How to integrate YouTube using Java

Learn how to quickly and efficiently connect YouTube with Java for smooth data access.

Read and write YouTube data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate videos, playlists, channels, and analytics — almost no coding required. You can do it all using the high-performance YouTube ODBC Driver for Java (often referred to as the YouTube Connector). How is this possible? You will connect to the ZappySys Data Gateway, which acts as a seamless bridge between the ODBC and JDBC layers. We'll walk you through the entire setup.

Ready to dive in? Download the product to jump right in, or follow the step-by-step guide below to see how it works.

YouTube ODBC Driver Powering this integration

High performance
Bidirectional
Low-code / No-code
Easy to use

Built on the ZappySys API Driver, the YouTube ODBC Driver is a high-performance, low-code / no-code solution. It enables you to connect to YouTube data without any coding right in your SQL Server, or any ODBC/JDBC application. Part of the ODBC PowerPack.

Documentation

Create data source in ZappySys Data Gateway

In this section we will create a data source for YouTube in the Data Gateway. Let's follow these steps to accomplish that:

Download and install ODBC PowerPack (if you haven't already).
Search for gateway in the Windows Start Menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway Configuration:
Go to the Users tab and follow these steps to add a Data Gateway user:
- Click the Add button
- In the Login field enter a username, e.g., john
- Then enter a Password
- Check the Is Administrator checkbox
- Click OK to save
Now we are ready to add a data source:
- Click the Add button
- Give the Data source a name (have it handy for later)
- Then select Native - ZappySys API Driver
- Finally, click OK
YoutubeDSN

ZappySys API Driver
When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "YouTube" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "YouTube" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

YoutubeDSN

YouTube

Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

API Key

YouTube authentication

This walkthrough will help you create an API Key which you will be able to use in all requests and authenticate accordingly.

Go to Google API Console
From the Project Dropdown (usually found at the top bar) click Select Project
On Project Popup click CREATE PROJECT
Once project is created you can click Select Project to switch the context (You can click on Notification link or Choose from Top Dropdown)
Click ENABLE APIs AND SERVICES
Now we need to Enable three APIs one by one (YouTube Data API, YouTube Analytics API, YouTube Reporting API).
Search YouTube Data API. Select and click ENABLE
Search YouTube Analytics API. Select and click ENABLE
Search YouTube Reporting API. Select and click ENABLE
Go to back to main screen of Google API Console
Click OAuth Consent Screen Tab. Enter necessary details and Save.
Click Credentials Tab
Click CREATE CREDENTIALS (some where in topbar) and select API key option.
In the popup, copy API Key from the field "Your API key", close this window, and use it in the UI configuration, "key" field

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to API Key [Http]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Finally, hit OK button:

YoutubeDSN

YouTube

API Key [Http]

https://youtube.googleapis.com/youtube/v3

Required Parameters
key	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	403\|429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

User Account

YouTube authentication

To register a custom app, perform the following steps (detailed steps found in the help link at the end)

Go to Google API Console
From the Project Dropdown (usually found at the top bar) click Select Project
On Project Popup click CREATE PROJECT
Once project is created you can click Select Project to switch the context (You can click on Notification link or Choose from Top Dropdown)
Click ENABLE APIs AND SERVICES
Now we need to Enable three APIs one by one (YouTube Data API, YouTube Analytics API, YouTube Reporting API).
Search YouTube Data API. Select and click ENABLE
Search YouTube Analytics API. Select and click ENABLE
Search YouTube Reporting API. Select and click ENABLE
Go to back to main screen of Google API Console
Click OAuth Consent Screen Tab. Enter necessary details and Save.
Click Credentials Tab
Click CREATE CREDENTIALS (some where in topbar) and select OAuth Client ID option.
When prompted Select Application Type as Desktop App and click Create to receive your ClientID and Secret. Later on you can use this information now to configure Connection.
Go to OAuth Consent Screen tab. Under Publishing Status click PUBLISH APP to ensure your refresh token doesnt expire often. If you planning to use App for Private use then do not have to worry about Verification Status after Publish.

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to User Account [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
Finally, hit OK button:

YoutubeDSN

YouTube

User Account [OAuth]

https://youtube.googleapis.com/youtube/v3

Required Parameters
UseCustomApp	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
ClientId
ClientSecret
Scope	https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube~https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.readonly~https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtubepartner~https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.force-ssl~https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.upload~https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtubepartner-channel-audit~https://www.googleapis.com/auth/yt-analytics-monetary.readonly~https://www.googleapis.com/auth/yt-analytics.readonly
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	403\|429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True
Redirect URL (Only for Web App)

Service Account (Using .json OR .p12 key file)

YouTube authentication

Use these steps to authenticate as service account rather than Google / GSuite User. Learn more about service account here

Basically to call Google API as Service account we need to perform following steps listed in 3 sections (Detailed steps found in the help link at the end)

Create Project

First thing is create a Project so we can call Google API. Skip this section if you already have Project (Go to next section)

Go to Google API Console
From the Project Dropdown (usually found at the top bar) click Select Project
On Project Popup click CREATE PROJECT
Once project is created you can click Select Project to switch the context (You can click on Notification link or Choose from Top Dropdown)
Click ENABLE APIs AND SERVICES
Now we need to Enable three APIs one by one (YouTube Data API, YouTube Analytics API, YouTube Reporting API)
Search YouTube Data API. Select and click ENABLE
Search YouTube Analytics API. Select and click ENABLE
Search YouTube Reporting API. Select and click ENABLE

Create Service Account

Once Project is created and APIs are enabled we can now create a service account under that project. Service account has its ID which looks like some email ID (not to confuse with Google /Gmail email ID)

Go to Create Service Account
From the Project Dropdown (usually found at the top bar) click Select Project
Enter Service account name and Service account description
For Role, do not select anything for now and Click Continue and then click Done. Next we will create Key.

Create Key

Once service account is created we need to create key file (i.e. credentials).

In the Cloud Console, click the email address for the service account that you created.
Click Keys.
Click Add key, then click Create new key.
Click Create and select P12 format. A P12 key file is downloaded to your computer. We will use this file in our API connection.
Click Close.
Now you may use downloaded *.p12 key file as secret file and Service Account Email as Client ID (e.g. some-service-account-name@your-project-id.iam.gserviceaccount.com ).

Add Permission

Now last thing is give read/write permission to Service Account. Basically you can create or open Google Sheet and add the Service Account as an editor to it as below.

Copy the email address of your service account we created in previous step (its usually like this some-service-account-name@your-project-id.iam.gserviceaccount.com).
Create or select an existing Google Sheet.
Navigate to Sheet for which you like to give read/write access to Service Account.
Click on the Share button in the top right, and add the email address of the service account as an editor. Here is how to share file(s) with specific people. Juse share with Service Account (use Service Account Email found on previous section)

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to Service Account (Using *.json OR *.p12 key file) [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Finally, hit OK button:

YoutubeDSN

YouTube

Service Account (Using *.json OR *.p12 key file) [OAuth]

https://youtube.googleapis.com/youtube/v3

Required Parameters
Service Account Email	Fill-in the parameter...
Service Account Private Key Path (i.e. *.p12)	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
Scope	https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.readonly https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtubepartner https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.force-ssl https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.upload https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtubepartner-channel-audit https://www.googleapis.com/auth/yt-analytics-monetary.readonly https://www.googleapis.com/auth/yt-analytics.readonly
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	403\|429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:

ZappySys API Driver - YouTube

Read and write YouTube data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate videos, playlists, channels, and analytics — almost no coding required.

YoutubeDSN
Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in Java to retrieve data from YouTube. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.
```
SELECT * FROM MyVideos
```
Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the YouTube API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.
Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in Java:
ZappySys API Driver - YouTube

Read and write YouTube data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate videos, playlists, channels, and analytics — almost no coding required.

YoutubeDSN
```
SELECT * FROM MyVideos
```
You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.

A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the YouTube API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in YouTube servers).
Click OK to finish creating the data source.
Once done, go to the Network Settings tab and Add a firewall rule for inbound traffic:
- This will initially allow all inbound traffic.
- Click Edit IP filters to restrict access to specific IP addresses or ranges.
Crucial Step: After creating or modifying the data source, you must:
- Click the Save button to persist your changes.
- Hit Yes when prompted to restart the Data Gateway service.
This ensures all changes are properly applied:

Skipping this step may cause the new settings to fail, preventing you from connecting to the data source.

Read data in Java from the DSN

Java code to get the data:

"jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=YoutubeDSN;user=john;password=test"
When you run the code it will make the API call and read the data:

Here is Java program's code in text format:


//Step-1: Install ZappySys ODBC PowerPack and Configure Data Gateway

//Step-2:Assuming the Microsoft SQL Server JDBC Driver is in below folder
//C:\Program Files\Microsoft Jdbc Driver 6.0 for SQL Server\sqljdbc_6.0\enu\auth\x64
package padaone;

import java.sql.*;

public class zappy {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        // Create a variable for the connection string.
        String connectionUrl = "jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=YoutubeDSN;user=test;password=test";

        // Declare the JDBC objects.
        Connection con = null;
        Statement stmt = null;
        ResultSet rs = null;

            try {
                // Establish the connection.
                Class.forName("com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerDriver");
                con = DriverManager.getConnection(connectionUrl);

                // Create and execute an SQL statement that returns some data.
                String SQL = "SELECT Country , SUM(UnitPrice * Quantity) Total " 
                           + "FROM value " 
                           + "GROUP BY Country "
                           + "WITH (SRC='https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Invoices?$format=json')";
                stmt = con.createStatement();
                rs = stmt.executeQuery(SQL);

                // Iterate through the data in the result set and display it.
                while (rs.next()) {
                    System.out.println(rs.getString(1) + " " + rs.getString(2));
                }
            }

        // Handle any errors that may have occurred.
        catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        } 
        
        finally {
            if (rs != null) try { rs.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
            if (stmt != null) try { stmt.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
            if (con != null) try { con.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
        }
    }
}

Supported YouTube Connector actions

Got a specific use case in mind? We've mapped out exactly how to perform a variety of essential YouTube operations directly in Java, so you don't have to figure out the setup from scratch. Check out the step-by-step guides below:

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to YouTube in Java and integrate data without writing complex code — all of this was powered by YouTube ODBC Driver.

Download ODBC PowerPack now or ping us via chat if you have any questions or are looking for a specific feature (you can also reach out to us by submitting a ticket):

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