Read public YouTube data and your own channel analytics from the command line. oytc is a fast, scriptable, read-only client for the YouTube Data API v3 and YouTube Analytics API. API keys cover public data; OAuth 2.0 adds owner-authorized analytics. There are no write commands.

Website & install: https://davis7dotsh.github.io/open-yt-cli/

macOS / Linux (verifies SHA-256 before installing; no root needed):

tmp="$(mktemp)" && {
  curl --proto '=https' --proto-redir '=https' -fsSL \
    https://davis7dotsh.github.io/open-yt-cli/install.sh -o "$tmp" &&
    sh "$tmp"
  status=$?
  rm -f "$tmp"
  (exit "$status")
}

Windows (PowerShell):

$tmp = Join-Path ([IO.Path]::GetTempPath()) ("oytc-install-" + [Guid]::NewGuid() + ".ps1")
try {
    irm https://davis7dotsh.github.io/open-yt-cli/install.ps1 -OutFile $tmp -ErrorAction Stop
    & $tmp
} finally {
    Remove-Item -LiteralPath $tmp -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}

Alternatively, download a zip from releases.

From source (Go 1.26.5+): go install ./cmd/oytc from a clone, or make build.

oytc login                                    # save an API key for public data
oytc status --check                           # verify configured credentials
oytc search "Go conference" --type video --limit 5
oytc channel get @GoogleDevelopers
oytc video stats dQw4w9WgXcQ --format json
oytc playlist items PLxxxx --all --limit 250

# Optional: authorize read-only access to your own channel analytics
oytc login --oauth
oytc analytics overview --by day --format json
oytc analytics video YOUR_OWN_VIDEO_ID --start 2026-01-01 --end 2026-01-31   # must be your channel's video

Output defaults to a compact table on a terminal and stable JSON when piped; --format table|json|jsonl|tsv and --columns cover the rest.

oytc <command> --help documents every flag; validation errors explain incompatible combinations before any request is sent. Full reference: docs/commands.md.

1. Create a Google Cloud project and enable YouTube Data API v3 (free; default quota is plenty for CLI use).
2. Create an API key and restrict it to the YouTube Data API v3.
3. oytc login (or pipe the key in; there is deliberately no --api-key flag).
4. oytc status --check.

Step-by-step guide with direct console URLs and restriction trade-offs: docs/google-api-key.md. For ephemeral use, OYTC_API_KEY takes precedence over the saved key.

For analytics, follow docs/oauth.md, then run oytc login --oauth. OYTC_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID and OYTC_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET can bootstrap login non-interactively; otherwise oytc prompts for both (the secret without echo). OAuth requests two read-only scopes: yt-analytics.readonly (Analytics reports) and youtube.readonly (Data API reads, so public-data commands also work without an API key). Note that youtube.readonly is classified sensitive: accounts with Advanced Protection or restrictive Workspace policies hard-block unverified apps requesting it, so verify the consent app for those accounts.

• API-key and OAuth credentials coexist in auth.json at ~/Library/Application Support/oytc (macOS), ~/.config/oytc (Linux), or %APPDATA%\oytc (Windows) — directory 0700, file 0600 where supported. OYTC_CONFIG_DIR overrides the location.
• Keys use the X-Goog-Api-Key header; OAuth access tokens use Authorization: Bearer. Neither is put in request URLs.
• status shows a key fingerprint plus OAuth client ID, scopes, and expiry. It never prints tokens or the client secret. logout attempts OAuth revocation, then removes the file.
• oytc update verifies release checksums and never reads or transmits credentials.
• Release checksums detect corruption or in-transit tampering. Because the checksum manifest ships in the same release, publisher authenticity still relies on the GitHub repository and release workflow; releases do not yet have an independent signature.

An API key remains sufficient for every public-data command. Optional OAuth 2.0 support is also strictly read-only and is used for your authorized channel's YouTube Analytics: views, watch time, retention, traffic sources, and audience demographics supported by Google's metric/dimension compatibility rules. (Thumbnail impressions and CTR are not in the Analytics API — those remain YouTube Studio-only.)

There are still zero writes: uploads, edits, moderation, and mutations are out of scope. Revenue scopes/metrics, content-owner reports, and arbitrary private-account operations are not requested or supported. Live chat streaming uses documented REST polling, not the official gRPC stream.

• Command reference — every command, flag, output format, exit code
• Google API key setup — deterministic click-by-click guide
• OAuth analytics setup — GCP consent screen and Desktop client setup
• Releasing — release procedure and required repo settings
• Agent skill — using oytc from AI agents; install it with oytc skills install

make build                  # build bin/oytc
make test                   # go test ./...
make check                  # vet + tests
make fmt                    # gofmt -w .
make dev login              # run from source; positional goals are forwarded
make dev ARGS="status --check"
./scripts/package.sh v0.1.0 # cross-compile release archives + checksums locally

CI, releases, and the website deploy run on Depot CI (GitHub Actions-compatible workflows in .depot/workflows/, executed entirely on Depot compute — not GitHub Actions and not Depot's GitHub Actions runners); see docs/releasing.md.