channelid

Channel ID is a label used in information systems to uniquely identify a communication channel within a defined scope. A channel represents a conduit for messages, data, or events between participants, components, or services. The channel ID enables software to address, route, and apply policies to that channel, and it is typically immutable once created.

Channel IDs appear across many domains. In public web APIs, a channelId parameter is used to refer to a specific content creator’s channel, for example in the YouTube Data API where channelId identifies a YouTube channel to fetch metadata or videos. In chat and collaboration platforms, channels within a workspace or server have unique IDs used in API calls to post messages, retrieve history, or manage permissions; Slack uses identifiers that begin with C for channels and D for direct messages, while Discord channels are identified by numeric snowflake IDs.

Channel IDs are often generated by the service at channel creation and may be locally or globally unique. They are typically represented as strings of digits, sometimes with alphanumeric characters, and may be included in URLs or API endpoints to reference the channel. Access control typically relies on the owning system rather than the ID alone, and exposing an ID does not by itself grant access.

See also: channel, identifier, API, data stream.