LYTE Playlist Grid

A lightweight WordPress add-on for WP YouTube Lyte. Display all publicly accessible videos from a YouTube playlist in a responsive grid. Each video is rendered by your existing LYTE player; the add-on does not introduce another YouTube player.

An independent community extension. Not affiliated with YouTube, Google, or the developers of WP YouTube Lyte.

Step-by-step guide (German), including the YouTube API key setup: YouTube Playlist in WordPress einbinden. See it live on mizine.de.

What it does

• Fetches a public YouTube playlist through the YouTube Data API v3.
• Automatically reflects playlist changes when its 12-hour WordPress cache expires and the page is next requested.
• Provides one LYTE thumbnail/player per unique video, with its title below.
• Defaults to 3 columns on desktops, 2 on tablets, and 1 on phones. Configurable 1–4 desktop columns.
• Loads this add-on's CSS only when the shortcode is used; preserves other LYTE players' styling.
• Reuses the API key configured in WP YouTube Lyte (including its lyte_filter_yt_api_key filter).
• Handles paginated playlists (up to 1,000 source entries), skips private/deleted placeholders and repeated video IDs.
• Keeps the latest successful playlist as a fallback during temporary API outages.
• Shows diagnostic errors to administrators only; visitors do not see API error details.
• German translation included.

Requirements

• WordPress 6.0+ and PHP 7.4+
• Active WP YouTube Lyte plugin
• A valid YouTube Data API v3 key in WP YouTube Lyte settings, permitted to call playlistItems.list from your server
• A publicly accessible playlist

API quota and any restrictions on your key are governed by Google. An HTTP-referrer-only API key may fail on server-side requests; configure applicable restrictions for the server instead.

Installation

1. Install and activate WP YouTube Lyte, then configure its YouTube Data API v3 key.

2. In WordPress, choose Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin and upload the distributable ZIP from Releases.

3. Activate LYTE Playlist Grid.

4. Add a Shortcode block to a page:

   [lyte_playlist_grid id="PL-DHsM-Gc8c9rWf4gqzhkBbdwtpuDLOaB"]

   For four desktop columns:

   [lyte_playlist_grid id="PL-DHsM-Gc8c9rWf4gqzhkBbdwtpuDLOaB" columns="4"]

This is the playlist ID after list= in the YouTube playlist URL.

Caching and troubleshooting

The successful playlist response is cached for 12 hours in a WordPress transient. A failed refresh is cached for 15 minutes. The last successful result is saved as an expiring 29-day transient and used if the API becomes unavailable. During migration, any remaining unlimited backups written by v1.0.0 are removed because their age is unknown. A full-page cache or CDN can delay the visible refresh beyond 12 hours. To force an immediate reload, delete the relevant lpg_cache_<md5 of playlist ID> transient using an appropriate administration tool; do not delete the backup unless necessary.

If the grid does not appear:

1. Check that WP YouTube Lyte is active.
2. Check that its API key is configured and works for server-side YouTube Data API requests.
3. Confirm that the playlist is public and its URL has a list= ID.
4. Check the page as a WordPress administrator: error messages are hidden from visitors.
5. Inspect WordPress and CDN caches; LYTE itself can cache thumbnails/video metadata separately.

On page builders or other contexts where the shortcode is evaluated after wp_head, WordPress may print the grid stylesheet as a late style. Standard posts/pages with a direct shortcode receive it in the head.

Upgrade, removal and licensing

Migrating from Technickr LYTE Playlist Grid (v1.0–1.1)

This is a newly named plugin directory, not an in-place update. First deactivate the old plugin, then install and activate LYTE Playlist Grid. Verify the gallery still works, then uninstall the old plugin. Do not keep both activated. Existing [technickr_playlist] shortcodes continue working without edits, while new pages should use [lyte_playlist_grid].

The newly named plugin starts with fresh lpg_ transients; old tpg_ transient caches are not shared. Old indefinite backup options are deleted once if any remain. On plugin uninstallation (not deactivation), this plugin deletes its own playlist cache/error transients and saved fallback lists. It does not alter LYTE settings.

Licensed under GPL-2.0-or-later; see LICENSE.

Development

Run the standalone smoke tests without a WordPress install:

php -l lyte-playlist-grid.php
php -l uninstall.php
php tests/smoke.php

These tests mock the WordPress/YouTube boundary; they are not a substitute for testing inside a real WordPress installation.

See CHANGES.md, CONTRIBUTING.md and README.de.md.

Maintained by Technickr. The plugin is an independent add-on and does not modify the WP YouTube Lyte plugin.