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How to Add YouTube Playlist to a React App

This article will use a simple project to explain how to use the @codesweetly/react-youtube-playlist library to add a YouTube playlist to your React application.

Here is a demo of what we will build:

http://localhost:3000

Without any further ado, let's get started with the first step.

Step 1: Get the Right Node and NPM Version​

Make sure you have Node 10.16 (or greater) and NPM 5.6 (or greater) installed on your system.

note

Step 2: Create a New React App​

Use Vite to create a new React app.

>_ Terminal
npm create vite@latest

Alternatively, you can use Yarn or pnpm to configure your project like so:

Yarn Installation
yarn create vite
PNPM Installation
pnpm create vite
info

The choice of Vite is purely a random one. The concept of this tutorial applies to other React applications such as Create React App, Next.js, and Gatsby.

In other words, don't worry if you are unfamiliar with ViteJS. We will only use its basic features to learn how to add a YouTube playlist to your React app. So, relax—you are in good hands. 😊

After running the above command, Vite will ask the following questions:

  • Ok to proceed? (y) Enter the y key on your keyboard to proceed.
  • Project name: You can name it anything you wish—for instance, react-youtube-playlist-demo-001.
  • Select a framework: Use your keyboard to select React.
  • Select a variant: Use your keyboard to select JavaScript + SWC.

Once you've answered all the questions, Vite will create your new app.

Step 3: Go Inside the Project Directory​

After the installation process, navigate into the project directory like so:

>_ Terminal
cd react-youtube-playlist-demo-001

Step 4: Install the Default Dependencies​

Using your text editor, install the default dependencies Vite pre-specified in the package.json file.

npm install

Step 5: Install the React YouTube Playlist Package​

Using your text editor, install the React YouTube playlist package locally.

npm install @codesweetly/react-youtube-playlist --save
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Step 6: Import the React YouTube Playlist Package​

Open the App.jsx file located in the src folder of your Vite application.

Highlight of the App.jsx file

The App.jsx file within the Vite App's src directory

Then, delete all its content. And import the YouTube playlist package like so:

App.jsx
import { YouTubePlaylist } from "@codesweetly/react-youtube-playlist";
import "./App.css";

Step 7: Render the React YouTube Playlist Package​

After importing the playlist package, render it to the DOM as follows:

App.jsx
import { YouTubePlaylist } from "@codesweetly/react-youtube-playlist";
import "./App.css";

function App() {
  return (
    <>
      <YouTubePlaylist
        apiKey="YOUR_YOUTUBE_API_KEY"
        playlistId="YOUR_YOUTUBE_PLAYLIST_ID"
        uniqueName="THIS_PLAYLIST_INSTANCE_NAME"
      />
    </>
  );
}

export default App;

The YouTubePlaylist library accepts three required props:

PropsTypeDefaultDescription
apiKeystringundefined(Required) Your project's YouTube API key. (Learn how to get an API key)
playlistIdstringundefined

(Required) The ID of the YouTube playlist you wish to display.

Note: A playlist's ID is the list of characters after the "list=" in the URL—for instance, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=playlistID.

uniqueNamestringundefined

(Required) A unique name for the <YouTubePlaylist> instance.

Note:

Note for Remix users​

Remix users should add "@codesweetly/react-youtube-playlist" to their remix.config.js file:

remix.config.js
/** @type {import('@remix-run/dev').AppConfig} */
module.exports = {
  ignoredRouteFiles: ["**/.*"],
  serverDependenciesToBundle: ["@codesweetly/react-youtube-playlist"],
  serverModuleFormat: "cjs",
};

The serverDependenciesToBundle field tells Remix to transpile and include the "@codesweetly/react-youtube-playlist" package in the server bundle.

Note for NextJS users​

NextJS users should declare the "use client" directive at the top of their file. It should sit above all other import statements like so:

"use client";
import { YouTubePlaylist } from "@codesweetly/react-youtube-playlist";
import { ImageGallery } from "react-image-grid-gallery";

The "use client" directive tells NextJS to consider all modules imported into the page as part of the Client Component module graph.

The YouTubePlaylist package works only as a Client Component because it uses React's State and Lifecycle effects, such as useState() and useEffect().

Step 8: Run the Application​

Take a look at your app in the browser by running the following:

npm run dev
tip

Use the react-image-grid-gallery library to add image galleries to your React applications.

Live Demo​

Below is a live demo that uses the React YouTube Playlist package to display CodeSweetly's "Reference" playlist.

Ball TriangleAnimated representation of three balls

Overview​

Although we used the @codesweetly/react-youtube-playlist library on a simple project to create a YouTube playlist, you can use the same principles on any React application.

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