension

Post to YouTube with Breakreach's APIOne request, scheduled, with retries.

POST /v1/posts

curl https://api.breakreach.com/v1/posts \  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BREAKREACH_API_KEY" \  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \  -d '{    "content": "Morning Light, brewed as a pour-over\nOur new blend, honey, orange and cocoa notes, brewed as a pour-over.",    "accountIds": ["6701a2f4c9e84b0012a3b4c9"],    "media": ["https://cdn.northbeam.coffee/brew.mp4"],    "scheduledAt": "2026-10-07T09:00:00"  }'

What it posts on YouTube

VideosOne video per post, from a public URL. The first line becomes the title, up to 100 characters, and the text becomes the description.
ShortsA vertical video under 3 minutes is usually filed as a Short. YouTube decides, from the file.
Public at the time you setscheduledAt, the next free slot, or publishNow. The MCP server can also upload unlisted or private.
Stats and commentsViews, likes and comments per video, the channel's subscribers and totals, and the comments themselves.

Not yet

Thumbnails, tags and playlists
Unlisted or private through the REST API
Edits after publishing

The full reference, webhooks and the price per connected account are on the developers page, and the OpenAPI spec is at api.breakreach.com/v1/openapi.json.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Short answers about the YouTube API.

Yes, in money: YouTube's API terms set no fees. Usage is counted in quota units, 10,000 a day by default, with uploads in their own bucket of 100 a day.

100 per project by default since June 1, 2026, at 1 unit each in a separate bucket. Each channel also has its own daily upload limit.

Videos uploaded from unverified API projects created after July 28, 2020 are restricted to private until the project passes YouTube's compliance audit. YouTube returns no error; the video is just private.

YouTube publishes no timeline; its page says the team will contact you as soon as possible. Google's OAuth verification, a separate review, is estimated at about 10 business days for sensitive scopes.

Yes, with videos.insert like any video. There's no Shorts flag: a square or vertical video of up to 3 minutes is filed as a Short.

Wait for the reset at midnight Pacific Time, spend fewer units (an upload is 1, an update 50), or request more through the Audit and Quota Extension Form.

The first 2 connected accounts are free; from the third it's $5 a month per account up to 20, $3 up to 100, then $2. You pay per connected account, never per post or per request.