YouTube Channel ID Finder
Paste an @handle, a channel link, or any video from the channel. Get the channel ID — plus the uploads playlist and RSS feed — ready to copy. Free, no signup.
This YouTube channel ID finder turns any @handle, channel link, or video link into the channel’s permanent ID — the UC… string developers, embeds, feed readers, and analytics tools ask for. Paste what you have and press Find channel ID. Along with the ID you get the channel name, its handle, the canonical /channel/ URL, the channel’s uploads playlist ID, and its RSS feed URL, each with a one-click copy button. It works for any public channel, needs no sign-in or API key, and checks that the channel actually exists before answering.
How to find a YouTube channel ID
- Copy something that identifies the channel: its
@handle, the link from your browser’s address bar on the channel page, or a link to any of its videos or Shorts. - Paste it above and press Find channel ID.
- Copy the Channel ID, or whichever of the other values your app or tool needs.
Every common link shape is accepted: youtube.com/@handle (including sub-pages like/@handle/videos), youtube.com/channel/UC…, legacyyoutube.com/c/name and youtube.com/user/name links, old short links likeyoutube.com/name, watch, Shorts, live, and youtu.be video links, mobilem.youtube.com links, and a bare handle with or without the @.
Channel ID vs. handle vs. custom URL vs. username
A YouTube channel can be reached by several different addresses, and only one of them is permanent.
| Identifier | Example | Can it change? |
|---|---|---|
| Channel ID | youtube.com/channel/UCHnyfMqiRRG1u-2MsSQLbXA | No — it is assigned when the channel is created. |
| Handle | youtube.com/@veritasium | Yes — the owner can change it, and each channel has one. |
| Custom URL | youtube.com/c/veritasium | Legacy. YouTube no longer lets channels set up new custom URLs, but existing ones still work. |
| Username | youtube.com/user/name | Legacy. No longer required for channels, but old username links still lead to the channel. |
Because handles can be changed and legacy URLs are frozen, anything that has to keep working — an embed, an RSS subscription, a script, an analytics report — should store the channel ID.
What each result is for
Channel ID
The value most tools ask for. YouTube’s developer documentation describes it as a string that currently begins with the letters UC, with a note that the format is subject to change, so treat it as an opaque ID rather than parsing it. In the YouTube Data API you can also look a channel up by handle with the forHandle parameter of channels.list — but that needs an API key and a Google Cloud project, which is what this page saves you.
Channel URL
https://www.youtube.com/channel/<ID> is the address that will always reach the channel, even after a handle change. Use it when you link to a channel from documentation or long-lived pages.
Uploads playlist ID
Every channel has an automatic playlist containing all of its public uploads, newest first. Its ID is the channel ID with the leading UC replaced by UU. It’s the easiest way to embed or loop through everything a channel has published, and theplaylist length calculator can tell you how long the whole catalog would take to watch — the Measure all uploads button above opens it pre-filled.
RSS feed URL
YouTube publishes a feed of each channel’s latest uploads atyoutube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=<ID>. Paste it into any feed reader to follow a channel without relying on the subscriptions feed or notifications. OurRSS feed finder does the same discovery for blogs and news sites.
Where you’ll need a channel ID
- The YouTube Data API. Requests such as
channels.listandsearch.listfilter by channel ID, and quota-friendly scripts store IDs rather than resolving handles on every call. - Feed readers and automations. The RSS feed URL above works in any reader, and in automation tools that watch a feed for new uploads.
- Embedding a channel’s latest videos. Embed the uploads playlist like any other playlist — our YouTube embed code generator builds the code from the playlist link.
- Spreadsheets and reports. When you track many channels, the ID is the one column that won’t break when a creator renames or rebrands.
How to find your own channel ID in YouTube
- Sign in to YouTube.
- Click your profile picture in the top right, then Settings.
- Choose Advanced settings in the left menu. Your channel’s user ID and channel ID are listed there.
YouTube shows these only when you are signed in as the channel’s primary owner. If you manage a channel as a manager or editor, paste the channel link into this tool instead.
Finding the channel ID behind a video
When all you have is a video — say a clip someone shared — paste its link and the tool reads which channel published it. This sidesteps two common traps: channels that have similar names, and handles that were changed after the link you have was shared. Searching by channel name, as some tools do, can return the wrong channel; resolving the exact handle or video can’t.
Common problems
- “YouTube has no channel at that address.” Check the spelling of the handle. Handles aren’t case-sensitive, but every other character counts — including periods, underscores, and hyphens.
- A handle typed without the @. The tool treats a bare word as a handle. An 11-character word is checked as a video ID first, then as a handle.
- A topic or auto-generated channel. Music “Topic” channels have IDs too; paste one of their videos to get it.
- Terminated channels. A channel that YouTube removed no longer resolves, so there is nothing to look up.
Privacy
Your input is checked in the browser and on Marqly’s server, and only a canonical youtube.com address or a video ID is ever sent on to YouTube. Lookups aren’t stored, and there’s no account or login.
Related tools
Pair the channel ID with the other free YouTube tools: the YouTube tag extractor shows how the channel tags its videos, thethumbnail downloader grabs their covers, and thetranscript tool pulls what was said. If you follow channels to learn from them, Marqly’s watch later app for YouTube saves each video with its transcript attached.
Frequently asked questions
What is a YouTube channel ID?
It’s the permanent, unique identifier YouTube assigns to every channel — the string after /channel/ in a channel URL, such as UCHnyfMqiRRG1u-2MsSQLbXA. YouTube’s developer documentation describes it as a string that currently begins with the letters UC.
How do I find a channel ID from an @handle?
Paste the handle — with or without the @ — or the full youtube.com/@handle link into the finder above. It asks YouTube which channel that handle points to and returns the channel ID.
How do I find my own channel ID?
Sign in to YouTube, click your profile picture, open Settings, then Advanced settings — your user ID and channel ID are listed there. You must be signed in as the channel’s primary owner to see them. Or paste your channel link into this tool.
Can I find the channel ID from a video?
Yes. Paste any video, Shorts, or live link from the channel, and the tool reads which channel published it. This is the most reliable route when you only know a video, or when a channel has no handle you can remember.
Is a handle the same as a channel ID?
No. A handle like @veritasium is a readable name the owner chose and can change. The channel ID never changes, which is why developers, embeds, RSS readers, and analytics tools use it.
What is the uploads playlist ID?
Every channel has an automatic playlist of all its public uploads. Its ID is the channel ID with the leading UC replaced by UU. You can open it as a normal playlist, or measure it with our playlist length calculator.
Does it work with old /c/ and /user/ links?
Yes. Legacy custom URLs (youtube.com/c/name), username URLs (youtube.com/user/name), and old short links (youtube.com/name) all still resolve to a channel, and the finder accepts them.
