---
title: "Channel Content"
description: "The Channel Content API allows you to retrieve comprehensive information about YouTube channels, including channel details, videos, shorts, playlists, and outlier analysis. Access channel metadata, video lists with various sorting options, short-form content, playlist collections, and high-performing video identification in your n8n workflows."
source: "https://dashboard.nexlev.io/docs/n8n/channel-content"
---

# Channel Content

The Channel Content API allows you to retrieve comprehensive information about YouTube channels, including channel details, videos, shorts, playlists, and outlier analysis. Access channel metadata, video lists with various sorting options, short-form content, playlist collections, and high-performing video identification in your n8n workflows.

## Overview

Use this API to fetch detailed channel information, video lists, shorts, playlists, and outlier videos from any YouTube channel. This resource provides five main operations: Get About (channel metadata), Get Videos (long-form content), Get Shorts (short-form content), Get Playlists (playlist collections), and Get Outliers (high-performing video identification), with flexible sorting and filtering options.

## Quick Start

Get started in 3 simple steps:

1. **Install NexLev**: Add the NexLev node to your n8n instance ([Installation Guide](/docs/n8n/quickstart))
2. **Get API Key**: Create your API key at [API Key](https://dashboard.nexlev.io/nexlev-api/create-api-key)
3. **Make Your First Request**:
   - Add NexLev node → Select "Channel Content" → Choose "Get About"
   - Enter a Channel ID (e.g., `UCBJycsmduvYEL83R_U4JriQ`)
   - Execute to get channel information

**Example Result**: You'll receive channel metadata including title, description, subscriber count, and social links.

### Endpoint Details

- **Resource**: Channel Content
- **Operations**: Get About | Get Videos | Get Shorts | Get Playlists | Get Outliers | Custom API Call
- **Authentication**: Required ([API Key](https://dashboard.nexlev.io/nexlev-api/create-api-key))
- **Quota Cost**: 🥞 **1 quota** per request (all operations)

### API Reference

> **Info**
>
> Full endpoint details, cURL examples, and response schemas live in the
> [Channel Content API reference](/docs/api/channel-content).

| Operation     | Method & Path                          | Quota Cost |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------- | ---------- |
| Get About     | `GET /api/external/channels/about`     | 🥞 1       |
| Get Videos    | `GET /api/external/channels/videos`    | 🥞 1       |
| Get Shorts    | `GET /api/external/channels/shorts`    | 🥞 1       |
| Get Playlists | `GET /api/external/channels/playlists` | 🥞 1       |
| Get Outliers  | `GET /api/external/channels/outliers`  | 🥞 1       |

> **Warning**
>
> **Authentication Required** — see [Authentication](/docs/api/authentication)
> for the required header format and how to get an API key.

### Operations Quick Reference

| Operation     | Purpose                                   | Pagination | Sorting | Returns       | Best For                            | Quota Cost |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------------- | ---------- | ------- | ------------- | ----------------------------------- | ---------- |
| Get About     | Retrieve channel metadata and information | ❌ No      | ❌ No   | Single object | Channel research, profile building  | 🥞 1       |
| Get Videos    | Get all long-form videos from a channel   | ✅ Yes     | ✅ Yes  | Array + meta  | Content analysis, database building | 🥞 1       |
| Get Shorts    | Get all short-form videos from a channel  | ✅ Yes     | ✅ Yes  | Array + meta  | Shorts performance tracking         | 🥞 1       |
| Get Playlists | Get all playlists from a channel          | ✅ Yes     | ✅ Yes  | Array + meta  | Content organization analysis       | 🥞 1       |
| Get Outliers  | Identify high-performing videos           | ❌ No      | ❌ No   | Array + stats | Viral content discovery             | 🥞 1       |

## Configuration

### Parameters

| Parameter  | Type   | Required | Description                                                              |
| ---------- | ------ | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Channel ID | string | Yes      | The unique YouTube channel identifier (e.g., `UC9XrHBgOxsNFEBXkLtEqCwA`) |

### Setup Steps

**Step 1: Add NexLev Node**

- Add the **NexLev** node to your workflow
- See [Quickstart Guide](/docs/n8n/quickstart) for installation instructions

**Step 2: Configure Resource**

- Under **Resource**, select **Channel Content**

**Step 3: Select Operation**
Choose one of the following operations:

| Operation           | Description                                             | Pagination Required        |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------- |
| **Get About**       | Get channel metadata and information                    | ❌ No                      |
| **Get Videos**      | Get all videos from a channel                           | ✅ Yes (for complete data) |
| **Get Shorts**      | Get all short-form videos from a channel                | ✅ Yes (for complete data) |
| **Get Playlists**   | Get all playlists from a channel                        | ✅ Yes (for complete data) |
| **Get Outliers**    | Get videos with significantly higher views than average | ❌ No                      |
| **Custom API Call** | Make custom API calls                                   | Varies                     |

**Step 4: Authentication**

- Under **Credential to connect with**, select your **NexLev account**
- If not configured, create one using your [API Key](https://dashboard.nexlev.io/nexlev-api/create-api-key)

**Step 5: Enter Channel ID** ✅ Required

- In the **Channel ID** field, enter the YouTube channel ID (e.g., `UCBJycsmduvYEL83R_U4JriQ`)
- Channel IDs typically start with "UC" followed by 22 characters

**Step 6: Configure Optional Parameters**

For **Get Videos**, **Get Shorts**, and **Get Playlists**:

- **Sort By** (optional):
  - `Latest` - Newest first (default for videos/shorts)
  - `Popular` - Most viewed first (videos/shorts only)
  - `Oldest` - Oldest first (videos/shorts only)
  - `Date Added` - Newest playlists first (playlists only)
  - `Last Video Added` - Recently updated playlists (playlists only)

For **Pagination** (Get Videos, Get Shorts, Get Playlists):

- Leave **Continuation Token** empty for the first request
- Use the `continuation` token from previous response for subsequent pages
- Continue until `continuation` returns an empty string

For **Get Outliers**:

- **Maximum Videos** (default: 30) - Number of recent videos to analyze
  - ⚠️ Higher values increase processing time
  - ✅ Recommended: 30-50 for most channels
- **Minimum Outlier Threshold** (default: 2) - Multiplier for outlier detection
  - ⚠️ Lower values return more results but less exceptional content
  - ✅ Recommended: 2x for viral content, 1.5x for above-average content

![Configure channel content operation](https://dashboard.nexlev.io/images/documentation/get-channel-about.png)

### Execution

Click **Execute step** to retrieve the channel content data.

## Available Operations

The Channel Content resource provides five different operations to retrieve various types of channel data:

### Get About

#### Get About

Get detailed information about a YouTube channel including description, avatar, banner, channel handle, and subscriber information.

**When to use this operation:**

- Gathering channel profile information for research
- Building channel databases with metadata
- Extracting social media links and contact information
- Verifying channel authenticity and statistics

> **Tip**
>
> Full response schema: [Get About — API Reference
> →](/docs/api/channel-content#about)

### Get Videos

#### Get Videos

Get all videos from a YouTube channel with detailed metadata including view count, publish date, thumbnails, and more. Supports pagination via continuation tokens to retrieve additional videos beyond the initial response.

**When to use this operation:**

- Analyzing video performance and publishing patterns
- Building comprehensive video databases
- Tracking content output over time
- Identifying content trends and topics

> **Tip**
>
> Full response schema: [Get Videos — API Reference
> →](/docs/api/channel-content#videos)

### Get Shorts

#### Get Shorts

Get all short-form videos (YouTube Shorts) from a YouTube channel with metadata. Supports pagination via continuation tokens to retrieve additional shorts beyond the initial response.

**When to use this operation:**

- Tracking short-form content performance separately
- Analyzing shorts strategy and engagement
- Comparing shorts vs long-form video performance
- Building shorts-specific databases

> **Tip**
>
> Full response schema: [Get Shorts — API Reference
> →](/docs/api/channel-content#shorts)

### Get Playlists

#### Get Playlists

Get all playlists from a YouTube channel with detailed metadata including video count and thumbnails. Supports pagination via continuation tokens to retrieve additional playlists beyond the initial response.

**When to use this operation:**

- Analyzing how channels organize their content
- Discovering content series and collections
- Tracking playlist updates and additions
- Building playlist databases for content curation

> **Tip**
>
> Full response schema: [Get Playlists — API Reference
> →](/docs/api/channel-content#playlists)

### Get Outliers

#### Get Outliers

Get videos from a YouTube channel that have significantly higher views than the channel's average video performance. This operation analyzes recent videos to identify outlier content that performed exceptionally well, helping you discover what content resonates most with the audience.

**When to use this operation:**

- Identifying viral or exceptionally successful content
- Understanding what content types resonate with audiences
- Analyzing patterns in high-performing videos
- Making data-driven content strategy decisions
- Finding inspiration for future content topics

> **Tip**
>
> Full response schema: [Get Outliers — API Reference
> →](/docs/api/channel-content#outliers)

### Error Responses

> **Tip**
>
> Full error code reference: [Channel Content — API Reference
> →](/docs/api/channel-content#error-responses)

## Use Cases

Leverage channel content data in your workflows for:

- **Channel Research**: Gather detailed information about channels in your niche including bio, avatar, and statistics
- **Video Analysis**: Analyze video performance, publishing patterns, and engagement metrics
- **Content Strategy**: Study successful channels' video titles, descriptions, and publishing frequency
- **Competitor Intelligence**: Monitor competitor content output and performance over time
- **Outlier Discovery**: Identify exceptionally high-performing videos to understand what content resonates most
- **Database Building**: Create comprehensive databases of channels, videos, shorts, and playlists with full metadata
- **Shorts Performance**: Track and analyze short-form content performance separately from long-form videos
- **Playlist Organization**: Analyze how channels organize their content into playlists for better content structure insights
- **Content Curation**: Discover and monitor playlists in your niche for content inspiration and collaboration opportunities
- **Link Harvesting**: Extract social media and website links from channels for outreach campaigns
- **Trend Analysis**: Identify content trends by analyzing video titles, thumbnails, and view counts across videos and playlists

## Workflow Examples

These examples show how to implement common use cases in n8n. Each workflow builds on the previous concepts, starting with simple queries and progressing to advanced implementations.

### Example 1: Basic Channel Information Workflow

**Difficulty**: Beginner | **Time**: 5 minutes | **Use Case**: Channel research

1. Add a [Manual Trigger](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.manualworkflowtrigger/) or [Schedule Trigger](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.scheduletrigger/) node
2. Add the **NexLev** node and configure it for **Get About** operation
3. Add a [Code](https://docs.n8n.io/code-examples/) or **Set** node to extract specific fields (e.g., channel handle, subscriber count)
4. Add an output node (e.g., [Google Sheets](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/app-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.googlesheets/), **Airtable**, [Webhook](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.webhook/))

**Next Steps**: Once you have channel information, try fetching videos or analyzing outliers.

---

### Example 2: Video Collection with Sorting

**Difficulty**: Beginner | **Time**: 5 minutes | **Use Case**: Content analysis

1. Add a [Manual Trigger](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.manualworkflowtrigger/) node with a channel ID
2. Add the **NexLev** node:
   - Resource: **Channel Content**
   - Operation: **Get Videos**
   - Sort By: **Popular** (to get most viewed videos first)
3. Add a **Filter** node to select videos meeting specific criteria (e.g., view count > 10,000)
4. Export results to [Google Sheets](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/app-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.googlesheets/) or send via **Email**

**Next Steps**: Learn pagination to fetch complete datasets.

---

### Example 3: Video Pagination Workflow (Fetching All Videos)

**Difficulty**: Intermediate | **Time**: 15 minutes | **Use Case**: Complete data collection

1. Add a [Manual Trigger](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.manualworkflowtrigger/) node
2. Add the **NexLev** node (first request):
   - Resource: **Channel Content**
   - Operation: **Get Videos**
   - Channel ID: Enter the channel ID
   - Sort By: **Latest** (or your preferred sort order)
   - Leave **Continuation Token** empty
3. Add a **Loop Over Items** node to handle pagination:
   - Extract the `continuation` token from the response
   - If the token is not empty, loop back to another **NexLev** node
4. Add a second **NexLev** node (inside the loop):
   - Use the same configuration as step 2
   - Set **Continuation Token** to the value from the previous response (`{{ $json.continuation }}`)
5. Add a **Code** node to aggregate all videos from multiple pages
6. Export the complete video collection to your desired destination

**Next Steps**: Apply the same pagination pattern to shorts and playlists.

---

### Example 4: Shorts Pagination Workflow (Fetching All Shorts)

**Difficulty**: Intermediate | **Time**: 15 minutes | **Use Case**: Shorts analysis

1. Add a [Manual Trigger](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.manualworkflowtrigger/) node
2. Add the **NexLev** node (first request):
   - Resource: **Channel Content**
   - Operation: **Get Shorts**
   - Channel ID: Enter the channel ID
   - Sort By: **Popular** (or your preferred sort order)
   - Leave **Continuation Token** empty
3. Add a **Loop Over Items** node to handle pagination:
   - Extract the `continuation` token from the response
   - If the token is not empty, loop back to another **NexLev** node
4. Add a second **NexLev** node (inside the loop):
   - Use the same configuration as step 2
   - Set **Continuation Token** to the value from the previous response (`{{ $json.continuation }}`)
5. Add a **Code** node to aggregate all shorts from multiple pages
6. Process or export the complete shorts collection as needed

---

### Example 5: Playlist Analysis Workflow

**Difficulty**: Beginner | **Time**: 10 minutes | **Use Case**: Content organization research

1. Add a [Manual Trigger](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.manualworkflowtrigger/) or [Schedule Trigger](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.scheduletrigger/) node
2. Add the **NexLev** node:
   - Resource: **Channel Content**
   - Operation: **Get Playlists**
   - Sort By: **Last Video Added** (to see most recently updated playlists)
3. Add a **Code** node to extract specific fields (e.g., playlist title, video count, last updated date)
4. Add a **Filter** node to select playlists with specific criteria (e.g., video count > 10)
5. Export results to [Google Sheets](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/app-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.googlesheets/) or **Notion** for content planning

---

### Example 6: Playlist Pagination Workflow (Fetching All Playlists)

**Difficulty**: Intermediate | **Time**: 15 minutes | **Use Case**: Complete playlist collection

1. Add a [Manual Trigger](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.manualworkflowtrigger/) node
2. Add the **NexLev** node (first request):
   - Resource: **Channel Content**
   - Operation: **Get Playlists**
   - Channel ID: Enter the channel ID
   - Leave **Continuation Token** empty
3. Add a **Loop Over Items** node to handle pagination:
   - Extract the `continuation` token from the response
   - If the token is not empty, loop back to another **NexLev** node
4. Add a second **NexLev** node (inside the loop):
   - Use the same configuration as step 2
   - Set **Continuation Token** to the value from the previous response (`{{ $json.continuation }}`)
5. Add a **Code** node to aggregate all playlists from multiple pages
6. Export the complete playlist collection to your desired destination

---

### Example 7: Outlier Analysis Workflow

**Difficulty**: Beginner | **Time**: 10 minutes | **Use Case**: Viral content discovery

1. Add a [Manual Trigger](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.manualworkflowtrigger/) or [Schedule Trigger](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/core-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.scheduletrigger/) node
2. Add the **NexLev** node:
   - Resource: **Channel Content**
   - Operation: **Get Outliers**
   - Channel ID: Enter the channel ID
   - Maximum Videos: **30** (or higher for more comprehensive analysis)
   - Minimum Outlier Threshold: **2** (adjust based on your needs)
3. Add a **Code** node to extract specific fields (e.g., video title, outlier score, publish date)
4. Add a **Filter** node if you want to further refine results (e.g., outlier score > 3x)
5. Export results to [Google Sheets](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/app-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.googlesheets/) or **Notion** for content strategy planning

**Tip**: If no outliers are found, the workflow can automatically retry with adjusted parameters (lower threshold or more videos).

**Next Steps**: Combine multiple operations to build comprehensive channel analysis workflows.

---

### Example 8: Advanced - Complete Channel Analysis

**Difficulty**: Advanced | **Time**: 30 minutes | **Use Case**: Comprehensive channel research

This workflow combines multiple operations to create a complete channel analysis:

1. **Get Channel Info**: Use Get About to fetch channel metadata
2. **Get Top Videos**: Use Get Videos with Sort By "Popular" to get top 10 videos
3. **Get Outliers**: Use Get Outliers to identify viral content
4. **Get Playlists**: Use Get Playlists to understand content organization
5. **Aggregate Data**: Use Code node to combine all data into a comprehensive report
6. **Export**: Send to Google Sheets, Notion, or your database

**Benefits**: Complete channel profile with performance insights in one workflow execution.

## Related Resources

- [Quickstart Guide](/docs/n8n/quickstart) - Learn how to set up NexLev with n8n
- [Channel Analytics](/docs/n8n/channel-analytics) - Get detailed analytics data for channels
- [Video Content](/docs/n8n/video-content) - Analyze individual video performance
- [Analyze Channel Niche](/docs/n8n/analyze-channel-niche) - Get comprehensive niche analysis

## Best Practices

### Performance Optimization

- **Use pagination wisely**: Fetch only the data you need. Don't retrieve all videos if you only need recent ones
- **Cache channel metadata**: Get About responses change infrequently, consider caching for 24 hours
- **Batch operations**: Process multiple channels in parallel using n8n's batch processing capabilities
- **Monitor quota usage**: Each request costs 🥞 **1 quota** — paginated requests each count separately, so cache responses and avoid redundant calls

### Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ **Don't**: Fetch all videos when you only need recent ones
✅ **Do**: Use Sort By "Latest" and limit results with continuation tokens

❌ **Don't**: Make repeated Get About calls for the same channel
✅ **Do**: Cache channel metadata and refresh periodically

❌ **Don't**: Use Get Outliers with Maximum Videos set to 1000+
✅ **Do**: Start with 30-50 videos and increase if needed

❌ **Don't**: Ignore pagination tokens
✅ **Do**: Implement proper pagination loops to get complete data

### Rate Limiting

- The API enforces rate limits to ensure fair usage
- If you receive a `429 Too Many Requests` error, wait for the time specified in `retryAfter`
- Consider implementing exponential backoff for production workflows
- Distribute large batch operations over time to avoid rate limits

## Troubleshooting

### No outliers found

**Problem**: The Get Outliers operation returns an empty array.

**Solutions**:

1. Increase Maximum Videos to analyze more content (try 50 or 100)
2. Decrease Minimum Outlier Threshold (try 1.5x instead of 2x)
3. Check if the channel has consistent view counts (some channels naturally have few outliers)

### Pagination not working

**Problem**: Continuation token returns the same results.

**Solutions**:

1. Ensure you're passing the exact token from the previous response
2. Don't modify or encode the continuation token
3. Keep all other parameters (Channel ID, Sort By) the same between requests
4. Check if you've reached the last page (empty continuation string)

### Channel not found (404 error)

**Problem**: API returns "Channel not found" error.

**Solutions**:

1. Verify the Channel ID is correct (should start with "UC")
2. Check if the channel still exists on YouTube
3. Ensure the channel is not private or terminated
4. Try using the channel handle to find the correct Channel ID

### Invalid API key (401 error)

**Problem**: Authentication fails with "Unauthorized" error.

**Solutions**:

1. Verify your API key is correct and active
2. Check if your API key has the necessary permissions
3. Ensure you've properly configured the NexLev credential in n8n
4. Generate a new API key if the current one is expired

## Support

If you encounter issues or have questions about the Channel Content API, please contact our support team at [contact@nexlev.io](mailto:contact@nexlev.io) or refer to our troubleshooting guide.