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Regex to get youtube video/playlist id with time & generate embed code

19 Comments Posted by on July 24, 2013

To embed youtube videos in a website, the best solution is to parse a string to match for youtube url and then grab the youtube VIDEO_ID or PLAYLIST_ID from the url and then use that video id in a standard embed code.

This is one of the ultimately best regex (regular expression) pattern to get/grab/parse youtube video id from any youtube link/url.

This regex works

  1. with or without http/https
  2. with or without www
  3. with both youtube.com & youtu.be links

This regex can be used to grab

  1. youtube video id
  2. youtube playlist id

 

Regex to grab Video ID:

<?php

//Video id is 11 characters in length
$video_pattern = '~(?:http|https|)(?::\/\/|)(?:www.|)(?:youtu\.be\/|youtube\.com(?:\/embed\/|\/v\/|\/watch\?v=|\/ytscreeningroom\?v=|\/feeds\/api\/videos\/|\/user\S*[^\w\-\s]|\S*[^\w\-\s]))([\w\-]{11})[a-z0-9;:@#?&%=+\/\$_.-]*~i';

$youtube_url = array(
"https://youtu.be/yVpbFMhOAwE",
"https://www.youtube.com/embed/yVpbFMhOAwE",
"youtu.be/yVpbFMhOAwE",
"youtube.com/watch?v=yVpbFMhOAwE",
"http://youtu.be/yVpbFMhOAwE",
"http://www.youtube.com/embed/yVpbFMhOAwE",
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVpbFMhOAwE",
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVpbFMhOAwE&feature=g-vrec",
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVpbFMhOAwE&feature=player_embedded",
"http://www.youtube.com/v/yVpbFMhOAwE?fs=1&hl=en_US",
"http://www.youtube.com/ytscreeningroom?v=yVpbFMhOAwE",
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=yVpbFMhOAwE",
"http://www.youtube.com/user/Scobleizer#p/u/1/1p3vcRhsYGo",
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zUVS4kJtrA&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLbzoR-pLrL6qucl8-lOnzvhFc2UM1tcZA",
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZu097wb8wU&list=RDFZu097wb8wU"
);

foreach($youtube_url as $youtube_url) {
$youtube_id = (preg_replace($video_pattern, '$1', $youtube_url));
var_dump ($youtube_id);
}

?>

Regex to grab Playlist ID:

<?php

//Playlist id is 12 or more characters in length
$playlist_pattern = '~(?:http|https|)(?::\/\/|)(?:www.|)(?:youtu\.be\/|youtube\.com(?:\/embed\/|\/v\/|\/watch\?v=|\/ytscreeningroom\?v=|\/feeds\/api\/videos\/|\/user\S*[^\w\-\s]|\S*[^\w\-\s]))([\w\-]{12,})[a-z0-9;:@#?&%=+\/\$_.-]*~i';

$youtube_url = array(
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zUVS4kJtrA&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLbzoR-pLrL6qucl8-lOnzvhFc2UM1tcZA",
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZu097wb8wU&list=RDFZu097wb8wU"
);

foreach($youtube_url as $youtube_url) {
$playlist_id = (preg_replace($playlist_pattern, '$1', $youtube_url));
var_dump ($playlist_id);
}

?>
If you look closely then you’ll find that both the regex are same except for the word count. We just change the word count to parse either video or playlist id.
We use “11” to get the video id and “12,” to get the playlist id (12 followed by comma means 12 char or more).

The explanation of the actual regex:

~
(?:http|https|) Optional scheme. Either http or https
(?::\/\/|) Optional scheme. ://
(?:www.|) Optional scheme. www.
(?: Group host alternatives
youtu\.be\/ Either youtu.be
|youtube\.com youtube.com
        (?: Group path alternatives.
        \/embed\/ /embed
        |\/v\/ or /v
        |\/watch\?v= /watch?v=
        |\/ytscreeningroom\?v= /ytscreeningroom?v=
        |\/feeds\/api\/videos\/ or either /feeds or /api or /videos
        |\/user or /user
        \S* Allow anything upto “youtube VIDEO_ID”                   (Note: 1a)
        [^\w\-\s] but char before “youtube VIDEO_ID” is non-id char    (Note: 2a)
        |\S* or Allow anything upto “youtube VIDEO_ID”               (Note: 1b)
        [^\w\-\s] but char before “youtube VIDEO_ID” is non-id char    (Note: 2b)
        ) End group path alternatives
) End host alternatives
([\w\-]{11}) “youtube VIDEO_ID” is exactly 11 chars
([\w\-]{12,}) “youtube PLAYLIST_ID” is exactly 12 or more chars
[a-z0-9;:@?&%=+\/\$_.-]* Strip out anything left in the url
~i
Note:
  • 1a & 2a – These are required to get video id from this url format -> “youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=yVpbFMhOAwE”
  • 1b & 2b – These are required to get video id from this url format -> “youtube.com/user/Scobleizer#p/u/1/1p3vcRhsYGo”

 

Convert time to seconds for embedding:

The following code will parse youtube video links with time identifier, extract the time and convert it into seconds.


<php?

// Check for time identifier in the youtube video link and conver it into seconds
function ConvertTimeToSeconds($data)
{
 $time = null;
 $hours = null;
 $minutes = null;
 $seconds = null;

$pattern_time_split = "([0-9]{1-2}+[^hms])";

// Regex to check for youtube video link with time identifier
 $youtube_time = '~(?:http|https|)(?::\/\/|)(?:www.|)(?:youtu\.be\/|youtube\.com(?:\/embed\/|\/v\/|\/watch\?v=|\/ytscreeningroom\?v=|\/feeds\/api\/videos\/|\/user\S*[^\w\-\s]|\S*[^\w\-\s]))([\w\-]{11})[a-z0-9;:@#?&%=+\/\$_.-]*(t=((\d+h)?(\d+m)?(\d+s)?))~i';

// Check for time identifier in the youtube video link, extract it and convert it to seconds
 if (preg_match($youtube_time, $data, $matches)) {
 // Check for hours
 if (isset($matches[4])) {
 $hours = $matches[4];
 $hours = preg_split($pattern_time_split, $hours);
 $hours = substr($hours[0], 0, -1);
 }

// Check for minutes
 if (isset($matches[5])) {
 $minutes = $matches[5];
 $minutes = preg_split($pattern_time_split, $minutes);
 $minutes = substr($minutes[0], 0, -1);
 }

// Check for seconds
 if (isset($matches[6])) {
 $seconds = $matches[6];
 $seconds = preg_split($pattern_time_split, $seconds);
 $seconds = substr($seconds[0], 0, -1);
 }

// Convert time to seconds
 $time = (($hours*3600) + ($minutes*60) + $seconds);
 }

 return $time;
}

?>

The complete code to parse for video/playlist id and generate the embed code:


<?php

$youtube_url = array(
 "https://youtu.be/yVpbFMhOAwE",
 "https://www.youtube.com/embed/yVpbFMhOAwE",
 "youtu.be/yVpbFMhOAwE",
 "youtube.com/watch?v=yVpbFMhOAwE",
 "http://youtu.be/yVpbFMhOAwE&t=2m",
 "http://www.youtube.com/embed/yVpbFMhOAwE&t=2m5s",
 "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVpbFMhOAwE",
 "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVpbFMhOAwE&feature=g-vrec&t=30s",
 "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVpbFMhOAwE&feature=player_embedded",
 "http://www.youtube.com/v/yVpbFMhOAwE?fs=1&hl=en_US",
 "http://www.youtube.com/ytscreeningroom?v=yVpbFMhOAwE",
 "http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=yVpbFMhOAwE",
 "http://www.youtube.com/user/Scobleizer#p/u/1/1p3vcRhsYGo",
 "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zUVS4kJtrA&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLbzoR-pLrL6qucl8-lOnzvhFc2UM1tcZA",
 "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZu097wb8wU&list=RDFZu097wb8wU"
 );

foreach($youtube_url as $youtube_url) {
 $data = AutoParseYoutubeLink($youtube_url);
 var_dump ($data);
 }

// Automatically parse youtube video/playlist links and generate the respective embed code
 function AutoParseYoutubeLink($data)
 {
 // Check if youtube link is a playlist
 if (strpos($data, 'list=') !== false) {
 // Generate the embed code
 $data = preg_replace('~(?:http|https|)(?::\/\/|)(?:www.|)(?:youtu\.be\/|youtube\.com(?:\/embed\/|\/v\/|\/watch\?v=|\/ytscreeningroom\?v=|\/feeds\/api\/videos\/|\/user\S*[^\w\-\s]|\S*[^\w\-\s]))([\w\-]{12,})[a-z0-9;:@#?&%=+\/\$_.-]*~i', 'https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=$1', $data);

return $data;
 }
 // Check if youtube link is not a playlist but a video [with time identifier]
 if (strpos($data, 'list=') === false && strpos($data, 't=') !== false) {
 $time_in_secs = null;

// Get the time in seconds from the time function
 $time_in_secs = ConvertTimeToSeconds($data);

// Generate the embed code
 $data = preg_replace('~(?:http|https|)(?::\/\/|)(?:www.|)(?:youtu\.be\/|youtube\.com(?:\/embed\/|\/v\/|\/watch\?v=|\/ytscreeningroom\?v=|\/feeds\/api\/videos\/|\/user\S*[^\w\-\s]|\S*[^\w\-\s]))([\w\-]{11})[a-z0-9;:@#?&%=+\/\$_.-]*~i', 'https://www.youtube.com/embed/$1?start=' . $time_in_secs, $data);

return $data;
 }
 // If the above conditions were false then the youtube link is probably just a plain video link. So generate the embed code already.
 $data = preg_replace('~(?:http|https|)(?::\/\/|)(?:www.|)(?:youtu\.be\/|youtube\.com(?:\/embed\/|\/v\/|\/watch\?v=|\/ytscreeningroom\?v=|\/feeds\/api\/videos\/|\/user\S*[^\w\-\s]|\S*[^\w\-\s]))([\w\-]{11})[a-z0-9;:@#?&%=+\/\$_.-]*~i', 'https://www.youtube.com/embed/$1', $data);

return $data;
 }

// Check for time identifier in the youtube video link and conver it into seconds
 function ConvertTimeToSeconds($data)
 {
 $time = null;
 $hours = null;
 $minutes = null;
 $seconds = null;

$pattern_time_split = "([0-9]{1-2}+[^hms])";

// Regex to check for youtube video link with time identifier
 $youtube_time = '~(?:http|https|)(?::\/\/|)(?:www.|)(?:youtu\.be\/|youtube\.com(?:\/embed\/|\/v\/|\/watch\?v=|\/ytscreeningroom\?v=|\/feeds\/api\/videos\/|\/user\S*[^\w\-\s]|\S*[^\w\-\s]))([\w\-]{11})[a-z0-9;:@#?&%=+\/\$_.-]*(t=((\d+h)?(\d+m)?(\d+s)?))~i';

// Check for time identifier in the youtube video link, extract it and convert it to seconds
 if (preg_match($youtube_time, $data, $matches)) {
 // Check for hours
 if (isset($matches[4])) {
 $hours = $matches[4];
 $hours = preg_split($pattern_time_split, $hours);
 $hours = substr($hours[0], 0, -1);
 }

// Check for minutes
 if (isset($matches[5])) {
 $minutes = $matches[5];
 $minutes = preg_split($pattern_time_split, $minutes);
 $minutes = substr($minutes[0], 0, -1);
 }

// Check for seconds
 if (isset($matches[6])) {
 $seconds = $matches[6];
 $seconds = preg_split($pattern_time_split, $seconds);
 $seconds = substr($seconds[0], 0, -1);
 }

// Convert time to seconds
 $time = (($hours*3600) + ($minutes*60) + $seconds);
 }

return $time;
 }

?>
PHP, Programming , , , , , , , , , ,

19 responses to “Regex to get youtube video/playlist id with time & generate embed code”

  1. Bhagwat Singh November 13, 2013 at 22:36

    Thanks a Lot…….

    Reply
  2. Victor December 16, 2013 at 02:29

    Works great! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  3. bomale December 31, 2013 at 12:47

    THANKS YOU!!!
    previous i have used
    %(?:youtube(?:-nocookie)?\.com/(?:[^/]+/.+/|(?:v|e(?:mbed)?)/|.*[?&]v=)|youtu\.be/)([^”&?/ ]{11})%i

    but with your regex now can get id from link:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=yyyyyyyyyyy

    useful thanks!!

    Reply
  4. bomale January 1, 2014 at 11:09

    Sorry but this regex check id from this also… There is a way to adapt regex to avoid check this links?
    youtube.com/channel/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/featured/

    Now i have fixed with if (!stristr($matches['youtube'][0][$key],'channel/')

    Reply
  5. biraj February 5, 2014 at 10:28

    many many many thanks dude its perfect!!!!!!!

    Reply
  6. Shimmi February 7, 2014 at 16:41

    The only one regexp solution I found working for all URLs! many thanks!

    Reply
  7. scottb March 14, 2014 at 22:05

    Thanks, this helped! I used it in preg_replace to zap out youtube links in worpdress excerpts (I’m using Toolsets Types/Views but can be easily modified):


    add_filter('wpv_filter_post_excerpt', 'remove_youtubelinks_func');
    function remove_youtubelinks_func($excerpt){
    return $excerpt = preg_replace('~(?:http|https|)(?::\/\/|)(?:www.|)(?:youtu\.be\/|youtube\.com(?:\/embed\/|\/v\/|\/watch\?v=|\/ytscreeningroom\?v=|\/feeds\/api\/videos\/|\/user\S*[^\w\-\s]|\S*[^\w\-\s]))([\w\-]{11})[a-z0-9;:@?&%=+\/\$_.-]*~i', '', $excerpt);
    }

    Reply
    • LinuxPanda March 14, 2014 at 22:35

      Happy to hear that this article was useful for you. And thank you very much for sharing the information about using it with wordpress excerpts. 🙂

      Reply
  9. Oswaldo Goite September 12, 2014 at 05:47

    Thank you very much for the information, chief… Works as sweet as a charm… Bookmarked and everything…

    Reply
  10. cgnkyc123 November 8, 2014 at 23:09

    This article quite amazing. But i have a problem . I need the same codes in c#. Please help me! That may be the last chance of me 😦

    Reply

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