YouTube Channel ID in n8n Automations

n8n, Make, and Zapier all need Channel IDs to work with YouTube. Here is how to find them and wire them into your automations correctly.

Why Automation Tools Need Channel IDs

When you add a YouTube node in n8n, Make (Integromat), or Zapier, you will hit a required field: Channel ID.

These tools do not accept channel names or @handles as input. They use the YouTube Data API under the hood, and that API uses Channel IDs as the primary identifier.

A Channel ID looks like:

UCBcRF18a7Qf58cCRy5xuWwQ

Always starts with UC. Permanent — never changes even if the channel renames.

How to Get a Channel ID Before Building Your Workflow

The fastest approach: paste the channel URL into channelid.app.

1. Open the YouTube channel in your browser
2. Copy the channel URL (any format works: @handle, /channel/, /c/, /user/)
3. Paste it into channelid.app
4. Click "Get Channel ID"
5. Copy the result — it starts with UC

n8n: Using Channel IDs

Watching for New Uploads

The YouTube RSS feed works without an API key:

https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UCBcRF18a7Qf58cCRy5xuWwQ

In n8n, use an HTTP Request node + RSS Read node:

• HTTP Request URL: https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id={{your_channel_id}}
• Parse with RSS Read node
• Trigger on schedule (every 15–60 minutes)

Fetching Channel Statistics via YouTube API

Use an HTTP Request node:

GET https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/channels
  ?part=statistics
  &id=UCBcRF18a7Qf58cCRy5xuWwQ
  &key={{$credentials.youtubeApiKey}}

Extract: items[0].statistics.subscriberCount, viewCount, videoCount

Typical n8n workflow:

Schedule Trigger → HTTP Request (YouTube API) → Set node (extract stats) → Google Sheets (append row)

Dynamic Channel IDs from a Spreadsheet

1. Google Sheets node — read rows of Channel IDs
2. Split In Batches node — process one at a time
3. HTTP Request node — call YouTube API with {{ $json.channel_id }}
4. Google Sheets node — write stats back

Make (Integromat): Using Channel IDs

Watch New Videos from a Channel

1. Add YouTube → Watch Videos module
2. Set trigger: By Channel ID
3. Enter the Channel ID: UCBcRF18a7Qf58cCRy5xuWwQ
4. Set polling interval (15 minutes minimum on Make free tier)

Scenario: New Video → Slack Notification

YouTube Watch Videos (Channel ID: UCxxxxx)
  → Slack → Send Message
    "#youtube-alerts: New video from {{channel.title}}: {{video.title}} — {{video.url}}"

Zapier: Using Channel IDs

1. Trigger: YouTube → New Video in Channel
2. Channel: search by name, or enter Channel ID directly
3. Action: Slack, Gmail, Google Sheets, Airtable, etc.

Tip: If Zapier cannot find your channel by name, enter the Channel ID directly.

Resolving Channel IDs Inside a Workflow

If you have a handle as input and need to resolve it inside the workflow:

n8n: HTTP Request to Resolve Handle

{
  "method": "GET",
  "url": "https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/channels",
  "qs": {
    "part": "id",
    "forHandle": "={{ $json.handle }}",
    "key": "={{ $credentials.youtubeApiKey }}"
  }
}

Output: items[0].id — use this as the Channel ID in downstream nodes.

Common Mistakes

Wrong ID format — n8n and Make expect a bare Channel ID (UCBcRF18a7Qf58cCRy5xuWwQ), not a full URL.

Using a handle instead of Channel ID — @mkbhd is not a Channel ID. Resolve handles to IDs first using channelid.app.

Mixing up Playlist IDs with Channel IDs — YouTube upload playlists start with UU (not UC).

YouTube RSS Feed vs. YouTube Data API

RSS URL format:

https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UCBcRF18a7Qf58cCRy5xuWwQ

For simple "new video" triggers, RSS is often enough.

Summary

1. Get the Channel ID before building your workflow — use channelid.app
2. Paste the bare UC... ID into the Channel ID field of your YouTube node
3. For dynamic multi-channel workflows, store IDs in a spreadsheet and loop
4. For resolving handles inside a workflow, use an HTTP Request to channels.list?forHandle=
5. RSS feeds work for basic triggers without API quota overhead