ReelShort Scraper - Short-Drama Catalog, Cast & Engagement

Scrape ReelShort, the vertical short-drama catalog: titles, synopses, themes and the full tag taxonomy, episode counts, cast with IMDb links, view and collect counts. Search by keyword, walk curated shelves or genres, or paste title links.

Why This Scraper?

• Four ways in. Keyword search, ten curated shelves (New Release, TOP, Reel Original and more), the 216-tag genre taxonomy, or pasted title/shelf/genre/search links.
• Fuller rows than the catalog-only incumbents. Every title carries its synopsis, full tag list with categories, engagement signals and, with enrichment on, cast with IMDb links, video, duration and dates: 52 fields.
• Keyword search the rival lacks. The incumbent only walks shelves and categories; this actor adds full-text search across the catalog.
• Resumable and incremental. Interrupted runs resume by run ID; scheduled runs emit only new, updated and expired rows.
• Honest about limits. ReelShort publishes no title reviews or per-episode lists on any public surface; the actor documents both instead of inventing them.
• Priced to beat the incumbent. Tiered pricing undercuts the rival flat rate from Bronze down.

Use Cases

• Who: trend analysts tracking what charts by theme, trope and release date.
• Who: casting researchers using the cast index with IMDb links no public database covers.
• Who: studios and licensors comparing engagement signals across titles and genres.

Data You Get

Sample shape: one row per title, from a live record.

Field	Example
title	The Billionaire's Sister Strikes Back
bookId	3169557e34eb
url	https://www.reelshort.com/episodes/episode-1-...
synopsis	Full synopsis text
themes	Billionaire, Revenge
tags	7 taxonomy entries with categories
readCount	14546455
collectCount	183089
score	9183 (search cards)
chapterCount	47
durationSec	233 (first episode)
cast	[{name, photo, imdbUrl}] (when published)
imdbId	tt37855561 (when published)
releaseDate	2026-09-01T00:00:00+00:00
cover	Cover image URL
bookSource	Source code from the title payload
videoUrl	First-episode video URL
genre	Affair (genre mode)
searchKeyword	billionaire (search mode)
changeType	NEW

How to Use

1. Pick a mode: SEARCH (keywords), SHELF (curated shelves), GENRE (genre/trope names or the whole tag index), or URLS (pasted links).
2. Keep fetchDetails on for full title pages (cast, IMDb, full tags, video, dates), or switch it off for faster card-only rows.
3. Set maxItems to bound the run. Every mode paginates until the catalog ends or the cap hits.

Example input (keyword search):

{"mode": "SEARCH", "searchQueries": ["billionaire"], "maxItems": 20, "fetchDetails": true}

Example input (one shelf):

{"mode": "SHELF", "shelves": ["new-release"], "maxItems": 20, "fetchDetails": true}

Example input (genres):

{"mode": "GENRE", "genres": ["Affair", "Billionaire"], "maxItems": 20}

Example input (pasted links):

{"mode": "URLS", "listingUrls": ["https://www.reelshort.com/episodes/episode-1-..."]}

Run it from your code

from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("abotapi/reelshort-com-scraper").call(run_input={
    "mode": "SEARCH",
    "searchQueries": ["billionaire"],
    "maxItems": 20,
    "fetchDetails": True,
})

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('abotapi/reelshort-com-scraper').call({
    mode: 'SEARCH',
    searchQueries: ['billionaire'],
    maxItems: 20,
    fetchDetails: true,
});

Sample shape: one row per title, from a live record.

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
mode	string	SHELF	SEARCH, SHELF, GENRE or URLS
searchQueries	string[]	,	SEARCH mode keywords
shelves	string[]	all ten	SHELF mode shelf keys
genres	string[]	,	GENRE mode plain names
crawlTagIndex	boolean	false	GENRE mode: walk the whole tag index
maxTags	integer	0 (unlimited)	GENRE mode tag cap with the index on
listingUrls	string[]	,	URLS mode pasted links
fetchDetails	boolean	true	Read every title page
maxPages	integer	0 (unlimited)	Page cap per scope
maxItems	integer	20	Title cap (0 = unlimited)
proxy	object	datacenter	Connection (Residential recommended)
resumeFromRunId	string	,	Resume an interrupted run
incrementalMode	boolean	false	Emit only changed rows on schedules
stateKey	string	,	Custom incremental baseline key
emitUnchanged	boolean	false	Also emit unchanged rows
emitExpired	boolean	false	Emit tombstones for vanished titles
ignoreFieldsForChanges	string[]	,	Extra fields excluded from change detection (incremental mode only)
mcpConnectors	string[]	,	Forward rows into your apps
notionParentPageUrl	string	,	Notion export target page
maxNotifyListings	integer	50	Connector export cap

Output Example

Sample shape: one row per title, from a live record.

Example row (enriched title):

{
  "title": "The Billionaire's Sister Strikes Back",
  "readCount": 14546455,
  "collectCount": 183089,
  "chapterCount": 47,
  "tags": [{"name": "Billionaire", "category": null}],
  "changeType": "NEW"
}

Plan Requirement

Runs on the datacenter connection by default (measured open on every endpoint, works on every plan). For the most reliable results, select Residential proxies; the actor escalates to residential automatically when the default is refused (billed to your plan).

Send results into your apps (MCP connectors)

Add connector IDs under mcpConnectors to forward rows into your apps (Notion and more) after the run. Export is fail-safe: it never touches the dataset and never fails the run.

FAQ

How much does a run cost?

One dataset-item event per title plus one detail-enrichment event per enriched title; see the pricing tab.

Is it legal to scrape ReelShort?

The actor reads only publicly available catalog pages, the same as a browser visit. Review the site terms and your local rules for your use case.

Can I run it on a schedule?

Yes. Combine incrementalMode with a state key so scheduled runs emit only new, updated and expired rows.

Why did my run report partial results?

Long walks can approach the run timeout; the actor then ends itself with the rows collected so far and a Partial results: status instead of timing out. Raise the timeout for the full catalog.

Where are the reviews?

ReelShort publishes no title or episode reviews, ratings or comments on any public page, API or app surface the actor can reach anonymously (verified across the site, its bundles and its Android app). The actor ships everything the catalog exposes and documents this gap instead of inventing data.

Why no per-episode rows?

The full episode list loads through an encrypted request the site ties to its own session; anonymous replay is refused. Rows carry episode counts and first-episode metadata instead.

Can I use it with AI agents or MCP?

Yes. Add connector IDs under mcpConnectors to forward rows into your apps after the run; export never fails the run.

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