Skip to main content

​
Overview

The StreamExtractor and StreamInfo classes are the core components for extracting detailed information about videos, audio streams, and live streams from supported services.

​
Basic Usage

1

Initialize NewPipe

Before extracting any data, you must initialize NewPipe with a downloader implementation:
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.NewPipe;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.localization.Localization;

// Initialize with your downloader
NewPipe.init(yourDownloaderInstance);

// Optional: Set localization
NewPipe.setupLocalization(Localization.fromLocale(Locale.US));
2

Extract Stream Info

Use StreamInfo.getInfo() to extract all available information from a stream URL:
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfo;

try {
    String url = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ";
    StreamInfo info = StreamInfo.getInfo(url);
    
    // Access basic information
    System.out.println("Title: " + info.getName());
    System.out.println("Uploader: " + info.getUploaderName());
    System.out.println("Duration: " + info.getDuration());
    System.out.println("View Count: " + info.getViewCount());
    
} catch (Exception e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}
3

Access Stream URLs

Retrieve actual playable stream URLs:
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.*;

StreamInfo info = StreamInfo.getInfo(url);

// Get audio streams
List<AudioStream> audioStreams = info.getAudioStreams();
for (AudioStream stream : audioStreams) {
    System.out.println("Audio: " + stream.getFormat() + 
                     " - " + stream.getAverageBitrate() + " kbps");
    System.out.println("URL: " + stream.getContent());
}

// Get video streams (with audio)
List<VideoStream> videoStreams = info.getVideoStreams();
for (VideoStream stream : videoStreams) {
    System.out.println("Video: " + stream.getResolution() + 
                     " - " + stream.getFormat());
    System.out.println("URL: " + stream.getContent());
}

// Get video-only streams (no audio, for DASH)
List<VideoStream> videoOnlyStreams = info.getVideoOnlyStreams();
for (VideoStream stream : videoOnlyStreams) {
    System.out.println("Video Only: " + stream.getResolution());
}

​
Advanced Features

​
Stream Metadata

Access comprehensive metadata about the stream: 
StreamInfo info = StreamInfo.getInfo(url);

// Uploader details
String uploaderName = info.getUploaderName();
String uploaderUrl = info.getUploaderUrl();
boolean verified = info.isUploaderVerified();
long subscriberCount = info.getUploaderSubscriberCount();

// Get uploader avatars (multiple resolutions)
List<Image> avatars = info.getUploaderAvatars();
for (Image avatar : avatars) {
    System.out.println("Avatar: " + avatar.getUrl() + 
                     " (" + avatar.getHeight() + "x" + 
                     avatar.getWidth() + ")");
}

​
Stream Types

Handle different types of streams: 
StreamInfo info = StreamInfo.getInfo(url);
StreamType type = info.getStreamType();

switch (type) {
    case VIDEO_STREAM:
        System.out.println("Regular video stream");
        break;
    case AUDIO_STREAM:
        System.out.println("Audio-only stream (e.g., SoundCloud)");
        break;
    case LIVE_STREAM:
        System.out.println("Live stream");
        // Note: duration will be 0 for live streams
        break;
    case AUDIO_LIVE_STREAM:
        System.out.println("Audio-only live stream");
        break;
    case POST_LIVE_STREAM:
        System.out.println("Recorded live stream");
        break;
    case NONE:
        System.out.println("Unknown stream type");
        break;
}

​
Subtitles

Extract available subtitle tracks: 
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.SubtitlesStream;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.MediaFormat;

StreamInfo info = StreamInfo.getInfo(url);

// Get all available subtitles
List<SubtitlesStream> subtitles = info.getSubtitles();
for (SubtitlesStream subtitle : subtitles) {
    System.out.println("Language: " + subtitle.getLanguageTag());
    System.out.println("Format: " + subtitle.getFormat());
    System.out.println("URL: " + subtitle.getContent());
    System.out.println("Auto-generated: " + subtitle.isAutoGenerated());
}
Get suggested or related content: 
StreamInfo info = StreamInfo.getInfo(url);

List<InfoItem> relatedItems = info.getRelatedItems();
for (InfoItem item : relatedItems) {
    if (item instanceof StreamInfoItem) {
        StreamInfoItem relatedStream = (StreamInfoItem) item;
        System.out.println("Related: " + relatedStream.getName());
        System.out.println("Uploader: " + relatedStream.getUploaderName());
        System.out.println("URL: " + relatedStream.getUrl());
    }
}

​
Segments & Chapters

Extract timeline segments (chapters): 
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamSegment;

StreamInfo info = StreamInfo.getInfo(url);

List<StreamSegment> segments = info.getStreamSegments();
for (StreamSegment segment : segments) {
    System.out.println("Chapter: " + segment.getTitle());
    System.out.println("Start: " + segment.getStartTimeSeconds() + "s");
    System.out.println("Preview URL: " + segment.getPreviewUrl());
}

​
DASH & HLS Manifests

For adaptive streaming: 
StreamInfo info = StreamInfo.getInfo(url);

// DASH manifest URL (for adaptive video/audio)
String dashUrl = info.getDashMpdUrl();
if (!dashUrl.isEmpty()) {
    System.out.println("DASH MPD: " + dashUrl);
}

// HLS manifest URL
String hlsUrl = info.getHlsUrl();
if (!hlsUrl.isEmpty()) {
    System.out.println("HLS M3U8: " + hlsUrl);
}

​
Working with Services

Extract from specific services: 
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.StreamingService;

// Get service by name
StreamingService youtube = NewPipe.getService("YouTube");
StreamInfo info = StreamInfo.getInfo(youtube, videoUrl);

// Or get service by ID
StreamingService service = NewPipe.getService(0); // YouTube = 0
StreamInfo info2 = StreamInfo.getInfo(service, videoUrl);

// Get all available services
List<StreamingService> services = NewPipe.getServices();
for (StreamingService s : services) {
    System.out.println(s.getServiceInfo().getName());
}

​
Error Handling

Always handle exceptions when extracting stream data. Network issues, unavailable content, and parsing errors can occur.
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.exceptions.*;

try {
    StreamInfo info = StreamInfo.getInfo(url);
    
    // Check for extraction errors
    List<Throwable> errors = info.getErrors();
    if (!errors.isEmpty()) {
        System.out.println("Extraction completed with errors:");
        for (Throwable error : errors) {
            System.err.println("- " + error.getMessage());
        }
    }
    
} catch (ContentNotAvailableException e) {
    System.err.println("Content not available: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (GeographicRestrictionException e) {
    System.err.println("Content blocked in your region");
} catch (AgeRestrictedContentException e) {
    System.err.println("Age-restricted content");
} catch (ExtractionException e) {
    System.err.println("Extraction error: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (IOException e) {
    System.err.println("Network error: " + e.getMessage());
}
The StreamInfo class gracefully handles partial extraction failures. Check the getErrors() list to see which fields failed to extract while still accessing successfully extracted data.

​
Best Practices

  1. Check stream availability - Verify getContentAvailability() before processing
  2. Handle missing data - Many fields return -1 or empty collections when unavailable
  3. Cache results - Avoid repeated extractions for the same URL
  4. Respect rate limits - Implement delays between requests to avoid being blocked
  5. Use appropriate streams - Choose video-only + audio for better quality/format control

​
Complete Example

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

public class StreamExtractorExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Initialize
        NewPipe.init(yourDownloader);
        
        try {
            String url = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID";
            StreamInfo info = StreamInfo.getInfo(url);
            
            // Print basic info
            System.out.println("=== Stream Information ===");
            System.out.println("Title: " + info.getName());
            System.out.println("Uploader: " + info.getUploaderName());
            System.out.println("Duration: " + info.getDuration() + " seconds");
            System.out.println("Views: " + info.getViewCount());
            System.out.println("Type: " + info.getStreamType());
            
            // Get best audio stream
            List<AudioStream> audioStreams = info.getAudioStreams();
            if (!audioStreams.isEmpty()) {
                AudioStream bestAudio = audioStreams.get(0);
                System.out.println("\nBest Audio: " + bestAudio.getFormat());
                System.out.println("Bitrate: " + bestAudio.getAverageBitrate());
            }
            
            // Get best video stream
            List<VideoStream> videoStreams = info.getVideoStreams();
            if (!videoStreams.isEmpty()) {
                VideoStream bestVideo = videoStreams.get(0);
                System.out.println("\nBest Video: " + bestVideo.getResolution());
                System.out.println("Format: " + bestVideo.getFormat());
            }
            
        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

​
Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us