URLs#
This document describes how Tube Archivist identifies and treats links from YouTube.
Info
Application logic of Tube Archivist is tied only to the IDs, not the names.
ID length matters
When deciding if an ID is a video, playlist or a channel the length of the ID is key. Other lengths of IDs as documented here are explicitly not supported.
Video#
A video ID is 11 characters long, e.g. 2tdiKTSdE9Y.
Urls can have several forms:
| URL Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Watch URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tdiKTSdE9Y |
Regular URLs you will see while browsing YouTube, with the path /watch and a v parameter |
| Share URL | https://youtu.be/2tdiKTSdE9Y |
Link you will get when you click on share on a video |
| Shorts URL | https://www.youtube.com/shorts/U80grnZJm_8 |
Video links for YouTube shorts |
Channel#
A channel ID is 24 characters long, e.g. UCBa659QWEk1AI4Tg--mrJ2A.
Channel URLs can have these forms, all will get translated to the ID:
| URL Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ID URL | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBa659QWEk1AI4Tg--mrJ2A |
With a channel path |
| Channel Handle | @TomScottGo |
Starting with a @ this handle is personal and unique |
| Alias URL | https://www.youtube.com/@TomScottGo |
Based off the channel handle |
Channel subpages#
Tube Archivist can differentiate between the primary subpages:
- Videos only:
https://www.youtube.com/@IBRACORP/videos - Shorts only:
https://www.youtube.com/@IBRACORP/shorts - Streams only:
https://www.youtube.com/@IBRACORP/streams - Every other channel sub page will default to download all, for example
https://www.youtube.com/@IBRACORP/featuredwill download videos and shorts and streams.
Playlist#
A playlist ID can be 34, 26 or 18 characters long, e.g. PL96C35uN7xGLLeET0dOWaKHkAlPsrkcha
| URL Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Playlist URL | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL96C35uN7xGLLeET0dOWaKHkAlPsrkcha |
Playlist URLs start with a playlist path and have a list parameter |
Old Playlists#
Some old Youtube profiles will have playlists with other lengths that here, notably some old accounts have a "Favorites" playlist, the ID starts with FL. Unfortunatly these Playlist IDs are 24 characters long. That collides with the length of channel IDs. As established above, these playlists are not supported.
Playlist vs Video URLs#
While browsing YouTube videos in Playlists, you might encounter URLs looking like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPZ0pIK_wsc&list=PL96C35uN7xGLLeET0dOWaKHkAlPsrkcha. As established above, based on the /watch path and the v parameter, Tube Archivist will treat this as a video with the ID QPZ0pIK_wsc and not as a playlist. If you mean the playlist, you can easily grab the correct ID from the URL, e.g. PL96C35uN7xGLLeET0dOWaKHkAlPsrkcha.