What you can paste in the box

Paste any of these and the channel ID comes back:

A handle URL — youtube.com/@MrBeast
A custom URL — youtube.com/c/SomeName
A legacy user URL — youtube.com/user/SomeName
A channel URL that already contains the ID — youtube.com/channel/UC…

A video URL is not a channel URL. Click the creator name under the video first, then copy that address.

The four kinds of YouTube channel URL

YouTube has accumulated four URL styles over the years, and only one of them contains the real identifier. A channel ID always starts with UC and is 24 characters long — for example UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA.

Handles (@name), custom URLs (/c/name) and legacy user URLs (/user/name) are all aliases. Creators can change a handle, and custom URLs were granted and revoked under different rules over the years. Only the UC… string is guaranteed stable.

Why a lookup fails, and what to do

If no ID comes back:

You pasted a video, playlist or Shorts URL rather than a channel URL. These contain a video ID, not a channel ID.
The handle is wrong. Handles are case-insensitive but every character counts, including dots and dashes.
The channel was deleted or terminated, so YouTube serves no public page for it.
YouTube is throttling the request. Wait a short while and try again.

Where the channel ID is used

The channel ID is required by the YouTube Data API, by RSS subscription feeds (feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UC…), by embedded subscribe buttons, and by most analytics and multi-channel-network dashboards.

Because handles can change but the UC… ID cannot, it is also the correct value to store if you are tracking channels in your own system.

Handles, custom URLs and why both exist

YouTube introduced @handles in late 2022 and gave every channel one, replacing a patchwork where only channels meeting a subscriber threshold could claim a custom /c/ URL. Handles are unique, changeable, and released back into the pool when abandoned.

Older /user/ URLs date from the era when a YouTube account and a Google account were separate things. Many still resolve, but they map to a legacy username that the creator may no longer control or recognise.

All three forms are aliases pointing at the same underlying channel. When something breaks after a creator rebrands, it is almost always because an alias was stored instead of the UC… ID.

Frequently asked questions

Is this free?

Yes — no account, no quota, no limits. The captcha is only there to block automated bulk lookups.

What does the UC prefix mean?

It is simply the prefix YouTube uses for channel resources. Every channel ID starts with it and runs to 24 characters in total.

Why does the handle not work in the API?

Most Data API endpoints accept only the channel ID. Handles are a display-layer convenience and are not valid resource identifiers.

Can I find a channel ID from one of its videos?

Not directly here. Open the video, click the channel name to reach the channel page, then paste that URL.

Does the creator know I looked this up?

No. The channel ID is public information and reading it generates no notification or view count.

Can a channel ID ever change?

No. The UC… string is fixed for the lifetime of the channel. Creators can change their name, handle and custom URL as often as they like without affecting it.

What is the difference between a channel ID and a playlist or video ID?

They identify different things and have different shapes. Channel IDs start with UC and are 24 characters; video IDs are 11 characters; playlist IDs usually start with PL. Passing one where another is expected is a common API error.

YouTube Channel ID Finder