How to Find a YouTube Video ID
The video ID is the short code that identifies one video. It is the only piece you need to get its thumbnail, and it is easy to spot once you know the link formats.
What an ID looks like
A video ID is 11 characters long and made of letters, digits, hyphens and underscores, for example dQw4w9WgXcQ. IDs are case sensitive, so copy them exactly.
Where it sits in each link format
| Link | Where the ID is |
|---|---|
youtube.com/watch?v=ID | after v=, up to the next & |
youtu.be/ID | the part after the slash |
youtube.com/shorts/ID | the part after shorts/ |
youtube.com/embed/ID | the part after embed/ |
Anything after a question mark in a short link, such as a timestamp or a tracking tag, is not part of the ID.
You often do not need to extract it
ThumbGrab accepts a full youtube.com link, a youtu.be link, a Shorts link or a bare ID, so you can paste whatever you have. Extracting the ID only matters when you want to build the image URL yourself, as described in the guide to the YouTube thumbnail URL from a video ID.
When you are ready to use the ID in a web page, the next guide covers embedding a YouTube thumbnail in HTML and JavaScript.
A short list of examples
In youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ the ID is dQw4w9WgXcQ. In youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ it is the same code after the slash. In a Shorts link it follows /shorts/. Once you can spot it, you can type or paste it into any thumbnail tool, or into the box on the get YouTube thumbnail from URL page.
Mistakes to avoid
- Copying the characters after
&in a watch link. Those are extra parameters such as a playlist or a time, not part of the ID. - Including a trailing slash or a question mark from a short link.
- Mixing up a playlist ID, which starts with PL and is longer, with a video ID.
A quick check
If what you copied has exactly 11 characters and uses only letters, digits, hyphens and underscores, it is almost certainly a video ID. If you are unsure, paste the whole link into ThumbGrab and let it do the extraction.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a YouTube video ID?
11 characters.
What characters can a video ID contain?
Letters, digits, hyphens and underscores, and it is case sensitive.
Is the ID the same for the watch link and the Shorts link?
Yes. A video has one ID, and different link formats simply put it in different places.
Can I find the ID from the YouTube app?
Yes. Use Share, then Copy link, and read the ID from the pasted link.
Do I need the ID to use ThumbGrab?
No. You can paste the full link, and ThumbGrab extracts the ID for you.
Keep reading
- Next guide: Embed a YouTube thumbnail in HTML or JavaScript
- The tool for this topic: get a YouTube thumbnail from a URL
- Back to the YouTube thumbnail grabber