Fetch and process YouTube view counts in Go
Programming Snapshot – Go YouTube Stats

Lead Image © Erik Reis, 123RF.com
To keep track of how well his YouTube videos are performing, Mike Schilli writes a Go program that uses Google's YouTube Data API to query the stats and then visualizes the results.
In my continuing quest to become immortal, I've been maintaining a YouTube channel that displays newly produced videos on an ongoing basis (Figure 1). I figured that it would be interesting to see which of my productions did best: the home cooking videos, those dealing with car repair tasks, or even those dissecting and modding all kinds of electronic gadgets. Sure, YouTube provides basic stats in its Studio section, but because I like writing my own code with custom features, I thought it'd be interesting to see how to fetch YouTube stats with Go and process and visualize the data this month.
Register Before You Try
Before granting your homegrown applications access to the viewer metadata, however, YouTube owner Google requires you to register a project [1] to use their API. The idea here is to keep an eye on bot activities and, where needed, to restrict them by imposing a quota. Google distinguishes here between two different mechanisms for authenticating incoming API requests. If requests read private user data or even want to write to the server on behalf of the user, OAuth credentials are required. But if you just want to read data that is already publicly available (e.g., the number of views for a video), all you need is an API key for a project that uses the YouTube Data API (Figure 2), which you can quickly register on the Google Console.
To quickly generate an API key, select a key type from the Credentials menu (Figure 3). Once created (Figure 4), the API key opens a treasure trove of all kinds of public data across Google's offerings. To mitigate the impact of potential misuse with stolen keys, the recommended approach is to restrict the validity of any keys you generate to the areas you actually need – in this case, to the YouTube Data API (Figure 5). You can do this by drilling down on the Restrict API Key option displayed next to the new key.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.
-
So Long, ArcoLinux
The ArcoLinux distribution is the latest Linux distribution to shut down.
-
What Open Source Pros Look for in a Job Role
Learn what professionals in technical and non-technical roles say is most important when seeking a new position.
-
Asahi Linux Runs into Issues with M4 Support
Due to Apple Silicon changes, the Asahi Linux project is at odds with adding support for the M4 chips.
-
Plasma 6.3.4 Now Available
Although not a major release, Plasma 6.3.4 does fix some bugs and offer a subtle change for the Plasma sidebar.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 First Release Candidate Now Available
Linux Torvalds has announced that the release candidate for the final release of the Linux 6.15 series is now available.
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.