Every YouTube channel has a channel ID: a 24-character code that starts with UC. Channel names and @handles can change at any time, but the ID never does. That's why sponsorship forms, Google Ads placement lists, analytics tools and automation services ask for it. It's the one way to point at a channel without any doubt.
Find your own channel ID
On a computer, signed in to YouTube:
- Click your profile picture in the top right.
- Choose Settings, then Advanced settings in the left menu.
- Click the copy button next to your channel ID.
You can also go straight to youtube.com/account_advanced. If you manage more than one channel, the page shows the ID of the channel you're currently using, so switch channels first if needed.
Find someone else's channel ID
- Open the channel page and click more next to the channel description to open the About panel.
- Scroll down, click Share channel, then choose Copy channel ID.
Older guides tell you to open the page source and search for channelId. That still works, but the source is very long and it's easy to copy the wrong value.
Handle, custom URL or channel ID?
- @handle: a short, readable name the creator chooses and can change.
- Custom URL (/c/) and legacy username (/user/): older addresses that only some older channels still have.
- Channel ID: assigned by YouTube and permanent.
youtube.com/channel/followed by the ID always leads to the channel.
When a creator changes their handle, the old handle link stops pointing to the channel, and after a while someone else may be able to claim it. For links you want to last, and for any form that asks how to identify your channel, the channel ID is the safe choice.
How our Channel ID Finder helps
Paste an @handle, a channel URL, or a video or Shorts URL into the Channel ID Finder. If you paste a video, we find the channel that uploaded it. No sign-in is needed.
Along with the channel ID, you get:
- The uploads playlist ID (UU…), which you can open or embed to show every public upload.
- The RSS feed URL,
youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=followed by the ID. Feed readers and automation tools can use it to pick up new uploads without a YouTube account. - The handle and any legacy addresses the channel still has.
We read the channel's public page, the same one your browser loads. That also sets the limits: a deleted or terminated channel can't be found, and a mistyped handle may lead to a different channel than the one you meant, so check the name in the result.
When you'll need it
- Setting up a feed reader or an automation that watches for new videos
- Filling in a sponsorship, network or partner application
- Adding a channel to a Google Ads placement list or a brand safety tool
- Connecting an analytics dashboard or a browser extension
- Building a playlist link from the uploads playlist
In each case, copy the full ID exactly as shown. It's case-sensitive, and a single wrong character points to a different channel or to nothing at all.