SignalYouTube · channel/lives
List public live streams and past broadcasts from a channel. GET /api/v1/youtube/channel/lives accepts your x-api-key header. Production live requests are disabled pending source and commercial-use authorization, including cross-channel use.
Request parameters
Reads the public YouTube Streams tab and follows browse continuation when available. The tab can include archived broadcasts; `is_live` reflects only a live badge visible on the card.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
channelId | string | No | Public YouTube channel ID beginning with UC. |
handle | string | No | Public channel handle, with or without @. |
continuationToken | string | No | Opaque SignalShelf cursor from the previous response. Keep the same channel identity. |
freshness | string | No | 24h (default), 1h, 7d, or live. Accepted cache hits are free; live forces refresh except simultaneous requests may share newly fetched data. |
Code examples
Set SIGNALSHELF_BASE_URL and SIGNALSHELF_API_KEY on your server.
curl "$SIGNALSHELF_BASE_URL/api/v1/youtube/channel/lives?handle=NASA" \
-H "x-api-key: $SIGNALSHELF_API_KEY"const response = await fetch(process.env.SIGNALSHELF_BASE_URL + "/api/v1/youtube/channel/lives?handle=NASA", {
headers: { 'x-api-key': process.env.SIGNALSHELF_API_KEY },
});
const body = await response.json();
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(body.error.message);
console.log(body.data, body.meta);import os, requests
response = requests.get(
os.environ['SIGNALSHELF_BASE_URL'] + "/api/v1/youtube/channel/lives?handle=NASA",
headers={'x-api-key': os.environ['SIGNALSHELF_API_KEY']},
timeout=30,
)
response.raise_for_status()
print(response.json())Response and pagination
The response groups public Streams-tab cards under data.lives and includes is_live based on a visible live badge. The Streams tab also contains archived broadcasts, so this is not a list of only currently live streams.
When a continuationToken is present, pass it unchanged with the same channel handle or ID.
The response contains data and meta. data includes platform, resource, sample:false, provider, and the public source payload. Lists return data.items; individual resources return data.data.
Streams-tab cards are returned under data.lives; archived broadcasts can appear. Each card has is_live from the source badge. Pass continuationToken with the same channel to request the next page when available.
meta includes event_id, mode, cache, credits_charged, fetched_at, age_seconds, and duration_ms. A fresh successful result costs one credit; accepted cached results and failures cost zero.
Availability and failures
Implementation is not a continuous availability guarantee. Source rate limits, retention, deleted content, restrictions, and regional availability apply. This is an independent SignalShelf contract, not a drop-in competitor response format.
400: invalid parameters. 401: missing/revoked key. 402: insufficient credits. 404: missing public resource. 429: SignalShelf throttle. 502/503: upstream failure or rate limit, with credit restored.