How do I query the vimeo api for a specific video title? - node.js

Question

Hi I'm querying for a specific video by title - and at the moment I get mixed results.
my videos are all named with a consecutive number at the end ie ANDNOW2022_00112, ANDNOW2022_00113 etc
When I search /videos/?fields=uri,name&query=ANDNOW2022_00112 I get all of the videos returned
I've also tried the query_fields using
/me/videos?query_fields=title&sort=alphabetical&query=ANDNOW2022_00112
I just want the one I've searched for - or a no results returned.
At the moment I get all of the videos with AN2022 in the title/name. Now 'usually' the one I searched for is at the top of the list but not everytime.
Any tips appreciated.

Answer 1

Okay I'm not going mad :)
This is from Vimeo and is here for those with the same issue - basically to get t to work you need to understand that:
After speaking with our engineers, the current search capability are not "Exact" search.
When adding numbers or underscores the search is split into parts so "ANDNOW2022_00112" is transforming the query into the parts "andnow2022", "andnow", "2022", and "00112". So this is why your seeing these results. Our engineering team are in the process of improving the search capabilities and hope to provide a release in the near future.
Which means for now I'll have to rename my files.

Answer 2

Preface:
Vimeo does not currently offer an API endpoint for exact title search — but even if it did — it's possible to upload multiple videos and assign them identical titles. There's no way to use the API to positively identify a video by title — this is why every uploaded video is assigned a unique ID.
Solution:
Because the API returns data which includes an array of video objects, you can solve this problem in the same way you'd solve any similar problem in JavaScript where you have to find an element in an array: Array.prototype.find()
Here's how you can apply it to your problem:
Query the API using the parameters you described in your question.
You might also be interested in using the sort and direction parameters for greater control over a deterministic sort order.
Find the first item in the returned array of video objects that match your expected text exactly, and return it (or undefined if it doesn't exist)
Here's a code example with some static data from the API that was used to search for the video Mercedes Benz from the user egarage — note that I've omitted quite a few (irrelevant) fields from the response in order to keep the example small:
// Mocking fetch for this example:
function fetch (_requestInfo, _init) {
const staticJson = `{"total":2,"page":1,"per_page":25,"paging":{"next":null,"previous":null,"first":"/users/egarage/videos?query_fields=title&query=Mercedes%20Benz&sort=alphabetical&direction=asc&page=1","last":"/users/egarage/videos?query_fields=title&query=Mercedes%20Benz&sort=alphabetical&direction=asc&page=1"},"data":[{"uri":"/videos/61310450","name":"50th Anniversary of the Pagoda SL -- Mercedes-Benz Classic Vehicles","description":"Penned by designer Paul Bracq, the W113 SL had big shoes to fill: it had the incredible task of succeeding the original and instantly iconic 300 SL Gullwing. But you can't copy a legend, so Bracq designed one of his own. Straight lines replaced curves and a low-slung roof was replaced by a high top design that gave the car its nickname: the Pagoda.\\n\\nMUSIC: Developer Over Time","type":"video","link":"https://vimeo.com/61310450"},{"uri":"/videos/55837293","name":"Mercedes Benz","description":"To celebrate Mercedes Benz 125th birthday, the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance showcased the models that trace the lineage to Benz and Daimler —particularly Mercedes-Benz. This tribute chronicled early racing greats, coachbuilt classics, and preservation cars. Produced in association with DriveCulture.","type":"video","link":"https://vimeo.com/55837293"}]}`;
return Promise.resolve(new Response(staticJson));
}
async function fetchVideoByTitle (token, userId, videoTitle) {
const url = new URL(`https://api.vimeo.com/users/${userId}/videos`);
url.searchParams.set("query_fields", "title");
url.searchParams.set("query", videoTitle);
url.searchParams.set("sort", "alphabetical");
url.searchParams.set("direction", "asc");
const headers = new Headers([
["Authorization", `Bearer ${token}`],
]);
const response = await fetch(url.href, {headers});
const parsedJson = await response.json();
// Find the video that matches (if it exists):
const maybeFirstVideoObj = parsedJson.data.find(video => video.name === videoTitle);
return maybeFirstVideoObj;
}
async function main () {
const video = await fetchVideoByTitle(
"YOU_ACTUAL_TOKEN",
"egarage",
"Mercedes Benz",
);
console.log(video); // {name: "Mercedes Benz", link: "https://vimeo.com/55837293", ...}
}
main();