Reference Guide

Attributes

This section explains how to construct a <div> element for a subscription button. The lists below explain the element's required and optional attributes. Optional attributes let you control the button's layout and theme as well as choose whether to display the channel's subscriber count.

Required attributes

  • class – Set the value to g-ytsubscribe. This class identifies the <div> element as a container for a subscription button and enables YouTube to dynamically resize the embedded button as explained in the next section.

  • You must specify a value for one of the following two attributes:

    • data-channel – The name of the channel associated with the button. Sample value: GoogleDevelopers.
    • data-channelid – The channel ID associated with the button. Sample value: UC_x5XG1OV2P6uZZ5FSM9Ttw. You can retrieve your channel ID in your YouTube account settings or by using the APIs Explorer at the end of this document. Learn more about working with channel IDs.

Optional attributes

  • data-layout – The format for the button. Valid attribute values are:

    • default – Displays a play button icon and the word 'subscribe' in the user's language, which is selected using either the user's language setting or location.
    • full – Displays the channel's avatar and channel title in addition to the standard button.

  • data-theme – Specifies the color scheme to use for the button. Valid values are default and dark. The dark theme is intended for applications that place buttons over a darker background element.

  • data-count – Indicates whether the button displays the number of subscribers that the channel has. The button's default behavior is to display the subscriber count. Valid values are default and hidden.

  • data-onytevent – Note: This attribute has been deprecated.

Events

Note: The Subscribe Button's subscribe and unsubscribe events have been deprecated. Similarly, the data-ytonevent attribute, which could previously be added to the widget element to specify a listener for event notifications, has also been deprecated.

Dynamic rendering

As an alternative to using the standard embed code from the configuration tool, you can dynamically render the Subscribe Button. This approach prevents the API's JavaScript from traversing the entire DOM to locate buttons, which can improve button rendering time.

As a part of the Google+ JavaScript API, the Subscribe Button supports standard go and render methods, which can be used to dynamically render subscription buttons. For example, you could use these methods to render a button that is not present when the DOM ready event fires, such as on a page that is updated with AJAX.

Method Description
gapi.ytsubscribe.go(
  opt_container
)		 Renders all subscription buttons in the specified container. Use this method if the subscription button elements that you want to render already exist. For example, if your application sends an AJAX request that returns the complete <div> element for a Subscribe Button, call the go() method to render the button.
opt_container
The HTML element that contains the subscription buttons to render. Specify either the element's ID or the DOM element itself. If this parameter is omitted, all subscription buttons on the page are rendered.
gapi.ytsubscribe.render(
  container,
  parameters
)		 Renders the Subscribe Button within the specified container. Use this method if the element that will contain the Subscribe Button does not already exist and needs to be constructed.
container
Identifies the empty HTML element in which the Subscribe Button will be rendered. Specify either the element's ID or the DOM element itself.
parameters
An object containing subscription button attributes as key:value pairs, such as {"channel": "GoogleDevelopers", "layout": "full"}.

Render a button with gapi.ytsubscribe.go

The example below shows the code that you would use to call the gapi.ytsubscribe.go method to dynamically render a button when the link is clicked.

Note: The configuration tool above also uses the go method to render a new button when you update the button options or code.

Render a button with gapi.ytsubscribe.render

The example below demonstrates how to call the gapi.ytsubscribe.render method to dynamically render a button when the link is clicked: