---
title: "Quickstart"
description: "Get started with NexLev in n8n by building your first workflow in under 5 minutes. This guide walks you through installation, authentication, and creating a simple workflow to fetch YouTube channel information."
source: "https://dashboard.nexlev.io/docs/n8n/quickstart"
---

# Quickstart

Get started with NexLev in n8n by building your first workflow in under 5 minutes. This guide walks you through installation, authentication, and creating a simple workflow to fetch YouTube channel information.

## What You'll Build

In this quickstart, you'll create a workflow that retrieves detailed information about any YouTube channel, including:

- Channel metadata (title, description, handle)
- Subscriber count and view statistics
- Profile images and banner
- Social media links

This forms the foundation for more complex automation workflows like competitor tracking, content analysis, and trend monitoring.

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

- **n8n installed** - Either [self-hosted](https://docs.n8n.io/hosting/) or [n8n Cloud](https://n8n.io/cloud/)
- **NexLev account** - Sign up at [dashboard.nexlev.io](https://dashboard.nexlev.io) if you haven't already
- **NexLev Pro subscription** - [Upgrade to NexLev Pro](https://dashboard.nexlev.io/account-settings?required_nexlev_lite_pro_access=true) to access the n8n integration
- **NexLev API Key** - [Create your API key](https://dashboard.nexlev.io/nexlev-api/create-api-key) in your dashboard

## Step 1: Install the NexLev Node

NexLev is available as an official community node in n8n.

1. Open any workflow in n8n
2. Right-click on the canvas and select **Add Node**
3. Search for **"NexLev"**
4. Click **Install** next to the NexLev node

![Installing the NexLev node in n8n](https://dashboard.nexlev.io/images/documentation/installing-nexlev-node.png)

The installation takes a few seconds. Once complete, the NexLev node will be available in your node library.

## Step 2: Configure Authentication

Before making API calls, you need to authenticate with your NexLev API key.

1. Add the **NexLev** node to your workflow canvas
2. Click on the node to open its settings
3. Under **Credential to connect with**, click **Create New Credential**
4. Paste your **NexLev API Key** into the API Key field
5. Click **Save**

![Configuring NexLev API credentials](https://dashboard.nexlev.io/images/documentation/setting-api-key.png)

> **Info**
>
> **Tip:** You can [create and manage your API
> keys](https://dashboard.nexlev.io/nexlev-api/create-api-key) in your NexLev
> dashboard. Keep it secure and never share it publicly.

## Step 3: Create Your First Workflow

Let's build a simple workflow that fetches information about a YouTube channel.

### Add a Manual Trigger

1. Add a **Manual Trigger** node to start your workflow
2. This allows you to execute the workflow on demand

### Configure the NexLev Node

1. Add the **NexLev** node after the Manual Trigger
2. Configure it with the following settings:

| Setting        | Value                      |
| -------------- | -------------------------- |
| **Resource**   | Channel Content            |
| **Operation**  | Get About                  |
| **Search By**  | Channel ID                 |
| **Channel ID** | `UC9XrHBgOxsNFEBXkLtEqCwA` |

> **Info**
>
> We're using NexLev's channel ID (`UC9XrHBgOxsNFEBXkLtEqCwA`) as an example.
> Replace this with any YouTube channel ID you want to analyze.

### Execute the Workflow

1. Click the **Execute Workflow** button in the top-right corner
2. The workflow will run and fetch channel data from the NexLev API

## Step 4: View the Results

After execution, you'll see the channel data in the output panel:

```json
{
  "channelId": "UC9XrHBgOxsNFEBXkLtEqCwA",
  "title": "NexLev",
  "description": "Discover profitable YouTube niches and grow your channel with data-driven insights.",
  "channelHandle": "@NexLevApp",
  "subscriberText": "5.2K",
  "avatar": [
    {
      "url": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/ytc/AIdro_m...",
      "width": 160,
      "height": 160
    }
  ],
  "banner": [
    {
      "url": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/...",
      "width": 1280,
      "height": 351
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    {
      "title": "Website",
      "url": "https://nexlev.io"
    },
    {
      "title": "Twitter",
      "url": "https://twitter.com/nexlevapp"
    }
  ],
  "viewCountText": "245,820",
  "joinedDateText": "Jan 15, 2023",
  "videosCountText": "42"
}
```

> **Info**
>
> **Congratulations!** You've successfully made your first API call with NexLev.
> The response contains comprehensive channel information you can use in your
> automation workflows.

## Understanding the Response

The Channel Content API returns rich data about any YouTube channel:

- **`channelId`** - Unique YouTube channel identifier
- **`title`** - Channel name
- **`channelHandle`** - Channel's @handle
- **`subscriberText`** - Formatted subscriber count
- **`avatar`** - Profile images in multiple sizes
- **`banner`** - Channel banner images
- **`links`** - Social media and external links
- **`viewCountText`** - Total channel views
- **`joinedDateText`** - Channel creation date
- **`videosCountText`** - Total number of videos

## Next Steps

Now that you've completed your first workflow, explore these resources to build more powerful automations:

### Explore More Operations

- **[Channel Analytics](/docs/n8n/channel-analytics)** - Get detailed performance metrics and growth data
- **[Channel Content](/docs/n8n/channel-content)** - Fetch all videos and shorts from a channel
- **[Video Content](/docs/n8n/video-content)** - Analyze individual video performance
- **[Similar Channels](/docs/n8n/search-similar-channel)** - Find competitors and related channels
- **[YouTube Search](/docs/n8n/youtube-search)** - Search live YouTube for videos, channels, playlists, and shorts

### Build Real Workflows

- **Competitor Monitoring** - Track competitor channels and get alerts on new uploads
- **Content Strategy** - Analyze top-performing videos to inform your content strategy
- **Trend Detection** - Identify trending topics and viral content opportunities
- **Channel Reports** - Generate automated reports with channel analytics and insights

## Get Help

Need assistance? We're here to help:

- **Documentation** - Browse our [complete API documentation](/docs/n8n/quickstart)
- **Raw API access** - Building outside n8n? See the [NexLev API reference](/docs/api/quickstart) for direct REST access to the same data.
- **Dashboard** - Manage your subscription at [dashboard.nexlev.io](https://dashboard.nexlev.io)
- **Support** - Contact us at [contact@nexlev.io](mailto:contact@nexlev.io)
- **Community** - Join our [Discord server](https://discord.com/invite/youtubefaceless) for tips and best practices

## What's Next?

Continue to the [Channel Analytics](/docs/n8n/channel-analytics) guide to learn how to track channel performance over time and build powerful analytics dashboards.