Tubask

YouTube API key

Tubask uses your own Google Cloud API key — encrypted at rest, never shared across accounts. Free tier includes 10,000 YouTube Data API units per day.

Do I need a paid Google account?

No. A free Google Cloud project is enough. You only pay Google if you exceed the free quota or enable billable services beyond YouTube Data API v3.

Create a key (about 2 minutes)

  1. 1

    Open Google Cloud Console

    Go to console.cloud.google.com. Sign in with any Google account.
  2. 2

    Create or select a project

    Use the project dropdown at the top. A new project is fine — name it anything.
  3. 3

    Enable YouTube Data API v3

    Navigate to APIs & Services → Library, search for YouTube Data API v3, and click Enable.
  4. 4

    Create credentials

    Go to APIs & Services → Credentials → Create credentials → API key. Copy the key (starts with AIza).
  5. 5

    Add to Tubask

    Paste the key in onboarding or Settings. We validate it before saving.

Restrict your key (recommended)

Limit blast radius if the key ever leaks:

  1. In Credentials, click your API key → Edit
  2. Under API restrictions, choose Restrict key and select only YouTube Data API v3
  3. Optionally add Application restrictions (IP or HTTP referrer) if you know your deployment IPs
  4. Save — allow a few minutes for restrictions to propagate
Tubask calls Google's API from our servers using your stored key. IP restrictions must allow our egress IPs if you use them — when in doubt, restrict by API only.

What uses quota vs what doesn't

ActionUses API units?
Search, channel uploads, video metadata, comments, playlistsYes
Transcript / caption fetch (get_transcript)No
Summaries (uses metadata + transcript internally)Metadata yes; transcript portion no

See Quota & billing for unit costs and tips to stay under limits.

Common errors

  • API key not valid — YouTube Data API v3 not enabled, or key copied with extra spaces.
  • 403 accessNotConfigured — Enable YouTube Data API v3 on the same project as the key.
  • 403 quotaExceeded — Daily limit hit. Resets at midnight Pacific Time. See quota guide.
  • 400 badRequest — Often a malformed video ID or channel handle. Try pasting the full URL.

Why we don't provide a shared key

Shared keys hit quota immediately and create abuse risk. Your own key means predictable limits, full control, and no surprise throttling because another user exhausted a pool.