# Source: https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/guides/implementation/comments.md.txt

# Implementation: Comments

The [comments.markAsSpam](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments/markAsSpam) method is no longer supported.

The following examples show how to use the YouTube Data API (v3) to perform functions related to comments.

## Retrieve comments for a video

To retrieve a list of comment threads for a video, call the [commentThreads.list](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads/list) method. Set the following parameter values in your request:

- [part](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads/list#part): Set the parameter value to `snippet` if you only want to retrieve top-level comments or to `snippet,replies` if you also want to retrieve replies to top-level comments. (Note that a `commentThread` resource does not necessarily contain all replies to a comment, and you need to use the [comments.list](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments/list) method if you want to retrieve all replies for a particular comment.)

- [videoId](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads/list#videoId): Specify the YouTube video ID of the video for which you are retrieving comments.

The request below retrieves comments and comment replies related to the video of the keynote speech at the 2014 Google I/O conference, which has the video ID `wtLJPvx7-ys`.  

```
https://developers.google.com/apis-explorer/#p/youtube/v3/youtube.commentThreads.list?
part=snippet,replies
&videoId=wtLJPvx7-ys
```

## Retrieve comments about or associated with a channel

The API supports the ability to either retrieve comments threads about a channel or to retrieve all comment threads associated with a channel. In the latter case, the API could contain comments about the channel or about any of the channel's videos.

<br />

- To retrieve comments about a channel, follow the instructions for [retrieving comments for a video](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/guides/implementation/comments#comments). However, instead of setting the `videoId` parameter, set the [channelId](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads/list#channelId) parameter to identify the channel.

  <br />

- To retrieve comments associated with a channel, follow the instructions for [retrieving comments for a video](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/guides/implementation/comments#comments). However, instead of setting the `videoId` parameter, set the [allThreadsRelatedToChannelId](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads/list#allThreadsRelatedToChannelId) parameter to identify the channel.

  <br />

<br />

The request below retrieves all comment threads associated with the **GoogleDevelopers** YouTube channel:  

```
https://developers.google.com/apis-explorer/#p/youtube/v3/youtube.commentThreads.list?
part=snippet,replies
&allThreadsRelatedToChannelId=UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw
```

## Adding a comment

Call the [commentThreads.insert](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads/insert) method to add a new, top-level comment to a channel or a video. Set the request's [part](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads/insert#part) parameter value to `snippet`. The body of the request is a [commentThread resource](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads#resource) in which the [snippet.topLevelComment[].snippet[].textOriginal](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads#snippet.topLevelComment) property contains the comment text. This request must be authorized using OAuth 2.0.

- To add a comment to a channel, use the [snippet.channelId](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads#snippet.channelId) property to identify the channel.
- To add a comment to a video, use the [snippet.channelId](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads#snippet.channelId) property to identify the channel that uploaded the video. Also use the [snippet.videoId](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads#snippet.videoId) property to identify the video.

The following sample request adds a comment to a video.  

```
https://developers.google.com/apis-explorer/#p/youtube/v3/youtube.commentThreads.insert?
part=snippet
```

The request inserts the resource shown below.  

```
{
 "snippet": {
  "channelId": "UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw",
  "topLevelComment": {
   "snippet": {
    "textOriginal": "This video is awesome!"
   }
  },
  "videoId": "MILSirUni5E"
 }
}
```

## Reply to a comment

Call the [comments.insert](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments/insert) method to reply to a comment. Set the request's [part](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments/insert#part) parameter value to `snippet`. The body of the request is a [comment resource](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments#resource) in which the [snippet.textOriginal](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments#snippet.textOriginal) property contains the comment text. The [snippet.parentId](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments#snippet.parentId) property identifies the comment associated with the reply, and it's value is a [commentThread resource's ID](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads#id). This request must be authorized using OAuth 2.0.

The following sample request adds a reply to an existing comment.  

```
https://developers.google.com/apis-explorer/#p/youtube/v3/youtube.comments.insert?
part=snippet
```

The request inserts the resource shown below. To execute the request in the APIs Explorer, use the `snippet.parentId` property's value to identify the top-level comment associated with the reply. In a `commentThread` resource, the [snippet.topLevelComment[].id](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads#snippet.topLevelComment) property specifies the resource's unique ID.  

```
{
  "snippet": {
    "parentId": "COMMENT_THREAD_ID",
    "textOriginal": "That is true."
  }
}
```

## Update a top-level comment or comment reply

To update the text of a top-level comment or a reply to a top-level comment, call the [comments.update](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments/update) method. Set the `part` parameter's value to `snippet`. In the request body, the `id` property identifies the comment that you are modifying and the new comment text.

<br />

- In a `commentThread` resource, which identifies a top-level comment, the [snippet.topLevelComment[].id](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads#snippet.topLevelComment) property specifies the comment's unique ID.
- In a `comment` resource, which can identify either a top-level comment or a reply to a comment, the [id](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments#id) property specifies the comment's unique ID.

<br />

The sample request below updates the text of an existing comment.  

```
https://developers.google.com/apis-explorer/#p/youtube/v3/youtube.comments.update?
part=snippet
```

The request body contains the JSON snippet shown below. To execute the request in the APIs Explorer, set the `id` property's value to identify the comment that you are updating. The request must be authorized by the comment's author.  

```
{
  "id": "COMMENT_ID",
  "snippet": {
    "textOriginal": "That is true."
  }
}
```

## Set a comment's moderation status

To set a comment's moderation status, call the [comments.setModerationStatus](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments/setModerationStatus) method. This action is used when a channel owner moderates comments on the channel or the channel's videos.

When calling this method, set the `id` parameter's value to identify the comment. Also set the `moderationStatus` parameter to the desired status. A comment's status can only be adjusted by the owner of the channel where the comment appears.

- **Step 1: Retrieve comments that are being held for review**

  Call the [commentThreads.list](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads/list) method to retrieve comments for the channel or video. Set the [moderationStatus](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/commentThreads/list#moderationStatus) parameter's value to `heldForReview`. The API response could be used to display a list of comments with an option for the channel owner to publish or reject each one.
- **Step 2: Update the moderation status of a comment**

  Call the [comments.setModerationStatus](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments/setModerationStatus) method to update the comment's status. Use the [id](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments/setModerationStatus#id) parameter's value to specify the comment's unique ID. Set the [moderationStatus](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments/setModerationStatus#moderationStatus) parameter to either `published` or `rejected`. If you are rejecting a comment, you can also set the [banAuthor](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments/setModerationStatus#banAuthor) parameter to `true` to prevent the author from making additional comments on the channel or video.

**Note:** The API does not provide a way to list or otherwise discover rejected comments. However, you can still change the moderation status of a rejected comment to `published` if the comment's unique ID is known. In addition, once a comment's moderation status is updated to either `published` or `rejected`, the moderation status cannot be changed back to `heldForReview`.

## Remove a comment

This example shows how to delete a comment. The example has the following steps:

- **Step 1: Retrieve the comment ID**

  Follow the steps above to [retrieve a list of comments](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/guides/implementation/comments#comments) for a video or channel. Remember that a comment can only be deleted by its author, so you will need to compare the value of a `comment` resource's [snippet.authorChannelId.value](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments#snippet.authorChannelId.value) property to the authenticated user's channel ID to determine whether the user can delete that particular comment.
- **Step 2: Delete the comment or comment thread**

  Once you have identified the ID of the comment thread or comment that you are deleting, call the [comments.delete](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments/delete) method to delete that comment. Use the [id](https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/comments/delete#id) parameter value to identify the comment ID or comment thread ID that you are deleting. The request must be authorized using OAuth 2.0. If you are testing this query in the APIs Explorer, you will need to substitute a valid comment ID or comment thread ID for the `id` parameter value in the request below.  

  ```
  https://developers.google.com/apis-explorer/#p/youtube/v3/youtube.comments.delete?
  id=COMMENT_ID
  ```