YouTube Trending Shorts API Documentation

Localization

Name

gl

Required

Optional

Description

The default parameter US defines the country whose trending shorts are returned. Check the full list of supported YouTube gl countries.
Name

hl

Required

Optional

Description

The default parameter en defines the language of the feed. YouTube picks shorts in that language, so set the country's language to get what local viewers see (for example hl=ja with gl=JP). Check the full list of supported YouTube hl languages.

Pagination

Name

next_page_token

Required

Optional

Description

A token used to retrieve the next batch of trending shorts. Each response returns pagination.next_page_token. Pass it back with the same gl and hl to keep scrolling the feed.

Engine

Name

engine

Required

Required

Description

Parameter defines the engine that will be used to retrieve real-time data. To retrieve trending YouTube shorts, it must be set to youtube_trending_shorts.

API key

Name

api_key

Required

Required

Description

The api_key authenticates your requests. Use it as a query parameter (https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY) or in the Authorization header (Bearer YOUR_API_KEY).

Zero Data Retention

Name

zero_retention

Enterprise Only

Enterprise Only

Required

Optional

Description

Set this parameter to true to disable all logging and persistent storage. No request parameters, HTML, or JSON responses are stored or logged. Suitable for high-compliance use cases. Debugging and support may be limited while enabled.

Full Response

Set gl to get the shorts trending in another country. likes is left out when YouTube doesn't return a like count.

GET

https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search?engine=youtube_trending_shorts

Request

import requests

url = "https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search"
params = {
  "engine": "youtube_trending_shorts"
}

response = requests.get(url, params=params)
print(response.text)

Response

{
  "search_metadata": {
    "id": "search_kteO7kF2VxpirDukV2Tsuj2g",
    "status": "Success",
    "created_at": "2026-10-20T14:24:43Z",
    "request_time_taken": 15.69,
    "parsing_time_taken": 0.11,
    "total_time_taken": 15.8,
    "request_url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts",
    "html_url": "https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/searches/search_kteO7kF2VxpirDukV2Tsuj2g.html",
    "json_url": "https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/searches/search_kteO7kF2VxpirDukV2Tsuj2g"
  },
  "search_parameters": {
    "engine": "youtube_trending_shorts",
    "gl": "US",
    "hl": "en"
  },
  "shorts": [
    {
      "position": 1,
      "id": "cBOABqApE48",
      "title": "\"Apart from my dignity, I think I'm fine.\" 😳",
      "link": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cBOABqApE48",
      "description": "\"Apart from my dignity, I think I'm fine.\" #film #movie #tvshow \n\n🛠️ Software Used: After Effects 2025、Adobe Premiere Pro 2025\n🎥 Series: Marvel Series...",
      "views": 6238189,
      "likes": 234214,
      "comments": 1636,
      "publish_date": "2026-10-19T08:21:24-07:00",
      "length": "2:46",
      "length_seconds": 166,
      "category": "People & Blogs",
      "is_family_safe": true,
      "channel": {
        "id": "UCWJtCsLtBu5XY4ovIT8jy1A",
        "title": "Dreamy Talker",
        "handle": "@DreamyTalker088",
        "link": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWJtCsLtBu5XY4ovIT8jy1A"
      },
      "music": {
        "title": "Original Sound",
        "thumbnail": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/0uFwIn5Zept_R4GGUBJH8HtltizsOIxkNAI6Mgvtr1e1zNPUlikzabKx129Z2xEv6M6OwXKqPw=s176-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj"
      },
      "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cBOABqApE48/maxresdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCIAKENAF8quKqQMa8AEB-AG2CIACuAiKAgwIABABGH8gOCghMA8=&rs=AOn4CLBv0tfPD8H8JcWpDNekREcBSAeBsQ"
    },
    "..."
  ],
  "pagination": {
    "next_page_token": "GnEKC3ZodGdoVkFsM2JrGCcgAjCKkYemiMKbrPABQlMILBAgGjXyBjIKMAoFmgECEAEYASICIAHqxO-8CxUSEwj3qc-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__________wFqNwoLVUFHZWItWVU5ckUSGFVDVmxpZzdjbzNTcFdRdFFoSE03UTgtUR1lVk5BIP3__________wFqNwoLcmQxQTNLYy1pb00SGFVDUVBacC1sNlY5aGtwRkFjOVlxb1JOUR1uF35BIP7__________wFqNwoLdmh0Z2hWQWwzYmsSGFVDaFoyZEdBT2lYeE5jRXRhRnYtYi1wUR3R1DtCIP___________wGgAQE="
  }
}

The feed changes on every request, so each call returns a new set of shorts, usually around 10. Pass pagination.next_page_token back as next_page_token, with the same gl and hl, to get the next batch. A later batch can repeat a short from an earlier one, so dedupe by id. Ads in the feed are left out.

GET

https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search?engine=youtube_trending_shorts&next_page_token=GnEKC3VYeEtBSkpZcnpJGDIgAjDCz_q85tecv80BQlMIOBAgGjXyBjIKMAoFmgECEAEYASICIAHqxO-8CxUSEwifxL2VnsuXAxUYCWgIHZUvCWLqusrzDQIIDCIHCgUzMjpTSCoNCgt1WHhLQUpKWXJ6SSoCGAxCAGIEUkRTSHqzBgg5GAoywQEKC3VYeEtBSkpZcnpJEgEwGgsI0NKz1gYQkNH3VSIGCMaj3dYGKgQIDRABMhsSBwjmARABGAESBwiRAxABGAESBwiPBxABGAE6IAoDCI8JCgMItQQSAggDEgIIFhICCBgSAwi1BBIDCI8JQgcKAwjMARABSgcKAwjNARABUgcKAwjMARABWgYSBAgBEAF6MgoICJtqFcHK4T4KCAj6ThWuR2E-CggI_mkVJQYBPgoICKVbFWDl0D0KCAjMaBU3icE9Qgt1WHhLQUpKWXJ6SUoYVUNJbHNCU2xXSnVBUVFOSUtKekhQNHh3WPmIxPWVNGo3Cgt4UWlmVlJYOHBUURIYVUNmY3FLSC1KNDRERHdacXRBdU9DdkdRHcrgWUEg9v__________AWo3CgtDTkZVeGNoZ2ctTRIYVUNSbHZ3enE4RFVWdHh1a3RkNkFUTWVnHUX4g0Eg9___________AWo3CgtXNU5xd3J1Zm9raxIYVUNIY1dJcF83SGRUbEJBWVVNQWwxVl93HXLQu0Eg-P__________AWo3CgtHUERaX0hHNnJfbxIYVUNlVFNZa01Zc2lxdHk0NGZjRFFWY2FRHRJhUkEg-f__________AWo3CgtobWQ5Unc4Zm9iYxIYVUNIY1dJcF83SGRUbEJBWVVNQWwxVl93HbALm0Eg-v__________AWo3Cgt4ZVNHaVp0RlE2SRIYVUNCZF9ERGhiR2sxdElicUdBYkJjSlNBHeRK2EEg-___________AWo3CgtTcC0xOUNMeFNvYxIYVUNzRkl6SmstVDdQVHpQNGlOX0o4emRnHfhEQEEg_P__________AWo3Cgs4T1ZoeEMzS0NfVRIYVUNoSk5NZTRveDFDemUtNTFYelBYWG5nHfYUN0Eg_f__________AWo3CgtQN3lJRTh0engzYxIYVUNzRkl6SmstVDdQVHpQNGlOX0o4emRnHYMxkEEg_v__________AWo3Cgt1WHhLQUpKWXJ6SRIYVUNJbHNCU2xXSnVBUVFOSUtKekhQNHh3HT4vzUEg____________AaABAQ%3D%3D