This document explains how to embed a YouTube player in your application and also defines the parameters that are available in the YouTube embedded player.
YouTube players can be embedded in a web page using either an <iframe>
tag or an <object>
tag. By appending parameters to the SWF or IFrame URL, you can customize the playback experience in your application. For example, you can automatically play videos using the autoplay
parameter or cause a video to play repeatedly using the loop
parameter. You can also enable the JavaScript API for the player with the enablejsapi
parameter.
This page currently defines all parameters supported in any YouTube embedded player. You can change the parameters listed by selecting a specific player from the pulldown menu next to the first paragraph in the Parameters section or by selecting Show all
in that menu to view all parameters.
Note: To allow room for critical player functionality, players must be at least 200px by 200px.
Best practice: IFrame embeds are the recommended method for embedding a YouTube player because the IFrame will select the appropriate player based on the client's capabilities and available YouTube file formats.
You can use any of the following methods to embed a YouTube player in your application and specify player parameters. Note that the instructions below demonstrate how to embed a player that loads a single video. The following section explains how to configure your player to load other types of content, such as playlists and search results.
IFrame embeds using <iframe>
tags
Define an <iframe>
tag in your application in which the src
URL specifies the content that the player will load as well as any other player parameters you want to set. The <iframe>
tag's height
and width
parameters specify the dimensions of the player.
If you are creating the <iframe>
element yourself (rather than using the IFrame Player API to create it), you can append player parameters directly to the end of the URL. The URL has the following format:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID
The <iframe>
tag below would load a 640x390px player that would play the YouTube video u1zgFlCw8Aw
. Since the URL sets the autoplay
parameter to 1
, the video would play automatically once the player has loaded.
<iframe id="ytplayer" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u1zgFlCw8Aw?autoplay=1&origin=http://example.com" frameborder="0"/>
IFrame embeds using the IFrame Player API
Follow the IFrame Player API instructions to insert a video player in your web page or application after the Player API's JavaScript code has loaded. The second parameter in the constructor for the video player is an object that specifies player options. Within that object, the playerVars
property identifies player parameters.
The HTML and JavaScript code below shows a simple example that inserts a YouTube player into the page element that has an id
value of ytplayer
. The onYouTubePlayerAPIReady()
function specified here is called automatically when the IFrame Player API code has loaded. This code does not define any player parameters and also does not define other event handlers.
<div id="ytplayer"></div> <script> // Load the IFrame Player API code asynchronously. var tag = document.createElement('script'); tag.src = "https://www.youtube.com/player_api"; var firstScriptTag = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; firstScriptTag.parentNode.insertBefore(tag, firstScriptTag); // Replace the 'ytplayer' element with an <iframe> and // YouTube player after the API code downloads. var player; function onYouTubePlayerAPIReady() { player = new YT.Player('ytplayer', { height: '390', width: '640', videoId: 'u1zgFlCw8Aw' }); } </script>
AS3 (and AS2*) object embeds
* Note: The AS2 Player API is deprecated.
Object embeds use an <object>
tag to specify the player's dimensions and parameters. The sample code below demonstrates how to use an object embed to load an AS3 player that automatically plays the same video as the previous two examples.
<object width="640" height="390"> <param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/u1zgFlCw8Aw?version=3&autoplay=1"></param> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param> <embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/u1zgFlCw8Aw?version=3&autoplay=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed> </object>
You can configure your embedded player to load a video, a playlist, a user's uploaded videos, or search results for a particular query. However, options other than loading a single video are only supported in AS3 object embeds and in IFrame embeds that load the AS3 player. (IFrame embeds could also load the HTML5 player.)
The following list explains these options:
Loading a video
For an IFrame embed, the YouTube video ID for the video that you want to load is specified in the IFrame's src
URL. For an AS3 or AS2 object embed, the video ID is specified in the player's SWF URL.
IFrame embed: http://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID Embedded AS3 player: http://www.youtube.com/v/VIDEO_ID?version=3 Chromeless AS3 player: http://www.youtube.com/apiplayer?video_id=VIDEO_ID&version=3
If you are using the YouTube Data API, you can programmatically construct these URLs by retrieving the <yt:videoid>
tag value in an API entry and replacing the VIDEO_ID
text in the URLs above with that value. You should also confirm that the feed entry for the video contains a <media:content>
tag for which the value of the yt:format
attribute is 5
. The absence of that tag indicates that the video owner has disabled embedding for the video.
<entry> ... <media:group> <media:content url="http://www.youtube.com/v/VIDEO_ID?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" medium="video" isDefault="true" expression="full" duration="100" yt:format="5"/> ... <yt:videoid>VIDEO_ID</yt:videoid> </media:group> ... <entry>
Loading a playlist
Set the listType
player parameter to playlist
. In addition, set the list
player parameter to the YouTube playlist ID that you want to load.
http://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=PLAYLIST_ID
Note that you need to prepend the playlist ID with the letters PL
as shown in the following example:
http://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=PLC77007E23FF423C6
If you are using the YouTube Data API, you can programmatically construct these URLs by retrieving the <yt:playlistId>
tag value in an API entry and replacing the PLAYLIST_ID
text in the URL above with that value.
Loading a user's uploaded videos
Set the listType
player parameter to user_uploads
. In addition, set the list
player parameter to the YouTube username whose uploaded videos you want to load.
http://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=user_uploads&list=USERNAME
Loading search results for a specified query
Set the listType
player parameter to search
. In addition, set the list
player parameter to the query term for which you want the player to load search results.
http://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=search&list=QUERY
All of the following parameters are optional. The list shows parameters supported in any YouTube embedded player. If all players do not support a particular parameter, that parameter's definition will identify the players that do support it. Note that these parameters are only officially supported by the embedded player, but a subset of them may also work with other players such as the playlist player.
Note: IFrame embeds can load either the HTML5 player or the AS3 player. Though some parameters are not supported in both players, an IFrame embed that loads the AS3 player will support all parameters that work with that player and ignore all other parameters. Similarly, an IFrame embed that loads the HTML5 player will support all parameters that work with that player while ignoring all other parameters.
For example, the HTML5 player does not currently support the cc_load_policy
parameter, but you can still specify that parameter when creating an IFrame embed. If the embed loads the AS3 player, the player will support the parameter, and if the embed loads the HTML5 player, the player will ignore it.
autohide
(supported players: AS3, AS2, HTML5)2
(default), 1
, and 0
. This parameter indicates whether the video controls will automatically hide after a video begins playing. The default behavior (autohide=2
) is for the video progress bar to fade out while the player controls (play button, volume control, etc.) remain visible.1
, then the video progress bar and the player controls will slide out of view a couple of seconds after the video starts playing. They will only reappear if the user moves her mouse over the video player or presses a key on her keyboard.0
, the video progress bar and the video player controls will be visible throughout the video and in fullscreen.autoplay
(supported players: AS3, AS2, HTML5)0
or 1
. Default is 0
. Sets whether or not the initial video will autoplay when the player loads.cc_load_policy
(supported players: AS3, AS2)1
. Default is based on user preference. Setting to 1
will cause closed captions to be shown by default, even if the user has turned captions off.color
(supported players: AS3)red
and white
, and, by default, the player will use the color red in the video progress bar. See the YouTube API blog for more information about color options.color
parameter will disable the modestbranding
option in the embedded player.controls
(supported players: AS3, HTML5)0
or 1
. Default is 1
. This parameter indicates whether the video player controls will display. If this parameter is set to 0
, then the player controls will not display, causing the player to look like the chromeless player.disablekb
(supported players: AS3, AS2)0
or 1
. Default is 0
. Setting to 1
will disable the player keyboard controls. Keyboard controls are as follows:
enablejsapi
(supported players: AS3, AS2, HTML5)0
or 1
. Default is 0
. Setting this to 1
will enable the Javascript API. For more information on the Javascript API and how to use it, see the JavaScript API documentation.end
(supported players: AS3)start
player parameter or the startSeconds
parameter, which is used in YouTube Player API functions for loading or queueing a video.fs
(supported players: AS3, AS2)0
or 1
. For the AS3 player, the default value is 1
, which causes the fullscreen button to display. Setting this parameter to 0
prevents the fullscreen button from displaying.0
. Setting the value to 1
enables the fullscreen button in the embedded player and does not affect the chromeless player. The fullscreen option will not work if you load the YouTube player into another SWF. Note that, for the AS2 player, you must include some extra arguments to your embed code for this to work. The bold text in the following example is required to enable fullscreen functionality:
<object width="560" height="315"> <param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/u1zgFlCw8Aw?version=2&fs=1"</param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param> <embed src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/u1zgFlCw8Aw?version=2&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="560" height="315"> </embed> </object>
iv_load_policy
(supported players: AS3, AS2)1
or 3
. Default is 1
. Setting to 1
will cause video annotations to be shown by default, whereas setting to 3
will cause video annotation to not be shown by default.list
(supported players: AS3)list
parameter, in conjunction with the listType
parameter, identifies the content that will load in the player.listType
parameter value is search
, then the list
parameter value specifies the search query.listType
parameter value is user_uploads
, then the list
parameter value identifies the YouTube user whose uploaded videos will be loaded.listType
parameter value is playlist
, then the list
parameter value specifies a YouTube playlist ID. In the parameter value, you need to prepend the playlist ID with the letters PL
as shown in the example below.http://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=PLC77007E23FF423C6
list
and listType
parameters, the IFrame embed URL does not need to specify a video ID.listType
(supported players: AS3)listType
parameter, in conjunction with the list
parameter, identifies the content that will load in the player. Valid parameter values are playlist
, search
, and user_uploads
.list
and listType
parameters, the IFrame embed URL does not need to specify a video ID.loop
(supported players: AS3, HTML5)0
or 1
. Default is 0
. In the case of a single video player, a setting of 1
will cause the player to play the initial video again and again. In the case of a playlist player (or custom player), the player will play the entire playlist and then start again at the first video.loop
parameter only works in the AS3 player when used in conjunction with the playlist
parameter. To loop a single video, set the loop
parameter value to 1
and set the playlist
parameter value to the same video ID already specified in the Player API URL:http://www.youtube.com/v/VIDEO_ID?version=3&loop=1&playlist=VIDEO_ID
modestbranding
(supported players: AS3)1
to prevent the YouTube logo from displaying in the control bar. Note that a small YouTube
text label will still display in the upper-right corner of a paused video when the user's mouse pointer hovers over the player.origin
(supported players: AS3, HTML5)enablejsapi
parameter value to 1
, you should always specify your domain as the origin
parameter value.playerapiid
(supported players: AS3, AS2)playlist
(supported players: AS3, HTML5)VIDEO_ID
specified in the URL path, and the videos specified in the playlist
parameter will play thereafter.rel
(supported players: AS3, AS2)0
or 1
. Default is 1
. This parameter indicates whether the player should show related videos when playback of the initial video ends.showinfo
(supported players: AS3, AS2, HTML5)0
or 1
. Default is 1
. Setting to 0
causes the player to not display information like the video title and uploader before the video starts playing.start
(supported players: AS3, AS2, HTML5)seekTo
function, the player will look for the closest keyframe to the time you specify. This means sometimes the play head may seek to just before the requested time, usually no more than ~2 seconds.theme
(supported players: AS3, AS2, HTML5)dark
and light
, and, by default, the player will display player controls using the dark
theme. See the YouTube API blog for more information about the dark and light themes.The following parameters are only supported for the AS2 Player API, which has been deprecated:
border
(supported players: AS2)0
or 1
. Default is 0
. Setting to 1
enables a border around the entire video player. The border's primary color can be set via the color1
parameter, and a secondary color can be set by the color2
parameter.color1, color2
(supported players: AS2)color1
is the primary border color, and color2
is the video control bar background color and secondary border color.egm
(supported players: AS2)0
or 1
. Default is 0
. Setting to 1
enables the "Enhanced Genie Menu". This behavior causes the genie menu (if present) to appear when the user's mouse enters the video display area, as opposed to only appearing when the menu button is pressed.hd
(supported players: AS2)0
or 1
. Default is 0
. Setting to 1
enables HD playback by default. This has no effect on the Chromeless Player. This also has no effect if an HD version of the video is not available. If you enable this option, keep in mind that users with a slower connection may have an sub-optimal experience unless they turn off HD. You should ensure your player is large enough to display the video in its native resolution.showsearch
(supported players: AS2)0
or 1
. Default is 1
. Setting to 0
disables the search box from displaying when the video is minimized. Note that if the rel
parameter is set to 0
then the search box will also be disabled, regardless of the value of showsearch
.This update contains the following changes:
The showinfo
parameter's definition has been updated to reflect the fact that the HTML5 player supports this parameter.
This update contains the following changes:
The new end
parameter specifies the time, measured in seconds from the start of the video, when the player should stop playing a video. Note that the time when playback is stopped is measured from the beginning of the video and not from the value of either the start
player parameter or the startSeconds
parameter, which is used in YouTube Player API functions for loading or queueing a video.
This update contains the following changes:
The new Embedding a YouTube player section explains different ways to embed a YouTube player in your application. This section covers manual IFrame embeds, IFrame embeds that use the IFrame Player API, and AS3 and AS2 object embeds. This section incorporates information from the old Example usage section, which has been removed.
The new Selecting content to play section explains how to configure the player to load a video, a playlist, search results for a specified query, or uploaded videos for a specified user.
The new list
and listType
parameters let you specify the content that the player should load. You can specify a playlist, a search query, or a particular user's uploaded videos.
The definitions of the fs
and rel
parameters have been updated to more clearly explain the default parameter values for the AS3 player.
The border
, color1
, egm
, hd
, and showsearch
parameters, which are all only supported for the deprecated AS2 Player API, have been moved to a new section named deprecated parameters only used in the AS2 Player API.
The document no longer provides a way to filter the parameter list to only display parameters supported in either the AS3, AS2, or HTML5 player. Instead, each parameter definition has been updated to identify the players that support that parameter.
This update contains the following changes:
The new theme
and color
parameters let you customize the appearance of the embedded player's player controls. See the YouTube API blog for more information.
This update contains the following changes:
The new modestbranding
parameter lets you use a YouTube player that does not show a YouTube logo. The parameter is supported for the AS3 embedded player and for IFrame embeds that load the AS3 player. (Note that IFrame embeds may also load the HTML5 player, which does not support this parameter.)
This update contains the following changes:
The documentation has been updated to note that the AS2 Player API has been deprecated. The deprecation of the AS2 Player API was actually announced on October 14, 2009.
This update contains the following changes:
The documentation has been updated to identify parameters supported in the HTML5 (IFrame) embedded player.
The document now displays all of the parameters supported in any of YouTube's embedded players (AS2, AS3, HTML5). However, if you linked to this document from a particular version of the Player API documentation, then, by default, the page will display parameters supported in that version of the API. For example, if you link to this document from the IFrame API documentation, then the page will only display the parameters supported by the HTML5 player (IFrame embeds), but if you link from the Flash (AS3) API documentation, then this page will only display parameters that YouTube's Flash (AS3) player supports.
You can use the pulldown menu in the Overview section to update the list to only show parameters that a particular player supports (or to display all parameters).
As the customized lists show, the following parameters are supported in the AS2 player but have been deprecated for the newer AS3 and HTML5 players: border
, color1
, color2
, egm
, hd
, and showsearch
.
In addition, the loop
parameter has limited support in the AS3 player and in IFrame embeds, which could load either an AS3 or HTML player. Currently, the loop
parameter only works in the AS3 player when used in conjunction with the playlist
parameter. To loop a single video, set the loop
parameter to 1
and set the playlist
parameter value to the same video ID already specified in the Player API URL:
http://www.youtube.com/v/VIDEO_ID?version=3&loop=1&playlist=VIDEO_ID
Similarly, the controls
and playlist
parameters are supported in the AS3 and HTML5 players but are not and will not be supported in the AS2 player.
As noted above, IFrame embeds, an experimental feature, can load either an AS3 or HTML5 player. Though some parameters are not supported in both players, an IFrame embed that loads the AS3 player will support all parameters that work with that player and ignore all other parameters. Similarly, an IFrame embed that loads the HTML player will support all parameters that work with that player while ignoring all other parameters.
The parameter list has been updated to include the autohide
parameter, which indicates whether the player's video controls will automatically hide after a video begins playing.
The parameter list has been updated to include the controls
parameter, which indicates whether the player's video controls will display at all. (Player controls do display by default.)
The parameter list has been updated to include the playlist
parameter, which specifies a comma-separated list of video IDs to play.
The definition of the fs
has been updated to note that the fullscreen option will not work if you load the YouTube player into another SWF.
The example at the end of the document has been updated to use the embedded AS3 player instead of the embedded AS2 player. The parameters used in the example have also been updated to only include parameters that the AS3 player supports.
In addition, the instructions for constructing the URLs that contain player parameters have been updated to reflect the URL formats used by the AS3 and AS2 embedded and chromeless players as well as by the HTML5 player.