# YouTube Scraper (Videos, Shorts, Channels, Search) (`ahmad_mahameed/youtube-scraper`) Actor

Scrape YouTube videos and Shorts from search, channels, playlists or URLs: title, views, likes, comment count, exact upload date, duration, description, hashtags and channel subscribers. Sort and date filters. From $1.50 per 1,000 videos.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/ahmad_mahameed/youtube-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Ahmad Mahameed](https://apify.com/ahmad_mahameed) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, Social media, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 video with full details

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

### What does YouTube Scraper do?

It extracts YouTube video data from **search results, channels, playlists or video URLs**, including Shorts and live streams:

- 📊 **Exact views, likes and comment count**
- 📅 **Exact upload date**, duration, full description and hashtags
- 📺 **Channel name, ID, handle, subscriber count** and verified badge
- 🔎 **Search with filters**: sort by views, upload date (last hour, today, this week, this month, this year)
- 🎬 **Channel tabs**: Videos, **Shorts** or **Live streams**, newest first
- ⚡ **Fast mode** for big lists: title, approximate views, relative date and duration
- 💲 **$3 per 1,000 videos with full details**, or **$1.50 per 1,000** in fast mode. Unavailable videos are free.

### Use cases

- **Influencer and competitor research**: compare channels by views, likes and engagement
- **Content strategy**: find what performs best for a topic this week or this month
- **Lead generation**: build lists of channels in a niche with subscriber counts
- **Market research and AI**: datasets of videos, descriptions and hashtags for analysis or LLMs
- **Monitoring**: schedule it daily to track new uploads from channels you follow

### Input

```json
{
  "searchQueries": ["ai agents tutorial"],
  "urls": ["https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd", "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoROMvodv4rMiGQp3WXShtMGgzqpfVfbU"],
  "maxResults": 50,
  "getDetails": true,
  "channelTab": "videos",
  "sortBy": "views",
  "uploadDate": "month"
}
```

### Output

```json
{
  "videoId": "aircAruvnKk",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk",
  "title": "But what is a neural network? | Deep learning chapter 1",
  "channelName": "3Blue1Brown",
  "channelId": "UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw",
  "channelHandle": "@3blue1brown",
  "channelSubscribers": 8700000,
  "channelVerified": true,
  "viewCount": 24853315,
  "likeCount": 566597,
  "commentCount": 9400,
  "durationSeconds": 1120,
  "publishedDate": "2017-10-05",
  "description": "What are the neurons, why are there layers...",
  "hashtags": [],
  "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aircAruvnKk/hqdefault.jpg",
  "isShort": false,
  "isLive": false,
  "sourceType": "video"
}
```

Subscriber and comment counts are rounded the way YouTube shows them (for example 8.7M, 9.4K). Views and likes are exact in full-details mode.

Export as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML, or connect to Google Sheets, Make, Zapier, n8n or any MCP client through the Apify API.

### Pricing

| Mode | Price |
|---|---|
| Full details (default) | **$0.003 per video** ($3 per 1,000) |
| Fast mode (`getDetails: false`) | **$0.0015 per video** ($1.50 per 1,000) |

Platform and proxy costs are included. Videos that are private, deleted or unavailable are not charged.

### More tools from this developer

- [YouTube Transcript Scraper](https://apify.com/ahmad_mahameed/youtube-transcript-scraper): transcripts and subtitles in bulk, $2 per 1,000
- [YouTube Comments Scraper](https://apify.com/ahmad_mahameed/youtube-comments-scraper): comments and replies, $1 per 1,000
- [Google Trends Scraper](https://apify.com/ahmad_mahameed/google-trends-scraper): interest over time, regions, rising queries
- [Google News Scraper](https://apify.com/ahmad_mahameed/google-news-scraper): news articles with real URLs

### Feedback

Need another field or filter? Open an issue on the Issues tab and it will be added quickly.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Search YouTube for these terms, like typing them in the YouTube search box.

## `urls` (type: `array`):

Channel (@handle or /channel/), playlist, search results or single video / Shorts URLs.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

How many videos to take from each search query, channel or playlist.

## `getDetails` (type: `boolean`):

On: exact views, likes, comment count, exact upload date, full description, hashtags and channel subscribers ($3 per 1,000). Off: fast list data only: title, approximate views, relative date, duration ($1.50 per 1,000).

## `channelTab` (type: `string`):

Which channel tab to read: long videos, Shorts or live streams. Channels list newest first.

## `sortBy` (type: `string`):

Order of search results.

## `uploadDate` (type: `string`):

Only search results uploaded in this period.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQueries": [
    "ai agents tutorial"
  ],
  "maxResults": 50,
  "getDetails": true,
  "channelTab": "videos",
  "sortBy": "relevance",
  "uploadDate": "any"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "ai agents tutorial"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("ahmad_mahameed/youtube-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "searchQueries": ["ai agents tutorial"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("ahmad_mahameed/youtube-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchQueries": [
    "ai agents tutorial"
  ]
}' |
apify call ahmad_mahameed/youtube-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,ahmad_mahameed/youtube-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/SXxRlSB7oue5Td03z/builds/cnjn5ZM4OroqRDjk3/openapi.json