Extracting Playlist Data

Overview

The PlaylistExtractor and PlaylistInfo classes enable extraction of playlist metadata and their contents. This includes regular playlists, mixes, and auto-generated playlists from various services.

Basic Usage

Extract Playlist Info

Use PlaylistInfo.getInfo() to extract playlist information:

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.playlist.PlaylistInfo;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.NewPipe;

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

try {
    String playlistUrl = "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAYLIST_ID";
    PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);
    
    System.out.println("Playlist: " + info.getName());
    System.out.println("Uploader: " + info.getUploaderName());
    System.out.println("Stream Count: " + info.getStreamCount());
    
} catch (Exception e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

Access Playlist Items

Retrieve streams from the playlist:

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfoItem;

PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);

// Get items from the initial page
List<StreamInfoItem> streams = info.getRelatedItems();

for (StreamInfoItem stream : streams) {
    System.out.println("Title: " + stream.getName());
    System.out.println("Uploader: " + stream.getUploaderName());
    System.out.println("Duration: " + stream.getDuration());
    System.out.println("URL: " + stream.getUrl());
    System.out.println();
}

Handle Pagination

Load additional items using pagination:

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.Page;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.ListExtractor.InfoItemsPage;

PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);

// Check if there are more items
Page nextPage = info.getNextPage();

while (nextPage != null) {
    StreamingService service = NewPipe.getServiceByUrl(playlistUrl);
    InfoItemsPage<StreamInfoItem> page = 
        PlaylistInfo.getMoreItems(service, playlistUrl, nextPage);
    
    List<StreamInfoItem> items = page.getItems();
    for (StreamInfoItem item : items) {
        System.out.println("Item: " + item.getName());
    }
    
    // Get next page
    nextPage = page.getNextPage();
}

Playlist Metadata

Access comprehensive playlist information:

PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);

// Playlist identity
String id = info.getId();
String name = info.getName();
String url = info.getUrl();

// Stream count
long streamCount = info.getStreamCount();
System.out.println("Total streams: " + streamCount);

// Service ID
int serviceId = info.getServiceId();

Playlist Types

Handle different types of playlists:

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.playlist.PlaylistInfo.PlaylistType;

PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);
PlaylistType type = info.getPlaylistType();

switch (type) {
    case NORMAL:
        System.out.println("Regular user-created playlist");
        break;
    case MIX_STREAM:
        System.out.println("Mix based on a specific stream");
        break;
    case MIX_MUSIC:
        System.out.println("Music mix");
        break;
    case MIX_GENRE:
        System.out.println("Genre-based mix");
        break;
    default:
        System.out.println("Unknown playlist type");
}

// Note: Mixes often have dynamic content that changes
if (type != PlaylistType.NORMAL) {
    System.out.println("This is an auto-generated mix");
}

Sub-Channel Information

Some playlists have sub-channel information:

PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);

String subChannelName = info.getSubChannelName();
String subChannelUrl = info.getSubChannelUrl();

if (subChannelUrl != null && !subChannelUrl.isEmpty()) {
    System.out.println("Sub-channel: " + subChannelName);
    System.out.println("URL: " + subChannelUrl);
    
    List<Image> subChannelAvatars = info.getSubChannelAvatars();
    for (Image avatar : subChannelAvatars) {
        System.out.println("Sub-channel avatar: " + avatar.getUrl());
    }
}

Efficient Pagination

Load all playlist items efficiently:

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfoItem;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.Page;
import java.util.ArrayList;

public List<StreamInfoItem> getAllPlaylistItems(String playlistUrl) 
        throws Exception {
    
    List<StreamInfoItem> allItems = new ArrayList<>();
    PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);
    
    // Add initial items
    allItems.addAll(info.getRelatedItems());
    
    // Get service for pagination
    StreamingService service = NewPipe.getServiceByUrl(playlistUrl);
    Page nextPage = info.getNextPage();
    
    // Iterate through all pages
    while (nextPage != null) {
        InfoItemsPage<StreamInfoItem> page = 
            PlaylistInfo.getMoreItems(service, playlistUrl, nextPage);
        
        allItems.addAll(page.getItems());
        nextPage = page.getNextPage();
        
        // Optional: Add delay to avoid rate limiting
        Thread.sleep(100);
    }
    
    return allItems;
}

Stream Count Handling

Stream counts may be unknown or infinite for certain playlist types, especially mixes.

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.ListExtractor;

PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);
long streamCount = info.getStreamCount();

if (streamCount == ListExtractor.ITEM_COUNT_UNKNOWN) {
    System.out.println("Stream count is unknown");
} else if (streamCount == ListExtractor.ITEM_COUNT_INFINITE) {
    System.out.println("Playlist has infinite streams (e.g., YouTube mix)");
} else if (streamCount == ListExtractor.ITEM_COUNT_MORE_THAN_100) {
    System.out.println("More than 100 items, exact count unknown");
} else {
    System.out.println("Total streams: " + streamCount);
}

Using PlaylistExtractor Directly

For more control over extraction:

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.playlist.PlaylistExtractor;

StreamingService service = NewPipe.getServiceByUrl(playlistUrl);
PlaylistExtractor extractor = service.getPlaylistExtractor(playlistUrl);

// Fetch the page
extractor.fetchPage();

// Extract individual fields
String name = extractor.getName();
long streamCount = extractor.getStreamCount();
String uploaderName = extractor.getUploaderName();
List<Image> thumbnails = extractor.getThumbnails();
PlaylistInfo.PlaylistType type = extractor.getPlaylistType();

// Get initial items
InfoItemsPage<StreamInfoItem> initialPage = extractor.getInitialPage();
List<StreamInfoItem> items = initialPage.getItems();

Error Handling

Playlists can be deleted, made private, or become unavailable. Always handle exceptions appropriately.

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.exceptions.*;

try {
    PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);
    
    // 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 playlist data
    List<StreamInfoItem> items = info.getRelatedItems();
    System.out.println("Successfully loaded " + items.size() + " items");
    
} catch (ContentNotAvailableException e) {
    System.err.println("Playlist not available: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (PrivateContentException e) {
    System.err.println("Playlist is private");
} catch (ExtractionException e) {
    System.err.println("Extraction failed: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (IOException e) {
    System.err.println("Network error: " + e.getMessage());
}

Complete Example

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.*;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.playlist.*;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.*;

public class PlaylistExtractorExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Initialize
        NewPipe.init(yourDownloader);
        
        try {
            String url = "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxxxxxx";
            PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(url);
            
            // Playlist information
            System.out.println("=== Playlist Information ===");
            System.out.println("Name: " + info.getName());
            System.out.println("Uploader: " + info.getUploaderName());
            System.out.println("Type: " + info.getPlaylistType());
            
            // Stream count
            long count = info.getStreamCount();
            if (count >= 0) {
                System.out.println("Total streams: " + count);
            } else {
                System.out.println("Stream count: Unknown/Infinite");
            }
            
            // Description
            Description desc = info.getDescription();
            if (desc != null && !desc.getContent().isEmpty()) {
                System.out.println("\nDescription:");
                System.out.println(desc.getContent());
            }
            
            // First 10 items
            System.out.println("\n=== First Items ===");
            List<StreamInfoItem> items = info.getRelatedItems();
            int displayCount = Math.min(10, items.size());
            
            for (int i = 0; i < displayCount; i++) {
                StreamInfoItem item = items.get(i);
                System.out.println((i + 1) + ". " + item.getName());
                System.out.println("   Uploader: " + item.getUploaderName());
                System.out.println("   Duration: " + item.getDuration() + "s");
            }
            
            // Check for more items
            if (info.getNextPage() != null) {
                System.out.println("\nMore items available...");
            }
            
        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

Best Practices

Handle pagination carefully - Large playlists may require many requests
Check playlist type - Mixes and auto-generated playlists behave differently
Cache results - Avoid re-extracting the same playlist repeatedly
Implement rate limiting - Add delays between pagination requests
Check errors - Use getErrors() to handle partial extraction failures

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Supported Services

Overview

Basic Usage

Playlist Metadata

Playlist Types

Sub-Channel Information

Stream Count Handling

Using PlaylistExtractor Directly

Error Handling

Complete Example

Best Practices

Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Supported Services

​Overview

​Basic Usage

​Playlist Metadata

​Playlist Types

​Sub-Channel Information

​Efficient Pagination

​Stream Count Handling

​Using PlaylistExtractor Directly

​Error Handling

​Complete Example

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Basic Usage

Playlist Metadata

Playlist Types

Sub-Channel Information

Efficient Pagination

Stream Count Handling

Using PlaylistExtractor Directly

Error Handling

Complete Example

Best Practices

Next Steps