How long is a YouTube video ID?

Exactly 11 characters, using letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores.

Does it work with youtu.be short links?

Yes, plus watch, embed and Shorts links.

Can I build a thumbnail URL from the ID?

Yes: img.youtube.com/vi/VIDEO_ID/maxresdefault.jpg gives the HD thumbnail.

What if my link has a timestamp?

The tool ignores &t= and other parameters and returns only the clean ID.

Is the ID the same as the channel ID?

No. The video ID identifies one video; the channel ID identifies a channel.

Do I need an account?

No signup, no install — it's free and instant.

Can I use it for embeds?

Yes: youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID embeds the video.

Does it work on mobile?

Yes, it's mobile-first and works in any browser.

No limits — extract as many IDs as you like.

Analytics

Video ID Finder

Paste any YouTube link and get its 11-character video ID — the part used in embeds, APIs and thumbnail URLs. Works with watch, youtu.be, embed and Shorts links.

Quick answers

Straight to the point

How do I find a YouTube video ID?

Paste the video link into the tool and it extracts the 11-character ID — the value after v= in a watch URL, after youtu.be/ in a short link, or after /shorts/ in a Short. Copy it for use in embeds, the YouTube API, or to build thumbnail image URLs.

What is a YouTube video ID?

A video ID is the unique 11-character code that identifies a single YouTube video (for example, dQw4w9WgXcQ). It appears in every link to the video and is what embeds, the API and thumbnail URLs use to reference that exact video.

Why this tool

What makes the Video ID Finder useful

Manually picking the ID out of a long URL with timestamps and tracking parameters is error-prone. This tool isolates it reliably every time.

All link formats

watch, youtu.be, embed and Shorts links all parse correctly.

Clean 11-char ID

Strips timestamps and list parameters to give just the ID.

One-click copy

Copy the ID instantly for embeds, APIs and image URLs.

Free & instant

No signup, runs entirely in your browser.

Step by step

How to use the Video ID Finder

It matches the ID pattern in watch?v=, youtu.be/, /embed/ and /shorts/ links, strips extra parameters, and gives you the clean ID to copy.

1
Paste the link
Drop any YouTube video URL into the box.
2
Parse
The tool isolates the 11-character ID.
3
Copy
Copy the clean ID with one click.
4
Use it
Drop it into embeds, the API or thumbnail URLs.

What is the Video ID Finder?

The Video ID Finder parses any YouTube URL format and returns the 11-character video identifier used across embeds, APIs and image URLs.

Who should use it?

Developers embedding videos, creators building thumbnail URLs, and anyone scripting around YouTube content.

Common use cases

Building embed codes from a link
Constructing thumbnail image URLs
Feeding IDs into the YouTube API
Cleaning links of tracking parameters

Pro tips

• Build a thumbnail URL: img.youtube.com/vi/VIDEO_ID/maxresdefault.jpg
• Embed with: youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID

Mistakes to avoid

• Copying the whole URL including &t= or &list= parameters into a field that needs only the ID.
• Confusing the video ID with the channel or playlist ID.

Alternatives & related approaches

Use the Channel ID Finder for channels, the Playlist ID Finder for playlists, or the Thumbnail Downloader to fetch images by URL directly.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Paste the URL here; the tool returns the 11-character ID, stripped of any timestamps or playlist parameters.

Keep going

Related tools

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Channel ID Finder

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Playlist ID Finder

Pull the playlist ID out of any YouTube playlist link.

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