Since YouTube moved to @handles, finding a channel's original `UC...` ID has become slightly more tricky. Many developers and API users search for ways to extract the "channelid":"uc" from the YouTube page source.

Method 1: The Page Source Hack

If you don't have access to an API and just need an ID quickly (for example, to find PewDiePie's channel ID), follow these steps:

Go to the YouTube channel page in your browser (e.g., youtube.com/@pewdiepie).
Right-click anywhere on the page and select "View Page Source" (or press Ctrl+U).
Press Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F) to open the search bar.
Type in exactly: "channelId":"UC
You will see a match that looks like "channelId":"UC-lHJZR3Gqxm24_Vd_AJ5Yw". That 24-character string starting with UC is your channel ID.

Method 2: Use Banner.yt (The Easy Way)

Instead of digging through HTML source code, you can just use our Search API. Simply hit https://banner.yt/api/search?q=@handle and our system will instantly return the exact UC Channel ID, their banner, and avatar.

Why Do You Need the UC Channel ID?

If you are building Discord bots, RSS feeds, or using tools like our YouTube Channel Banner Grabber, the system requires the absolute identifier, not the display handle, to ensure perfect accuracy.