Free · No sign-in · Videos and channels
YouTube Video Category Checker
Find the category, tags, channel keywords and topics of any YouTube video or channel, and copy them in one click.
How to check a YouTube video's category
- 01
Copy a video or channel link
Copy the address of a YouTube video, Short or channel. A channel's @handle works too.
- 02
Paste it above
Press Check category. TubeKit reads the public details YouTube shares for that video or channel.
- 03
Read and copy
See the category, tags, keywords and topics. Copy them all at once, or click a single tag to copy it.
The YouTube category, tags and keywords the watch page hides
YouTube stopped showing categories and tags to viewers. TubeKit reads them from the YouTube Data API.
- Video and channel categories
- See the exact category of a video, and the main category of a channel from its latest 50 uploads.
- Hidden video tags
- Every tag the creator added, ready to copy as a comma-separated list.
- Channel keywords and topics
- The keywords a channel set for itself, plus the topics YouTube assigned to it.
- Free, no sign-in
- No account, no extension. Paste a link and get the answer in seconds.
All 15 YouTube video categories
These are the categories creators can choose in YouTube Studio, with the ID the YouTube Data API uses for each. The checker above shows both for any video.
| Category | ID | Good fit for |
|---|---|---|
| Film & Animation | 1 | Short films, animation, trailers and film reviews. |
| Autos & Vehicles | 2 | Car reviews, repairs, road trips and anything with an engine. |
| Music | 10 | Music videos, covers, lessons, live sets and lyric videos. |
| Pets & Animals | 15 | Pets, wildlife, animal care and training. |
| Sports | 17 | Matches, highlights, training and fitness. |
| Travel & Events | 19 | Travel guides, vlogs from abroad, festivals and events. |
| Gaming | 20 | Gameplay, walkthroughs, game reviews and esports. |
| People & Blogs | 22 | Personal vlogs, daily life and talking-head videos. YouTube's default. |
| Comedy | 23 | Sketches, stand-up, pranks and parody. |
| Entertainment | 24 | Reactions, challenges, pop culture and shows. |
| News & Politics | 25 | News reports, commentary and political analysis. |
| Howto & Style | 26 | Tutorials, DIY, cooking, beauty and fashion. |
| Education | 27 | Lessons, explainers, courses and study help. |
| Science & Technology | 28 | Tech reviews, coding, gadgets and science explainers. |
| Nonprofits & Activism | 29 | Charities, causes, campaigns and community work. |
People & Blogs is the default, so a video set to it may simply never have been changed.
When creators check a category
YouTube no longer shows a video's category to viewers, but creators and marketers still look it up all the time. These are the most common reasons.
- Study similar channels
- Check the top videos in your niche to see which category they use. If the biggest channels all agree, that is a strong hint for your own uploads.
- Audit your own uploads
- Paste your channel to see the category mix of your latest 50 uploads. A few videos left on People & Blogs, the default, are easy to spot and fix.
- Pick one before you publish
- Not sure whether a cooking tutorial belongs in Howto & Style or Entertainment? Look up three or four videos like it and follow the majority.
- Vet a channel for a sponsorship
- Before a brand deal or a collaboration, the main category, keywords and topics show in seconds what a channel is really about.
How to choose the right category
The category is one of many signals YouTube uses to understand a video. It won't make a video go viral, but a wrong one is an easy mistake to avoid.
- Think about the viewer
- Pick the category that matches what someone wants when they click. A cooking video that teaches a recipe is Howto & Style; a cooking competition with jokes is Entertainment.
- Stay consistent
- Use the same category for videos of the same kind. A clear pattern across your channel helps YouTube understand who your videos are for.
- What a wrong pick costs
- A wrong category won't get a video removed. It sends YouTube a mixed signal about the audience, which can place the video next to content its viewers don't want.
- Fix it any time
- Changing the category in YouTube Studio is free and doesn't reset views or comments. If an older video sits in the wrong one, just update it.
Frequently asked questions
Copy the video link, paste it above and press Check category. The category shows at the top of the result, with its ID.
YouTube doesn't give channels a category, only videos. Paste the channel link and TubeKit counts the categories of its latest 50 uploads. The most common one is the channel's main category.
YouTube no longer shows tags on the watch page. Paste the video link above to see every tag, then copy them all or one at a time. If none show up, the creator didn't add any.
Paste the channel link or @handle above. TubeKit lists the keywords the channel set in YouTube Studio, with a button to copy them all.
Creators can pick from 15 categories: Film & Animation, Autos & Vehicles, Music, Pets & Animals, Sports, Travel & Events, Gaming, People & Blogs, Comedy, Entertainment, News & Politics, Howto & Style, Education, Science & Technology, and Nonprofits & Activism.
In YouTube Studio, open Content, choose the video and go to Details. Press Show more, pick a new Category and save.
People & Blogs, mostly because it is the default. Many creators never change it, so a lot of vlogs, tutorials and gaming videos end up there.
Only a little. YouTube mainly looks at the title, description, thumbnail and how viewers respond. The category is a small extra hint about the video's audience. You can test the title and thumbnail together with the Thumbnail Preview.
No. Each video has exactly one category. For a channel, TubeKit shows the most common category among its latest 50 uploads.
Yes. Shorts have a category just like regular videos. Paste the Shorts link, youtube.com/shorts/…, and press Check category.
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