Extracting Playlist Data

Overview

The PlaylistExtractor and PlaylistInfo classes enable extraction of playlist metadata and their contents. This includes regular playlists, mixes, and auto-generated playlists from various services.

Basic Usage

Extract Playlist Info

Use PlaylistInfo.getInfo() to extract playlist information:

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.playlist.PlaylistInfo;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.NewPipe;

// Initialize NewPipe first
NewPipe.init(yourDownloader);

try {
    String playlistUrl = "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAYLIST_ID";
    PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);
    
    System.out.println("Playlist: " + info.getName());
    System.out.println("Uploader: " + info.getUploaderName());
    System.out.println("Stream Count: " + info.getStreamCount());
    
} catch (Exception e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

Access Playlist Items

Retrieve streams from the playlist:

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfoItem;

PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);

// Get items from the initial page
List<StreamInfoItem> streams = info.getRelatedItems();

for (StreamInfoItem stream : streams) {
    System.out.println("Title: " + stream.getName());
    System.out.println("Uploader: " + stream.getUploaderName());
    System.out.println("Duration: " + stream.getDuration());
    System.out.println("URL: " + stream.getUrl());
    System.out.println();
}

Handle Pagination

Load additional items using pagination:

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.Page;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.ListExtractor.InfoItemsPage;

PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);

// Check if there are more items
Page nextPage = info.getNextPage();

while (nextPage != null) {
    StreamingService service = NewPipe.getServiceByUrl(playlistUrl);
    InfoItemsPage<StreamInfoItem> page = 
        PlaylistInfo.getMoreItems(service, playlistUrl, nextPage);
    
    List<StreamInfoItem> items = page.getItems();
    for (StreamInfoItem item : items) {
        System.out.println("Item: " + item.getName());
    }
    
    // Get next page
    nextPage = page.getNextPage();
}

Playlist Metadata

Access comprehensive playlist information:

PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);

// Playlist identity
String id = info.getId();
String name = info.getName();
String url = info.getUrl();

// Stream count
long streamCount = info.getStreamCount();
System.out.println("Total streams: " + streamCount);

// Service ID
int serviceId = info.getServiceId();

Playlist Types

Handle different types of playlists:

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.playlist.PlaylistInfo.PlaylistType;

PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);
PlaylistType type = info.getPlaylistType();

switch (type) {
    case NORMAL:
        System.out.println("Regular user-created playlist");
        break;
    case MIX_STREAM:
        System.out.println("Mix based on a specific stream");
        break;
    case MIX_MUSIC:
        System.out.println("Music mix");
        break;
    case MIX_GENRE:
        System.out.println("Genre-based mix");
        break;
    default:
        System.out.println("Unknown playlist type");
}

// Note: Mixes often have dynamic content that changes
if (type != PlaylistType.NORMAL) {
    System.out.println("This is an auto-generated mix");
}

Sub-Channel Information

Some playlists have sub-channel information:

PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);

String subChannelName = info.getSubChannelName();
String subChannelUrl = info.getSubChannelUrl();

if (subChannelUrl != null && !subChannelUrl.isEmpty()) {
    System.out.println("Sub-channel: " + subChannelName);
    System.out.println("URL: " + subChannelUrl);
    
    List<Image> subChannelAvatars = info.getSubChannelAvatars();
    for (Image avatar : subChannelAvatars) {
        System.out.println("Sub-channel avatar: " + avatar.getUrl());
    }
}

Efficient Pagination

Load all playlist items efficiently:

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfoItem;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.Page;
import java.util.ArrayList;

public List<StreamInfoItem> getAllPlaylistItems(String playlistUrl) 
        throws Exception {
    
    List<StreamInfoItem> allItems = new ArrayList<>();
    PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);
    
    // Add initial items
    allItems.addAll(info.getRelatedItems());
    
    // Get service for pagination
    StreamingService service = NewPipe.getServiceByUrl(playlistUrl);
    Page nextPage = info.getNextPage();
    
    // Iterate through all pages
    while (nextPage != null) {
        InfoItemsPage<StreamInfoItem> page = 
            PlaylistInfo.getMoreItems(service, playlistUrl, nextPage);
        
        allItems.addAll(page.getItems());
        nextPage = page.getNextPage();
        
        // Optional: Add delay to avoid rate limiting
        Thread.sleep(100);
    }
    
    return allItems;
}

Stream Count Handling

Stream counts may be unknown or infinite for certain playlist types, especially mixes.

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.ListExtractor;

PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);
long streamCount = info.getStreamCount();

if (streamCount == ListExtractor.ITEM_COUNT_UNKNOWN) {
    System.out.println("Stream count is unknown");
} else if (streamCount == ListExtractor.ITEM_COUNT_INFINITE) {
    System.out.println("Playlist has infinite streams (e.g., YouTube mix)");
} else if (streamCount == ListExtractor.ITEM_COUNT_MORE_THAN_100) {
    System.out.println("More than 100 items, exact count unknown");
} else {
    System.out.println("Total streams: " + streamCount);
}

Using PlaylistExtractor Directly

For more control over extraction:

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.playlist.PlaylistExtractor;

StreamingService service = NewPipe.getServiceByUrl(playlistUrl);
PlaylistExtractor extractor = service.getPlaylistExtractor(playlistUrl);

// Fetch the page
extractor.fetchPage();

// Extract individual fields
String name = extractor.getName();
long streamCount = extractor.getStreamCount();
String uploaderName = extractor.getUploaderName();
List<Image> thumbnails = extractor.getThumbnails();
PlaylistInfo.PlaylistType type = extractor.getPlaylistType();

// Get initial items
InfoItemsPage<StreamInfoItem> initialPage = extractor.getInitialPage();
List<StreamInfoItem> items = initialPage.getItems();

Error Handling

Playlists can be deleted, made private, or become unavailable. Always handle exceptions appropriately.

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.exceptions.*;

try {
    PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(playlistUrl);
    
    // Check for partial extraction errors
    List<Throwable> errors = info.getErrors();
    if (!errors.isEmpty()) {
        System.out.println("Some fields failed to extract:");
        for (Throwable error : errors) {
            System.err.println("- " + error.getMessage());
        }
    }
    
    // Use the playlist data
    List<StreamInfoItem> items = info.getRelatedItems();
    System.out.println("Successfully loaded " + items.size() + " items");
    
} catch (ContentNotAvailableException e) {
    System.err.println("Playlist not available: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (PrivateContentException e) {
    System.err.println("Playlist is private");
} catch (ExtractionException e) {
    System.err.println("Extraction failed: " + e.getMessage());
} catch (IOException e) {
    System.err.println("Network error: " + e.getMessage());
}

Complete Example

import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.*;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.playlist.*;
import org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.*;

public class PlaylistExtractorExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Initialize
        NewPipe.init(yourDownloader);
        
        try {
            String url = "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxxxxxx";
            PlaylistInfo info = PlaylistInfo.getInfo(url);
            
            // Playlist information
            System.out.println("=== Playlist Information ===");
            System.out.println("Name: " + info.getName());
            System.out.println("Uploader: " + info.getUploaderName());
            System.out.println("Type: " + info.getPlaylistType());
            
            // Stream count
            long count = info.getStreamCount();
            if (count >= 0) {
                System.out.println("Total streams: " + count);
            } else {
                System.out.println("Stream count: Unknown/Infinite");
            }
            
            // Description
            Description desc = info.getDescription();
            if (desc != null && !desc.getContent().isEmpty()) {
                System.out.println("\nDescription:");
                System.out.println(desc.getContent());
            }
            
            // First 10 items
            System.out.println("\n=== First Items ===");
            List<StreamInfoItem> items = info.getRelatedItems();
            int displayCount = Math.min(10, items.size());
            
            for (int i = 0; i < displayCount; i++) {
                StreamInfoItem item = items.get(i);
                System.out.println((i + 1) + ". " + item.getName());
                System.out.println("   Uploader: " + item.getUploaderName());
                System.out.println("   Duration: " + item.getDuration() + "s");
            }
            
            // Check for more items
            if (info.getNextPage() != null) {
                System.out.println("\nMore items available...");
            }
            
        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

Best Practices

Handle pagination carefully - Large playlists may require many requests
Check playlist type - Mixes and auto-generated playlists behave differently
Cache results - Avoid re-extracting the same playlist repeatedly
Implement rate limiting - Add delays between pagination requests
Check errors - Use getErrors() to handle partial extraction failures

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Supported Services

Overview

Basic Usage

Playlist Metadata

Playlist Types

Sub-Channel Information

Stream Count Handling

Using PlaylistExtractor Directly

Error Handling

Complete Example

Best Practices

Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Supported Services

Documentation Index

​Overview

​Basic Usage

​Playlist Metadata

​Playlist Types

​Sub-Channel Information

​Efficient Pagination

​Stream Count Handling

​Using PlaylistExtractor Directly

​Error Handling

​Complete Example

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Basic Usage

Playlist Metadata

Playlist Types

Sub-Channel Information

Efficient Pagination

Stream Count Handling

Using PlaylistExtractor Directly

Error Handling

Complete Example

Best Practices

Next Steps