Example of the YouTube videos URL formats

ActiveYouTubeURLFormats.txt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wtIMTCHWuI
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-wtIMTCHWuI
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-wtIMTCHWuI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc
https://youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZv2daTWRZU&feature=em-uploademail
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yZv2daTWRZU&feature=em-uploademail
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yZv2daTWRZU&feature=em-uploademail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZv2daTWRZU&feature=em-uploademail
https://youtube.com/watch?v=yZv2daTWRZU&feature=em-uploademail
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yZv2daTWRZU&feature=em-uploademail

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg&feature=feedrec_grec_index
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg&feature=feedrec_grec_index
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg&feature=feedrec_grec_index
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg&feature=feedrec_grec_index
https://youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg&feature=feedrec_grec_index
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg&feature=feedrec_grec_index

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg#t=0m10s
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg#t=0m10s
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg#t=0m10s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg#t=0m10s
https://youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg#t=0m10s
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg#t=0m10s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKZDdG9FTKY&feature=channel
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cKZDdG9FTKY&feature=channel
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cKZDdG9FTKY&feature=channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTJRivZTMLs&feature=channel
https://youtube.com/watch?v=oTJRivZTMLs&feature=channel
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oTJRivZTMLs&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&playnext_from=TL&videos=osPknwzXEas&feature=sub
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&playnext_from=TL&videos=osPknwzXEas&feature=sub
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&playnext_from=TL&videos=osPknwzXEas&feature=sub
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&playnext_from=TL&videos=osPknwzXEas&feature=sub
https://youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&playnext_from=TL&videos=osPknwzXEas&feature=sub
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&playnext_from=TL&videos=osPknwzXEas&feature=sub

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=youtu.be
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=youtu.be
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=youtu.be
https://youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=youtu.be
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
http://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ishbTyLs6ps&list=PLGup6kBfcU7Le5laEaCLgTKtlDcxMqGxZ&index=106&shuffle=2655
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ishbTyLs6ps&list=PLGup6kBfcU7Le5laEaCLgTKtlDcxMqGxZ&index=106&shuffle=2655
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ishbTyLs6ps&list=PLGup6kBfcU7Le5laEaCLgTKtlDcxMqGxZ&index=106&shuffle=2655
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ishbTyLs6ps&list=PLGup6kBfcU7Le5laEaCLgTKtlDcxMqGxZ&index=106&shuffle=2655
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ishbTyLs6ps&list=PLGup6kBfcU7Le5laEaCLgTKtlDcxMqGxZ&index=106&shuffle=2655
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ishbTyLs6ps&list=PLGup6kBfcU7Le5laEaCLgTKtlDcxMqGxZ&index=106&shuffle=2655

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
http://youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
http://youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
http://m.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://m.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ


http://www.youtube.com/watch/-wtIMTCHWuI
http://youtube.com/watch/-wtIMTCHWuI
http://m.youtube.com/watch/-wtIMTCHWuI
https://www.youtube.com/watch/-wtIMTCHWuI
https://youtube.com/watch/-wtIMTCHWuI
https://m.youtube.com/watch/-wtIMTCHWuI

http://www.youtube.com/watch/-wtIMTCHWuI?app=desktop
http://youtube.com/watch/-wtIMTCHWuI?app=desktop
http://m.youtube.com/watch/-wtIMTCHWuI?app=desktop
https://www.youtube.com/watch/-wtIMTCHWuI?app=desktop
https://youtube.com/watch/-wtIMTCHWuI?app=desktop
https://m.youtube.com/watch/-wtIMTCHWuI?app=desktop


http://www.youtube.com/v/dQw4w9WgXcQ
http://youtube.com/v/dQw4w9WgXcQ
http://m.youtube.com/v/dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://www.youtube.com/v/dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://youtube.com/v/dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://m.youtube.com/v/dQw4w9WgXcQ

http://www.youtube.com/v/-wtIMTCHWuI?version=3&autohide=1
http://youtube.com/v/-wtIMTCHWuI?version=3&autohide=1
http://m.youtube.com/v/-wtIMTCHWuI?version=3&autohide=1
https://www.youtube.com/v/-wtIMTCHWuI?version=3&autohide=1
https://youtube.com/v/-wtIMTCHWuI?version=3&autohide=1
https://m.youtube.com/v/-wtIMTCHWuI?version=3&autohide=1

http://www.youtube.com/v/0zM3nApSvMg?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
http://youtube.com/v/0zM3nApSvMg?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
http://m.youtube.com/v/0zM3nApSvMg?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
https://www.youtube.com/v/0zM3nApSvMg?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
https://www.youtube.com/v/0zM3nApSvMg?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
https://youtube.com/v/0zM3nApSvMg?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0
https://m.youtube.com/v/0zM3nApSvMg?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0

http://www.youtube.com/v/dQw4w9WgXcQ?feature=youtube_gdata_player
http://youtube.com/v/dQw4w9WgXcQ?feature=youtube_gdata_player
http://m.youtube.com/v/dQw4w9WgXcQ?feature=youtube_gdata_player
https://www.youtube.com/v/dQw4w9WgXcQ?feature=youtube_gdata_player
https://youtube.com/v/dQw4w9WgXcQ?feature=youtube_gdata_player
https://m.youtube.com/v/dQw4w9WgXcQ?feature=youtube_gdata_player


http://youtu.be/-wtIMTCHWuI
https://youtu.be/-wtIMTCHWuI

http://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?feature=youtube_gdata_player
https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://youtu.be/oTJRivZTMLs?list=PLToa5JuFMsXTNkrLJbRlB--76IAOjRM9b
https://youtu.be/oTJRivZTMLs?list=PLToa5JuFMsXTNkrLJbRlB--76IAOjRM9b

http://youtu.be/oTJRivZTMLs&feature=channel
https://youtu.be/oTJRivZTMLs&feature=channel

http://youtu.be/lalOy8Mbfdc?t=1
http://youtu.be/lalOy8Mbfdc?t=1s
https://youtu.be/lalOy8Mbfdc?t=1
https://youtu.be/lalOy8Mbfdc?t=1s

http://youtu.be/M9bq_alk-sw?si=B_RZg_I-lLaa7UU-
https://youtu.be/M9bq_alk-sw?si=B_RZg_I-lLaa7UU-


http://www.youtube.com/oembed?url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch?v%3D-wtIMTCHWuI&format=json
http://youtube.com/oembed?url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch?v%3D-wtIMTCHWuI&format=json
http://m.youtube.com/oembed?url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch?v%3D-wtIMTCHWuI&format=json
https://www.youtube.com/oembed?url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch?v%3D-wtIMTCHWuI&format=json
https://youtube.com/oembed?url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch?v%3D-wtIMTCHWuI&format=json
https://m.youtube.com/oembed?url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch?v%3D-wtIMTCHWuI&format=json


http://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=JdfC0C9V6ZI&u=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DEhxJLojIE_o%26feature%3Dshare
http://youtube.com/attribution_link?a=JdfC0C9V6ZI&u=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DEhxJLojIE_o%26feature%3Dshare
http://m.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=JdfC0C9V6ZI&u=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DEhxJLojIE_o%26feature%3Dshare
https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=JdfC0C9V6ZI&u=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DEhxJLojIE_o%26feature%3Dshare
https://youtube.com/attribution_link?a=JdfC0C9V6ZI&u=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DEhxJLojIE_o%26feature%3Dshare
https://m.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=JdfC0C9V6ZI&u=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DEhxJLojIE_o%26feature%3Dshare

http://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=8g8kPrPIi-ecwIsS&u=/watch%3Fv%3DyZv2daTWRZU%26feature%3Dem-uploademail
http://youtube.com/attribution_link?a=8g8kPrPIi-ecwIsS&u=/watch%3Fv%3DyZv2daTWRZU%26feature%3Dem-uploademail
http://m.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=8g8kPrPIi-ecwIsS&u=/watch%3Fv%3DyZv2daTWRZU%26feature%3Dem-uploademail
https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=8g8kPrPIi-ecwIsS&u=/watch%3Fv%3DyZv2daTWRZU%26feature%3Dem-uploademail
https://youtube.com/attribution_link?a=8g8kPrPIi-ecwIsS&u=/watch%3Fv%3DyZv2daTWRZU%26feature%3Dem-uploademail
https://m.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=8g8kPrPIi-ecwIsS&u=/watch%3Fv%3DyZv2daTWRZU%26feature%3Dem-uploademail


http://www.youtube.com/embed/lalOy8Mbfdc
http://youtube.com/embed/lalOy8Mbfdc
http://m.youtube.com/embed/lalOy8Mbfdc
https://www.youtube.com/embed/lalOy8Mbfdc
https://youtube.com/embed/lalOy8Mbfdc
https://m.youtube.com/embed/lalOy8Mbfdc

http://www.youtube.com/embed/nas1rJpm7wY?rel=0
http://youtube.com/embed/nas1rJpm7wY?rel=0
http://m.youtube.com/embed/nas1rJpm7wY?rel=0
https://www.youtube.com/embed/nas1rJpm7wY?rel=0
https://youtube.com/embed/nas1rJpm7wY?rel=0
https://m.youtube.com/embed/nas1rJpm7wY?rel=0


http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/lalOy8Mbfdc?rel=0
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/lalOy8Mbfdc?rel=0


http://www.youtube.com/e/dQw4w9WgXcQ
http://youtube.com/e/dQw4w9WgXcQ
http://m.youtube.com/e/dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://www.youtube.com/e/dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://youtube.com/e/dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://m.youtube.com/e/dQw4w9WgXcQ


http://www.youtube.com/shorts/j9rZxAF3C0I
http://youtube.com/shorts/j9rZxAF3C0I
http://m.youtube.com/shorts/j9rZxAF3C0I
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/j9rZxAF3C0I
https://youtube.com/shorts/j9rZxAF3C0I
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/j9rZxAF3C0I

http://www.youtube.com/shorts/j9rZxAF3C0I?app=desktop
http://youtube.com/shorts/j9rZxAF3C0I?app=desktop
http://m.youtube.com/shorts/j9rZxAF3C0I?app=desktop
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/j9rZxAF3C0I?app=desktop
https://youtube.com/shorts/j9rZxAF3C0I?app=desktop
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/j9rZxAF3C0I?app=desktop


http://www.youtube.com/live/8hBmepWUJoc
http://youtube.com/live/8hBmepWUJoc
http://m.youtube.com/live/8hBmepWUJoc
https://www.youtube.com/live/8hBmepWUJoc
https://youtube.com/live/8hBmepWUJoc
https://m.youtube.com/live/8hBmepWUJoc

http://www.youtube.com/live/8hBmepWUJoc?app=desktop
http://youtube.com/live/8hBmepWUJoc?app=desktop
http://m.youtube.com/live/8hBmepWUJoc?app=desktop
https://www.youtube.com/live/8hBmepWUJoc?app=desktop
https://youtube.com/live/8hBmepWUJoc?app=desktop
https://m.youtube.com/live/8hBmepWUJoc?app=desktop

DeprecatedYouTubeURLFormats.txt

https://youtube.com/user/GitHub#p/a/u/1/lalOy8Mbfdc

https://www.youtube.com/user/GitHub#p/u/1/lalOy8Mbfdc

https://www.youtube.com/user/GitHub#p/u/1/lalOy8Mbfdc?rel=0

https://www.youtube.com/user/GitHub#p/a/u/2/lalOy8Mbfdc

https://www.youtube.com/user/GitHub#p/u/11/lalOy8Mbfdc

https://www.youtube.com/user/GitHub#p/u/1/lalOy8Mbfdc

https://www.youtube.com/GitHub?v=lalOy8Mbfdc


http://www.youtube.com/?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

http://youtube.com/?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://youtube.com/?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=channel

http://youtube.com/?vi=dQw4w9WgXcQ

http://youtube.com/?vi=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://youtube.com/?vi=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/?feature=player_embedded&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

http://youtube.com/?feature=channel&v=lalOy8Mbfdc


http://youtube.com/watch?vi=dQw4w9WgXcQ

http://youtube.com/watch?vi=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://youtube.com/watch?vi=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=channel


http://youtube.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ

http://youtube.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ?feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://youtube.com/vi/lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=channel


http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/6L3ZvIMwZFM?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0

Is there an example link with prefix https://youtube.com ? Seems like this might be missing from the examples

(And http://m.youtube.com?)

@asdfletcher-yesler, yes, there are a few examples in the list. Any http link should work with https and vice-versa.

A few of the youtube.com examples:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wtIMTCHWuI
• http://www.youtube.com/v/-wtIMTCHWuI?version=3&autohide=1
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZv2daTWRZU&feature=em-uploademail

m.youtube.com examples:

• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m_kbvp0_8tc
• https://m.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Thanks for this list, it's come in handy for a couple of little projects 🙂

Thanks for this list, it's come in handy for a couple of little projects 🙂

🙂

Are the URLs like this one valid?

https://www.youtube.com/user/IngridMichaelsonVEVO#p/a/u/1/QdK8U-VIH_o

In that, yes, they go to a You Tube user's channel, but I suspect everything after the # is ignored, so the video ID isn't used. In fact that anchor suffix could be anything at all, and it would be correct not to parse the video ID.

Likewise, I wonder about these URLs with a vi in place of a v. They all either go to a 404-not-found or are redirected to youtube.com's front page. Even if I insert an ID I know works with other URLs - so it's not simply the video has been taken down.

http://youtube.com/?vi=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
http://youtube.com/watch?vi=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
http://youtube.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ?feature=youtube_gdata_player
http://youtube.com/vi/oTJRivZTMLs&feature=channel
http://youtube.com/watch?vi=oTJRivZTMLs&feature=channel

And URLs like this, with a v= parameter and no watch:

http://youtube.com/?v=XXXXXXXXXXX&feature=youtube_gdata_player
http://www.youtube.com/?v=XXXXXXXXXXX
http://www.youtube.com/?feature=player_embedded&v=XXXXXXXXXXX
http://youtube.com/?v=XXXXXXXXXXX&feature=channel
http://youtube.com/?feature=channel&v=XXXXXXXXXXX

I've not made an exhaustive test, but it does seem to find a lot of questionable URLs. It's quite possible these work for someone else, but has anyone evidence these URLs ever did link to a video?

I've tried a couple and it seems some of the weirder looking ones may or do not work, I've left them in my regex for potential matches if I ever find one in the wild and want to quickly get the ID

Thanks for reporting these @wu-lee. I'm going to do some tests over the weekend and leave some comments in the list for any of the links that don't work anymore. It might be the case that YouTube has deprecated these URLs.

I think these URLs with vi components may be for thumbnail images associated with videos. For example, this is one:

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XXXXXXXXXXX/default.jpg

Are query strings that use & first instead of ? valid?
because its on lines 118 and 119, and python's urllib parsing library did not recognise it and made the query strings part of the path.
eg:

from urllib import parse

components = parse.urlparse("https://youtu.be/oTJRivZTMLs&feature=channel")
print(components.path)

results in an output of

oTJRivZTMLs&feature=channel

while normally

from urllib import parse

components = parse.urlparse("https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?feature=youtube_gdata_player")
print(components.path)

results in just

dQw4w9WgXcQ

So either this is a mistake on the urls listed or a bug with the python urllib library

It's neither a mistake nor a bug. The &feature=channel is indeed part of the path, not a query string parameter. However, YouTube's url shortener service (the youtu.be) will do the job of parsing the path parameter into what youtube.com needs, and so it'll translate and redirect https://youtu.be/oTJRivZTMLs&feature=channel into something like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTJRivZTMLs&feature=channel&feature=youtu.be.

Here's a python regex that matches all of the links in this gist:

^((https?://(?:www\.)?(?:m\.)?youtube\.com))/((?:oembed\?url=https?%3A//(?:www\.)youtube.com/watch\?(?:v%3D)(?P<video_id_1>[\w\-]{10,20})&format=json)|(?:attribution_link\?a=.*watch(?:%3Fv%3D|%3Fv%3D)(?P<video_id_2>[\w\-]{10,20}))(?:%26feature.*))|(https?:)?(\/\/)?((www\.|m\.)?youtube(-nocookie)?\.com\/((watch)?\?(app=desktop&)?(feature=\w*&)?v=|embed\/|v\/|e\/)|youtu\.be\/)(?P<video_id_3>[\w\-]{10,20})

Python 3 implementation:

def get_youtube_video_id_by_url(url):
    regex = r"^((https?://(?:www\.)?(?:m\.)?youtube\.com))/((?:oembed\?url=https?%3A//(?:www\.)youtube.com/watch\?(?:v%3D)(?P<video_id_1>[\w\-]{10,20})&format=json)|(?:attribution_link\?a=.*watch(?:%3Fv%3D|%3Fv%3D)(?P<video_id_2>[\w\-]{10,20}))(?:%26feature.*))|(https?:)?(\/\/)?((www\.|m\.)?youtube(-nocookie)?\.com\/((watch)?\?(app=desktop&)?(feature=\w*&)?v=|embed\/|v\/|e\/)|youtu\.be\/)(?P<video_id_3>[\w\-]{10,20})"
    match = re.match(regex, url, re.IGNORECASE)
    if match:
        return (
            match.group("video_id_1")
            or match.group("video_id_2")
            or match.group("video_id_3")
        )
    else:
        return None

It matches everything in the gist, but can probably be improved upon for performance, so feel free to suggest improvements!
Just test them here first: https://regex101.com/

I've written a regexless version in python using its built-in url parser. Full code here. You will also notice the version that works with playlists. That one works with the following urls

def extract_video_id(url: str) -> Optional[str]:
    """
    This should work for every url listed here:
    https://gist.github.com/rodrigoborgesdeoliveira/987683cfbfcc8d800192da1e73adc486#file-activeyoutubeurlformats-txt
    and more.
    Args:
        url (str): The url to strip the id from
    Returns:
        Optional[str]: The video id with the rest of the url removed
    """
    components = parse.urlparse(url.replace("&", "?", 1) if "?" not in url else url)
    queries = parse.parse_qs(components.query)
    encoded_query_matches = {'u', 'url'}.intersection(set(queries.keys()))
    if 'v' in queries:
        return queries["v"][0]
    elif encoded_query_matches:
        return extract_video_id(parse.unquote(queries[encoded_query_matches.pop()][0]))
    elif components.netloc == "i.ytimg.com":
        return pathlib.Path(components.path).parts[2]
    elif pathlib.Path(components.path).name not in ["playlist"]:
        return pathlib.Path(components.path).name

Hi,

recently links generated using the "Share" button under a video will contain some additional ?si= query parameter:

https://youtu.be/_UuD60EZGkg?si=eP5r-sAojFjjVYCY

Not sure what it is for, probably more tracking?

Oh, interesting. Thanks, @tacerus!

Hi,

recently links generated using the "Share" button under a video will contain some additional ?si= query parameter:

https://youtu.be/_UuD60EZGkg?si=eP5r-sAojFjjVYCY

Not sure what it is for, probably more tracking?

Yea, most probably it's true.
And have you noticed that every time you share a URL, the tracking ID changes, even for the same video on the same device? If it's a tracking parameter, then it can track the sender and receiver of the YouTube URL. In short, Google can know who your close relatives and friends are. This is surely a messed up thing.

For those using javascript/typescript, I have a function and regex working for all combinations above plus youtube shorts:

export function getVideoIdFromYoutubeUrl(url: string) {
  const regex = /(?:youtu\.be\/|youtube\.com(?:\/(?:[^\/\n\s]+\/\S+\/|(?:v|e(?:mbed)?)\/|\S*?[?&]v=|shorts\/)|youtu\.be\/|embed\/|v\/|m\/|watch\?(?:[^=]+=[^&]+&)*?v=))([^"&?\/\s]{11})/gm;
  return regex.exec(url)[1];
}

export function validateYoutubeTestUrls() {
  const youtubeTestUrls: { key: number; value: string }[] = [
    { key: 1, value: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wtIMTCHWuI" },
    { key: 2, value: "http://youtube.com/watch?v=-wtIMTCHWuI" },
    { key: 3, value: "http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-wtIMTCHWuI" },
    { key: 4, value: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc" },
    { key: 5, value: "https://youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc" },
    { key: 6, value: "https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc" },
    { key: 7, value: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZv2daTWRZU&feature=em-uploademail" },
    { key: 8, value: "http://youtube.com/watch?v=yZv2daTWRZU&feature=em-uploademail" },
    { key: 9, value: "http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yZv2daTWRZU&feature=em-uploademail" },
    { key: 10, value: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZv2daTWRZU&feature=em-uploademail" },
    { key: 11, value: "https://youtube.com/watch?v=yZv2daTWRZU&feature=em-uploademail" },
    { key: 12, value: "https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yZv2daTWRZU&feature=em-uploademail" },
    { key: 13, value: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg&feature=feedrec_grec_index" },
    { key: 14, value: "http://youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg&feature=feedrec_grec_index" },
    { key: 15, value: "http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg&feature=feedrec_grec_index" },
    { key: 16, value: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg&feature=feedrec_grec_index" },
    { key: 17, value: "https://youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg&feature=feedrec_grec_index" },
    { key: 18, value: "https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg&feature=feedrec_grec_index" },
    { key: 19, value: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg#t=0m10s" },
    { key: 20, value: "http://youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg#t=0m10s" },
    { key: 21, value: "http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg#t=0m10s" },
    { key: 22, value: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg#t=0m10s" },
    { key: 23, value: "https://youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg#t=0m10s" },
    { key: 24, value: "https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg#t=0m10s" },
    { key: 25, value: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKZDdG9FTKY&feature=channel" },
    { key: 26, value: "http://youtube.com/watch?v=cKZDdG9FTKY&feature=channel" },
    { key: 27, value: "http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cKZDdG9FTKY&feature=channel" },
    { key: 28, value: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTJRivZTMLs&feature=channel" },
    { key: 29, value: "https://youtube.com/watch?v=oTJRivZTMLs&feature=channel" },
    { key: 30, value: "https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oTJRivZTMLs&feature=channel" },
    { key: 31, value: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&playnext_from=TL&videos=osPknwzXEas&feature=sub",},
    { key: 32, value: "http://youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&playnext_from=TL&videos=osPknwzXEas&feature=sub", },
    { key: 33, value: "http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&playnext_from=TL&videos=osPknwzXEas&feature=sub" },
    { key: 34, value: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&playnext_from=TL&videos=osPknwzXEas&feature=sub", },
    { key: 35, value: "https://youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&playnext_from=TL&videos=osPknwzXEas&feature=sub" },
    { key: 36, value: "https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&playnext_from=TL&videos=osPknwzXEas&feature=sub",},
    { key: 37, value: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=youtu.be" },
    { key: 38, value: "http://youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=youtu.be" },
    { key: 39, value: "http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=youtu.be" },
    { key: 40, value: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=youtu.be" },
    { key: 41, value: "https://youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=youtu.be" },
    { key: 42, value: "https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lalOy8Mbfdc&feature=youtu.be" },
    { key: 43, value: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player" },
    { key: 44, value: "http://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player" },
    { key: 45, value: "http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player" },
    { key: 46, value: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player" },
    { key: 47, value: "https://youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player" },
    { key: 48, value: "https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player" },
    { key: 49,  value: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ishbTyLs6ps&list=PLGup6kBfcU7Le5laEaCLgTKtlDcxMqGxZ&index=106&shuffle=2655", },
    { key: 50, value: "http://youtube.com/watch?v=ishbTyLs6ps&list=PLGup6kBfcU7Le5laEaCLgTKtlDcxMqGxZ&index=106&shuffle=2655", }, { key: 51,value: "http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ishbTyLs6ps&list=PLGup6kBfcU7Le5laEaCLgTKtlDcxMqGxZ&index=106&shuffle=2655", }, { key: 52, value: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ishbTyLs6ps&list=PLGup6kBfcU7Le5laEaCLgTKtlDcxMqGxZ&index=106&shuffle=2655", },
    { key: 53, value: "https://youtube.com/watch?v=ishbTyLs6ps&list=PLGup6kBfcU7Le5laEaCLgTKtlDcxMqGxZ&index=106&shuffle=2655", },
    { key: 54, value: "https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ishbTyLs6ps&list=PLGup6kBfcU7Le5laEaCLgTKtlDcxMqGxZ&index=106&shuffle=2655",  },
    { key: 55, value: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" },
    { key: 56, value: "http://youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" },
    { key: 57, value: "http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" },
    { key: 58, value: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" },
    { key: 59, value: "https://youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" },
    { key: 60, value: "https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" },
    { key: 61, value: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" },
    { key: 62, value: "http://youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" },
    { key: 63, value: "http://m.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" },
    { key: 64, value: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" },
    { key: 65, value: "https://youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" },
    { key: 66, value: "https://m.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" },
    { key: 67, value: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg&feature=feedrec_grec_index" },
    { key: 69, value: "http://www.youtube.com/v/0zM3nApSvMg?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" },
    { key: 70, value: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg#t=0m10s" },
    { key: 71, value: "http://www.youtube.com/embed/0zM3nApSvMg?rel=0" },
    { key: 72, value: "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zM3nApSvMg" },
    { key: 73, value: "http://youtu.be/0zM3nApSvMg" },
    { key: 74, value: "https://youtube.com/shorts/0dPkkQeRwTI?feature=share" },
    { key: 75, value: "https://youtube.com/shorts/0dPkkQeRwTI" },
    { key: 76, value: "https://youtu.be/59kf86v_Cpc?si=Cj_xm4a6BX71d1yd" },
  ]
  youtubeTestUrls.forEach((keyValuePair) => {
    const videoId = getVideoIdFromYoutubeUrl(keyValuePair.value)
    const isElevenCharacters = videoId?.length === 11
    console.log("id for", keyValuePair.key, "is: ", videoId, "| valid:", isElevenCharacters)
  })

}

OUTPUT:

 LOG  id for 1 is:  -wtIMTCHWuI | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 2 is:  -wtIMTCHWuI | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 3 is:  -wtIMTCHWuI | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 4 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 5 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 6 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 7 is:  yZv2daTWRZU | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 8 is:  yZv2daTWRZU | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 9 is:  yZv2daTWRZU | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 10 is:  yZv2daTWRZU | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 11 is:  yZv2daTWRZU | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 12 is:  yZv2daTWRZU | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 13 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 14 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 15 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 16 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 17 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 18 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 19 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 20 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 21 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 22 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 23 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 24 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 25 is:  cKZDdG9FTKY | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 26 is:  cKZDdG9FTKY | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 27 is:  cKZDdG9FTKY | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 28 is:  oTJRivZTMLs | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 29 is:  oTJRivZTMLs | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 30 is:  oTJRivZTMLs | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 31 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 32 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 33 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 34 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 35 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 36 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 37 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 38 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 39 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 40 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 41 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 42 is:  lalOy8Mbfdc | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 43 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 44 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 45 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 46 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 47 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 48 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 49 is:  ishbTyLs6ps | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 50 is:  ishbTyLs6ps | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 51 is:  ishbTyLs6ps | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 52 is:  ishbTyLs6ps | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 53 is:  ishbTyLs6ps | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 54 is:  ishbTyLs6ps | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 55 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 56 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 57 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 58 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 59 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 60 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 61 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 62 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 63 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 64 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 65 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 66 is:  dQw4w9WgXcQ | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 67 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 69 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 70 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 71 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 72 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 73 is:  0zM3nApSvMg | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 74 is:  0dPkkQeRwTI | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 75 is:  0dPkkQeRwTI | isvalid: true
 LOG  id for 76 is:  59kf86v_Cpc | isvalid: true

I have a function and regex

• Thank you.

And these:

• https://www.youtube.com/live/XXXXXXXXXXX?feature=share
• https://youtu.be/embed/XXXXXXXXXXX
• https://www.youtube.com/watch/XXXXXXXXXXX
• http://youtube.com/watch?vi=XXXXXXXXXXX&feature=youtube_gdata_player
• http://youtube.com/vi/XXXXXXXXXXX&feature=channel
• http://youtube.com/vi/XXXXXXXXXXX?feature=youtube_gdata_player
• http://youtube.com/?vi=XXXXXXXXXXX&feature=youtube_gdata_player
• http://www.youtube.com/oembed?url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DXXXXXXXXXXX&format=json
• https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=8g8kPrPIi-ecwIsS&u=/watch%3Fv%3DXXXXXXXXXXX%26feature%3Dem-uploademail
• http://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=JdfC0C9V6ZI&u=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DXXXXXXXXXXX%26feature%3Dshare
• https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DXXXXXXXXXXX&ved=2ahUKEwjkrsSipPP1AhXsyjGHb0CDU4Qx8BegQIBRAF&usg=AOvVaw0A7aB50nUUeTwX_Haoteft
• http//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/XXXXXXXXXXX?rel=0
• http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/XXXXXXXXXXX?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0

————————————

V█(?-is)^(?:(?!https?[:\/]|www\.|m(?:usic)?\.yo|youtu\.?be[\/\.]|watch[\/\?]|embed\/|YTv(?:[=: ]+)|YouTube: )\V)*?(?:(?:https?[:\/]+|www\.|m\.|music\.)+youtu(?<1>\.)?be(?:\.com\/|watch|live(?=\/)|o?embed(?:\/|\?url=\S+?)?|\?app=\w+|shorts|attribution_link\?[&\w\-=]*[au]=\/?|ytsc\w+|[\?&]*(?:li)?[ve]i?\b[\/=]|\?feature=[\-a-z_\.]+|[\?&]t(?:ime_continue)?=\d+|-nocookie|%[23][56FD]|\.com\/shorts\/)*(?(<1>)\/|)|YTv(?:[=: ]+)|YouTube: )(?(?<=watch)\/|)([a-zA-Z\d\-_]{11}\b)(?>[\?&#][&#%a-zA-Z\-\d=;_\.]*|&feature=[\-a-z_\.]+)?(?=\s|\Z)

█\2

————————————

For some reason, youtube blocks access to the site via the 11th one. It brings up the "our systems have detected unusual traffic from your computer network" message but with no captcha

Here is a java version of regex that matches all the urls the list:

(?i)^(?:https?://)?(?:(?:www|m)\.)?youtu(?:\.be|be(?:-nocookie)?\.com)/(?:(?:oembed|attribution_link)\?.+?(?:/|%2F)(?=watch))?(?:(?:watch)?(?:\?|%3F)|(?:vi?|live|e(?:mbed)?)/)?(?:(?:[\w\-]+(?:=|%3D)[^=&#]+(?:&(?:amp;)?|%26))*?vi?(?:=|%3D))?(?<id>[\w\-]+)(?:(?:(?:\?|%3F)|(?:&(?:amp;)?|%26)|(?:#|%23))[\w\-]+(?:=|%3D)[^=&#]+)*$

String QM = "(?:\\?|%3F)";
String EQ = "(?:=|%3D)";
String AS = "(?:&(?:amp;)?|%26)";
String OT = "(?:#|%23)";
String FS = "(?:/|%2F)";

String PARAM_HEAD = "(?:" + QM + "|" + AS + "|" + OT + ")";
String PARAM_KEY = "[\\w\\-]+";
String PARAM_VAL = "[^=&#]+";
String PARAM = "(?:" + PARAM_KEY + EQ + PARAM_VAL + ")";

Pattern p = Pattern.compile("(?i)^" +
        "(?:https?://)?" +
        "(?:(?:www|m)\\.)?" +
        "youtu(?:\\.be|be(?:-nocookie)?\\.com)/" +
        "(?:(?:oembed|attribution_link)\\?.+?" + FS + "(?=watch))?" +
        "(?:(?:watch)?" + QM + "|" + "(?:vi?|live|e(?:mbed)?)/)?" +
        "(?:(?:" + PARAM + AS + ")*?" + "(?:vi?" + EQ + "))?" +
        "(?<id>" + PARAM_KEY + ")" +
        "(?:" + PARAM_HEAD + PARAM + ")*" +
        "$");

IOUtils.readLines(new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(
                new URL("https://gist.githubusercontent.com/rodrigoborgesdeoliveira/987683cfbfcc8d800192da1e73adc486/raw/b15ee49a60d42df67b0d6383517ef3b57e25c9c3/ActiveYouTubeURLFormats.txt")
                        .openConnection().getInputStream()))).stream()
        .filter(StringUtils::isNotBlank)
        .map(p::matcher).filter(Matcher::matches)
        .forEachOrdered(m -> System.out.printf("%-15s %s%n", m.group("id"), m.group()));

@ZGorlock: doesn't match music.youtube.com/watch?v=U9t-slLl30E, youtube.com/watch/U9t-slLl30E, youtube.com/shorts/sMbxjePPmkw and attribution_links (youtube.com/attribution_link?a=JdfC0C9V6ZI&u=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DEhxJLojIE_o%26feature%3Dshare and youtube.com/attribution_link?a=8g8kPrPIi-ecwIsS&u=/watch%3Fv%3DyZv2daTWRZU%26feature%3Dem-uploademail). 🤔

@rodrigoborgesdeoliveira Please add links youtube.com/watch/U9t-slLl30E, youtube.com/shorts/U9t-slLl30E and youtube.com/live/U9t-slLl30E. Here's my RegExp that catches a wide spectrum of YT URLs → https://gist.github.com/Kaligula0/1ff5f4e2cf1f351daeca3450f71fdcb5

Thanks, @Kaligula0!