YouTube Posting API: Videos and Thumbnails

The YouTube API endpoints let you upload videos to a connected YouTube channel and optionally set a custom thumbnail after publishing. Use the publish endpoint to send a video live with a title, description, and privacy status, then call the thumbnail endpoint with the returned video ID to attach a custom thumbnail image. Both endpoints authenticate via your Dohoo API key.

Dohoo uses YouTube API Services. By connecting your YouTube channel, you agree to the YouTube Terms of Service.

Publish a video

Upload a video to your connected YouTube channel.

Endpoint

POST https://dohoo.ai/api/v2/youtube/publish

Request headers

Header	Required	Description
`X-API-Key`	✅	Your Dohoo API key
`Content-Type`	✅	Must be `application/json`

Request body

Field	Type	Required	Description
`connectionId`	string	✅	The ID of the YouTube connection to publish from
`fileId`	string	✅	The ID of the uploaded video file
`title`	string	✅	Title of the YouTube video. Maximum 100 characters
`description`	string	❌	Description for the video. Maximum 5,000 characters
`privacyStatus`	string	❌	Visibility: `"public"`, `"unlisted"`, or `"private"`. Defaults to `"public"`

Example request

curl -X POST https://dohoo.ai/api/v2/youtube/publish \
  -H "X-API-Key: dh_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "connectionId": "conn_youtube_001",
    "fileId": "abc123",
    "title": "My Video Title",
    "description": "Video description",
    "privacyStatus": "public"
  }'

Example response

{
  "success": true,
  "platform": "youtube",
  "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "connectionId": "conn_youtube_001",
  "status": "published",
  "privacyStatus": "public",
  "publishedAt": "2025-01-15T09:00:00Z",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
}

Set privacyStatus to "unlisted" while testing so your video is accessible via direct link but won’t appear in search results or on your channel page.

Set a custom thumbnail

Attach a custom thumbnail image to a previously published YouTube video.

Endpoint

POST https://dohoo.ai/api/v2/youtube/thumbnail/:videoId

Replace :videoId in the URL with the videoId returned from the publish endpoint above.

Request headers

Header	Required	Description
`X-API-Key`	✅	Your Dohoo API key
`Content-Type`	✅	Must be `application/json`

Request body

Field	Type	Required	Description
`thumbnailFileId`	string	✅	The ID of the uploaded thumbnail image file

Example request

curl -X POST https://dohoo.ai/api/v2/youtube/thumbnail/VIDEO_ID \
  -H "X-API-Key: dh_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "thumbnailFileId": "thumb456" }'

Example response

{
  "success": true,
  "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg",
  "status": "thumbnail_set",
  "updatedAt": "2025-01-15T09:05:00Z"
}

Custom thumbnails are only available on YouTube channels that are verified. If your channel is unverified, the thumbnail endpoint will return an error and YouTube will auto-generate a thumbnail instead.

YouTube recommends thumbnail images at 1280×720 pixels (16:9 aspect ratio), under 2 MB, in JPG, GIF, or PNG format.

Overview

Files & Folders

Publishing

YouTube Posting API: Videos and Thumbnails | Dohoo

Publish a video

Endpoint

Request headers

Request body

Example request

Example response

Set a custom thumbnail

Endpoint

Request headers

Request body

Example request

Example response

​Publish a video

​Endpoint

​Request headers

​Request body

​Example request

​Example response

​Set a custom thumbnail

​Endpoint

​Request headers

​Request body

​Example request

​Example response

Publish a video

Endpoint

Request headers

Request body

Example request

Example response

Set a custom thumbnail

Endpoint

Request headers

Request body

Example request

Example response