YouTube Video ID Extractor

Paste a YouTube link (watch, youtu.be, shorts, embed) or a raw 11-char ID — we’ll extract the Video ID.

YouTube Video ID Extractor — Why it’s useful

The Video ID (VIDEO_ID) is the most reliable key for working with YouTube videos. Titles, URLs, and query strings can change, but the ID stays the same. With this tool you can paste any public YouTube video link and instantly get a clean ID you can use in embeds, APIs, analytics, and thumbnails.

Where this helps most

  • Developers & integrators. Store stable IDs for databases, API calls, and webhooks.
  • Editors & creators. Grab the ID fast for embeds, end screens, or cards.
  • QA & support. Verify that a link points to the expected video regardless of URL noise.
  • SEO & automation. Build scripts that fetch thumbnails or metadata by ID.

Supported inputs

The extractor accepts almost any public video link and normalizes it:

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
  • https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID
  • Links with extra params like &t=, &ab_channel=…
  • Shorts and share links
  • Embed forms: https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID

The tool ignores unrelated parameters and focuses on extracting the canonical VIDEO_ID.

Outputs you’ll get

  • Video ID — the raw VIDEO_ID you can copy.
  • Watch URL — canonical …/watch?v=VIDEO_ID.
  • Embed URL — …/embed/VIDEO_ID for <iframe>.
  • Thumbnail URL — points to maxresdefault.jpg with a graceful fallback to hqdefault.jpg if max-res isn’t available.

Best practices

  • Validate before storing. If you accept user input, extract the ID and store that — not the full URL.
  • Prefer canonical watch links. They’re predictable and easy to share.
  • Handle maxres fallback. Not all videos have maxresdefault.jpg; fall back to hqdefault.jpg.

Final thoughts

A video’s ID is the single source of truth across URLs, features, and surfaces. With this extractor, you can paste whatever link you have and immediately get the stable ID, plus ready-to-open watch, embed, and thumbnail links.

Show less

  1. Paste a YouTube link (watch, youtu.be, shorts, or embed) or an 11-character ID.
  2. Click “Extract ID”. We’ll parse the URL and validate the ID.
  3. Copy the ID or open Watch, Embed, or Thumbnail links.
FAQ

watch URLs, youtu.be, shorts, embed, /live, the v= parameter, and plain 11-char IDs.

We first try maxresdefault; if it’s missing, we fall back to hqdefault automatically.

No. We only parse to extract the ID; inputs aren’t stored.
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This tool is provided for personal and educational use only. We do not host or store any user content or media files on our servers. All processing happens locally in your browser. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by any social network, platform, or company mentioned. Use this service at your own discretion and in compliance with the respective platform’s terms of service.