anarios/return-youtube-dislike

★ 13,580JavaScriptAudience · generalComplexity · 1/5LicenseSetup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Return YouTube Dislike))
    What it does
      Restores dislike count
      Shows like ratio
    How it works
      Archived data
      Crowd estimates
    Platforms
      Chrome extension
      Firefox extension
      Userscript
    Public API
      By video ID
      Rate limited
      JSON response

mindmap root((Return YouTube Dislike)) What it does Restores dislike count Shows like ratio How it works Archived data Crowd estimates Platforms Chrome extension Firefox extension Userscript Public API By video ID Rate limited JSON response

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Install the Chrome or Firefox extension to see dislike counts restored on any YouTube video

USE CASE 2

Use the public API to fetch like, dislike, and view counts for any YouTube video by its ID in your own app

USE CASE 3

Build a browser userscript to restore dislike counts in browsers not supported by the official extension

Tech stack

JavaScript

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Open source under GPLv3, you can use, modify, and distribute it freely, but any modified version must also be released under the same GPLv3 license.

In plain English

Return YouTube Dislike is a browser extension that brings back the dislike count on YouTube videos. In November 2021, Google announced it would hide the dislike count from viewers, and in December 2021 it also removed the dislike count from the YouTube API entirely. This extension was built to restore that information for people who want to gauge video quality before watching. The extension is available for Chrome and Firefox. A JavaScript userscript version works for other browsers. Once installed, it shows a dislike count next to the like count on YouTube videos, similar to how YouTube displayed it before the change. Because YouTube no longer provides actual dislike counts through its API, the extension relies on a combination of previously archived data and estimates based on aggregated data from extension users. The counts shown are approximations rather than exact figures, particularly for older videos where less historical data is available. The project also exposes a public API that third-party developers can use to retrieve like and dislike data for any YouTube video by video ID. The API returns a JSON object with the like count, estimated dislike count, view count, and a rating value. Usage is rate-limited to 100 requests per minute and 10,000 per day. Attribution to the project is required for any third-party use. The README is available in over 20 languages. The project is open source under the GPLv3 license and accepts contributions, with a contribution guide in the repository. Donations are accepted to help cover operating costs.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Using the Return YouTube Dislike public API, write a JavaScript function that takes a YouTube video ID and returns the estimated dislike count, like count, and view count as a formatted string

Prompt 2

Build a simple web page where a user pastes a YouTube video URL, your code extracts the video ID, calls the Return YouTube Dislike API, and displays the like-to-dislike ratio as a horizontal bar chart

Prompt 3

Write a Python script that reads a list of YouTube video IDs from a CSV file, fetches the like/dislike data from the Return YouTube Dislike API for each one, and outputs a ranked table sorted by approval rating

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