bbaovanc.com/content/blog/youtube-url-structures-you-should-know/index.md

134 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown

---
title: Youtube URL structures you should know
date: 2021-10-30T21:20:38-05:00
lastmod: 2023-01-16T21:04:09-06:00
toc: true
comments: true
authors:
- bbaovanc
categories:
- tips-and-tricks
tags:
- url-structures
- youtube
resources:
- name: feature
src: youtube-url.webp
title: YouTube URL
- name: mdn-url-parameters
src: mdn-url-parameters@x2.png
title: >-
[What is a
URL?](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/Common_questions/What_is_a_URL#parameters)
by [Mozilla
Contributors](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/Common_questions/Web_mechanics/What_is_a_URL/contributors.txt)
is licensed under [CC-BY-SA
2.5](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/)
---
Knowing the basic structure and parameters in a YouTube URL can come in handy on
the occasion you need it. Here's how to find the video ID, link to a specific
timestamp, and more.
<!--more-->
## What is youtu.be?
YouTube has its own domain for [URL
shortening](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL_shortening): `youtu.be`. It's
roughly equivalent to `youtube.com/watch`.
## Query parameter basics
Query parameters can be added to a URL just by suffixing it with something like
`?key=value&something=else`. That example sets `key` to `value` and `something`
to `else`. Note how the first parameter is prefixed with `?`, and then the
following parameters are separated with `&`.
{{< figure src="mdn-url-parameters" >}}
See the [page on the Mozilla Developer
Docs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/Common_questions/What_is_a_URL)
for more information on the anatomy of a URL.
## Linking to a video
Here's the video I'll be using as an example:
{{< youtube F6va6tg62qg >}}
I embedded that video on my website with this code:[^hugo-shortcode]
```text
{{</* youtube F6va6tg62qg */>}}
```
The argument there (`F6va6tg62qg`) is the video ID, which is the unique
identifier for the video. Here's how the YouTube URLs for that video look:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6va6tg62qg
- https://youtu.be/F6va6tg62qg
Take note that on `youtube.com`, the video ID is provided as a [query
parameter](#query-parameter-basics), and on `youtu.be`, it's just provided as
the path of the URL.
## Linking a specific timestamp
You can add the `t=` parameter to the URL to have it automatically seek to a
specific timestamp when opened. The value can be expressed in hours, minutes,
and seconds (using `h`, `m`, and `s` respectively). Here's how that looks:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6va6tg62qg&t=14s
- https://youtu.be/F6va6tg62qg?t=14s
Unfortunately my example video isn't long enough to show hours or minutes, so
here's a different one:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&t=3m14s
- https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?t=3m14s
Those link 3 minutes and 14 seconds into the video. Notice how the `youtube.com`
link prefixes the `t=` parameter with an `&` since it's the second parameter.
The `youtu.be` link just uses a `?` because it's the first (and only) parameter.
## Playlists
The `list=` parameter contains the ID of the playlist you're watching the video
from, if any. Otherwise, the parameter is omitted. Here's how that looks:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47dtFZ8CFo8&list=PLwxnUUM01nt2nMh9DPq09e6fIDbumybgt
- https://youtu.be/47dtFZ8CFo8?list=PLwxnUUM01nt2nMh9DPq09e6fIDbumybgt
There, the playlist ID was `PLwxnUUM01nt2nMh9DPq09e6fIDbumybgt`. You can link to
the playlist itself with a format like:
```text
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=[playlist_id]
```
For example, the direct link to the playlist in the two example links I used is:
- https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxnUUM01nt2nMh9DPq09e6fIDbumybgt
As far as I know, it's not possible to link to a playlist using `youtu.be`.
## Further reading
[This Stack Exchange answer](https://webapps.stackexchange.com/a/9881) is a good
reference for some other YouTube parameters.
[^hugo-shortcode]: I use a static site generator called
[Hugo](https://gohugo.io) for my website. It has a built in "shortcode" which
is a feature that allows me to embed certain code blocks into a page. One of
its shortcodes, named `youtube`, allows me to embed a YouTube video into my
post. You can read more info about [shortcodes on the Hugo
docs](https://gohugo.io/content-management/shortcodes/#use-hugos-built-in-shortcodes)