Skip to main content

​
Overview

The ChannelExtractor and ChannelInfo classes provide access to channel/user information from supported streaming services. This includes channel metadata, subscriber counts, verification status, and available tabs.

​
Basic Usage

1

Extract Channel Info

Use ChannelInfo.getInfo() to extract channel information from a URL:
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.channel.ChannelInfo;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.NewPipe;

// Initialize NewPipe first
NewPipe.init(yourDownloader);

try {
    String channelUrl = "https://www.youtube.com/c/ChannelName";
    ChannelInfo info = ChannelInfo.getInfo(channelUrl);
    
    System.out.println("Channel: " + info.getName());
    System.out.println("Subscribers: " + info.getSubscriberCount());
    System.out.println("Description: " + info.getDescription());
    System.out.println("Verified: " + info.isVerified());
    
} catch (Exception e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}
2

Access Channel Images

Retrieve avatars and banners in multiple resolutions:
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.Image;

ChannelInfo info = ChannelInfo.getInfo(channelUrl);

// Get channel avatars
List<Image> avatars = info.getAvatars();
for (Image avatar : avatars) {
    System.out.println("Avatar URL: " + avatar.getUrl());
    System.out.println("Size: " + avatar.getWidth() + "x" + 
                     avatar.getHeight());
}

// Get channel banners
List<Image> banners = info.getBanners();
for (Image banner : banners) {
    System.out.println("Banner URL: " + banner.getUrl());
}
3

Access Channel Tabs

Get available tabs (videos, playlists, live, etc.):
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.linkhandler.ListLinkHandler;

ChannelInfo info = ChannelInfo.getInfo(channelUrl);

List<ListLinkHandler> tabs = info.getTabs();
for (ListLinkHandler tab : tabs) {
    System.out.println("Tab ID: " + tab.getContentFilters());
    System.out.println("Tab URL: " + tab.getUrl());
}

​
Channel Metadata

Access comprehensive channel information: 
ChannelInfo info = ChannelInfo.getInfo(channelUrl);

// Channel identity
String channelId = info.getId();
String channelName = info.getName();
String channelUrl = info.getUrl();
String originalUrl = info.getOriginalUrl();

// Subscriber count
long subscribers = info.getSubscriberCount();
if (subscribers == -1) {
    System.out.println("Subscriber count unavailable");
} else {
    System.out.println("Subscribers: " + subscribers);
}

// Verification status
boolean verified = info.isVerified();
System.out.println("Verified: " + verified);

​
Channel Tabs

Channels can have multiple tabs with different content types: 
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.channel.tabs.ChannelTabExtractor;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfoItem;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.ListExtractor.InfoItemsPage;

ChannelInfo info = ChannelInfo.getInfo(channelUrl);
List<ListLinkHandler> tabs = info.getTabs();

// Iterate through available tabs
for (ListLinkHandler tabHandler : tabs) {
    System.out.println("\n=== Tab: " + tabHandler.getContentFilters() + " ===");
    
    // Get the tab extractor
    StreamingService service = NewPipe.getServiceByUrl(channelUrl);
    ChannelTabExtractor tabExtractor = service.getChannelTabExtractor(tabHandler);
    tabExtractor.fetchPage();
    
    // Get items from this tab
    InfoItemsPage<InfoItem> page = tabExtractor.getInitialPage();
    List<InfoItem> items = page.getItems();
    
    for (InfoItem item : items) {
        if (item instanceof StreamInfoItem) {
            StreamInfoItem stream = (StreamInfoItem) item;
            System.out.println("Video: " + stream.getName());
        }
    }
}

​
Feed URL

Get the RSS feed URL for the channel: 
ChannelInfo info = ChannelInfo.getInfo(channelUrl);

String feedUrl = info.getFeedUrl();
if (feedUrl != null && !feedUrl.isEmpty()) {
    System.out.println("RSS Feed: " + feedUrl);
    // Use this URL to subscribe to channel updates
}

​
Working with Specific Services

Extract channel info from a specific service: 
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.StreamingService;

// Get YouTube service
StreamingService youtube = NewPipe.getService("YouTube");

// Extract channel info using the service
ChannelInfo info = ChannelInfo.getInfo(youtube, channelUrl);

System.out.println("Service: " + youtube.getServiceInfo().getName());
System.out.println("Channel: " + info.getName());

​
Error Handling

Channel extraction can fail due to various reasons including terminated accounts, unavailable channels, or network issues.
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.exceptions.*;

try {
    ChannelInfo info = ChannelInfo.getInfo(channelUrl);
    
    // Check for partial extraction errors
    List<Throwable> errors = info.getErrors();
    if (!errors.isEmpty()) {
        System.out.println("Some fields failed to extract:");
        for (Throwable error : errors) {
            System.err.println("- " + error.getMessage());
        }
    }
    
    // Use the extracted data
    System.out.println("Channel: " + info.getName());
    
} catch (ContentNotAvailableException e) {
    System.err.println("Channel not available: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (AccountTerminatedException e) {
    System.err.println("Channel account terminated");
} catch (ExtractionException e) {
    System.err.println("Extraction failed: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (IOException e) {
    System.err.println("Network error: " + e.getMessage());
}

​
Using ChannelExtractor Directly

For more control, use ChannelExtractor directly: 
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.channel.ChannelExtractor;

StreamingService service = NewPipe.getServiceByUrl(channelUrl);
ChannelExtractor extractor = service.getChannelExtractor(channelUrl);

// Fetch the page
extractor.fetchPage();

// Extract individual fields
String name = extractor.getName();
long subscribers = extractor.getSubscriberCount();
boolean verified = extractor.isVerified();
List<Image> avatars = extractor.getAvatars();
List<Image> banners = extractor.getBanners();
String description = extractor.getDescription();

System.out.println("Channel: " + name);
System.out.println("Subscribers: " + subscribers);
System.out.println("Verified: " + verified);

​
Subscriber Count Handling

Subscriber counts may not always be available. Check for the UNKNOWN_SUBSCRIBER_COUNT constant.
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.channel.ChannelExtractor;

ChannelInfo info = ChannelInfo.getInfo(channelUrl);
long subscriberCount = info.getSubscriberCount();

if (subscriberCount == ChannelExtractor.UNKNOWN_SUBSCRIBER_COUNT) {
    System.out.println("Subscriber count is hidden or unavailable");
} else {
    System.out.println("Subscribers: " + formatCount(subscriberCount));
}

private static String formatCount(long count) {
    if (count >= 1_000_000) {
        return (count / 1_000_000) + "M";
    } else if (count >= 1_000) {
        return (count / 1_000) + "K";
    }
    return String.valueOf(count);
}

​
Complete Example

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.*;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.channel.*;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.linkhandler.*;

public class ChannelExtractorExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Initialize
        NewPipe.init(yourDownloader);
        
        try {
            String url = "https://www.youtube.com/@ChannelHandle";
            ChannelInfo info = ChannelInfo.getInfo(url);
            
            // Basic information
            System.out.println("=== Channel Information ===");
            System.out.println("Name: " + info.getName());
            System.out.println("ID: " + info.getId());
            System.out.println("URL: " + info.getUrl());
            
            // Stats
            long subscribers = info.getSubscriberCount();
            if (subscribers != -1) {
                System.out.println("Subscribers: " + subscribers);
            }
            System.out.println("Verified: " + info.isVerified());
            
            // Description
            String description = info.getDescription();
            if (description != null && !description.isEmpty()) {
                System.out.println("\nDescription:");
                System.out.println(description.substring(0, 
                    Math.min(200, description.length())) + "...");
            }
            
            // Avatars
            List<Image> avatars = info.getAvatars();
            if (!avatars.isEmpty()) {
                System.out.println("\nAvatars available: " + avatars.size());
                Image bestAvatar = avatars.get(avatars.size() - 1);
                System.out.println("Best quality: " + bestAvatar.getUrl());
            }
            
            // Available tabs
            List<ListLinkHandler> tabs = info.getTabs();
            System.out.println("\nAvailable tabs: " + tabs.size());
            for (ListLinkHandler tab : tabs) {
                System.out.println("- " + tab.getContentFilters());
            }
            
            // Feed URL
            String feedUrl = info.getFeedUrl();
            if (feedUrl != null && !feedUrl.isEmpty()) {
                System.out.println("\nRSS Feed: " + feedUrl);
            }
            
        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

​
Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us