YouTube Screenshot

Capture a frame from a YouTube video at a specific timestamp, as a URL or inline base64.

POST/v1/youtube/screenshot

$0.01/call

Usage

const res = await fetch('https://api.yepapi.com/v1/youtube/screenshot', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    id: 'dQw4w9WgXcQ',
    timestamp: '00:00:50',
    format: 'base64',   // inline JPEG — no second fetch needed
    resolution: '720p', // optional; defaults to the highest available
  }),
});
const { data } = await res.json();
const frame = Buffer.from(data.image, 'base64'); // data.mimeType === 'image/jpeg'

curl -X POST https://api.yepapi.com/v1/youtube/screenshot \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "timestamp": "00:00:50", "format": "base64"}'

Request Body

Parameter	Type	Required	Description	Default
`id`	`string`	Yes	11-character YouTube video ID (not a URL)	—
`timestamp`	`string`	No	Position in the video. `HH:MM:SS`, `MM:SS`, or a number of seconds (`"372"`)	`00:00:50`
`format`	`string`	No	`url` returns frame links only. `base64` also downloads the selected frame server-side and returns it inline	`url`
`resolution`	`string`	No	Preferred frame height, e.g. `720p`. If the video doesn't offer that size the closest lower one is used and reported in `resolution`	highest available

Response

{
  "ok": true,
  "data": {
    "url": "https://api.yepapi.com/frames/dQw4w9WgXcQ.000050.720p.3f9c….jpg",
    "resolution": "720p",
    "resolutions": ["1080p", "720p", "480p", "360p"],
    "link": {
      "1080p": "https://api.yepapi.com/frames/dQw4w9WgXcQ.000050.1080p.3f9c….jpg",
      "720p": "https://api.yepapi.com/frames/dQw4w9WgXcQ.000050.720p.3f9c….jpg",
      "480p": "https://api.yepapi.com/frames/dQw4w9WgXcQ.000050.480p.3f9c….jpg",
      "360p": "https://api.yepapi.com/frames/dQw4w9WgXcQ.000050.360p.3f9c….jpg"
    },
    "image": "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQ...(base64 JPEG, only with format=base64)",
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "bytes": 138579,
    "status": "OK"
  }
}

Response Fields

Field	Type	Description
`ok`	`boolean`	Whether the request succeeded
`data.url`	`string`	HTTPS link to the selected frame, served from `api.yepapi.com`. Safe to embed in an `<img>` on any HTTPS page; no API key needed to fetch it
`data.resolution`	`string`	Resolution actually selected, e.g. `720p`
`data.resolutions`	`string[]`	Every resolution rendered for this video, highest first
`data.link`	`object`	Map of resolution → frame URL. Only the resolutions the source video can supply are present, so an old upload may return just `480p` and `360p`
`data.image`	`string`	Base64-encoded JPEG of the selected frame. Present only when `format` is `base64`
`data.mimeType`	`string`	Media type of `image` (always `image/jpeg` today). Present only with `format=base64`
`data.bytes`	`number`	Decoded size of `image` in bytes. Present only with `format=base64`
`data.status`	`string`	`OK` when the frame is ready

Info

data.link is an object keyed by resolution, not an array. Read data.url for the best frame, or pick a key from data.link yourself.

Warning

Frame links are signed URLs on api.yepapi.com and keep working as long as the video is available: if the rendered frame has expired upstream, fetching the link re-renders it transparently. Fetches of a frame link are not billed. Use format: "base64" when you want the bytes in the same round-trip.