Question 1

What does YouTube Set Thumbnail do?

Accepted Answer

It replaces the thumbnail image of a video already published on a connected YouTube account via a single API call. You provide the video ID and a thumbnail image URL, and YouTube applies it automatically.

Question 2

How do I connect my YouTube channel?

Accepted Answer

Connect your YouTube account once in the dashboard. It then becomes a selectable account, and you reference it by its `account_id` in your requests.

Question 3

Where do I find a video's `video_id`?

Accepted Answer

It's the `v` query parameter in the video's YouTube watch URL, e.g. `dQw4w9WgXcQ` in `youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ`.

Question 4

What image formats and sizes are supported?

Accepted Answer

JPEG or PNG under 2MB, with a 16:9 aspect ratio recommended (YouTube's standard thumbnail ratio). The image must be reachable at a public URL.

Question 5

Can I set a thumbnail on any video?

Accepted Answer

You can set thumbnails on videos owned by the connected YouTube channel. Custom thumbnails also require the channel to be in good standing with YouTube's phone-verified feature enabled.

Question 6

How much does it cost to update a thumbnail?

Accepted Answer

YouTube Set Thumbnail costs $0.01 per call, making it inexpensive to automate thumbnail updates and A/B tests at scale.