# YouTube Channel Search Scraper - Find Channels by Keyword (`aolmo/youtube-channel-search`) Actor

Find YouTube channels by keyword, the way the site search filters by channel: name, @handle, subscribers, number of videos, description, thumbnail, verified badge and link, up to 200 channels per query. No API key or quota. New channels flagged on scheduled runs. $0.001 per channel.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/aolmo/youtube-channel-search.md
- **Developed by:** [Antonio del Olmo Tena](https://apify.com/aolmo) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 channel founds

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

Find YouTube channels by keyword, exactly as the YouTube search does when you filter by channel, without an API key or quota. Type the topics you care about and get one row per channel with name, @handle, subscriber count, number of videos, description, thumbnail, verified badge and link, up to 200 channels per query. Creator discovery, influencer sourcing, competitor mapping, niche research and lead lists for channel owners at $0.001 per channel.

The Actor reads the same internal search endpoint the YouTube website uses for visitors. It never bypasses logins, CAPTCHAs or rate limits.

### What you get

**Channel** (one row each): `channelId`, `url`, `handle`, `name`, `subscribersText` and `subscribers` (approximate, as YouTube shows them), `videoCountText` and `videoCount` (when shown), `description`, `thumbnailUrl`, `verified`.

**Source**: `query` and `position` in the results. **Changes** on scheduled runs: `isNew` is true for channels that were not in the previous run of the same query.

Queries without results return a row with an `error` field and are not charged.

### How to use it

1. Open the **Input** tab.
2. Add **Search queries**, one per line (up to 500 per run): `web scraping`, `vegan recipes`, `crypto trading`.
3. Set **Max channels per query** (pages of 20, up to 200).
4. Click **Start** and export the rows as JSON, CSV or Excel.
5. Schedule the Actor to be told when new channels appear for a topic.

### Input

```json
{
  "queries": ["web scraping", "vegan recipes"],
  "maxChannels": 50
}
```

### Output

```json
{
  "query": "web scraping",
  "position": 1,
  "channelId": "UCjMgaGqd-C43dhx_-w-Dy9A",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@UltimateWebScraper",
  "handle": "@UltimateWebScraper",
  "name": "Ultimate Web Scraper",
  "subscribersText": "26.2K subscribers",
  "subscribers": 26200,
  "videoCountText": null,
  "videoCount": null,
  "description": "Ultimate Web Scraper: extract data from any website...",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/...=s176-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj-mo",
  "verified": false,
  "isNew": false,
  "timestamp": "2026-10-27T10:00:00.000Z"
}
```

### Pricing

Pay per event: **$0.001 per channel** and **$0.002 per new channel** detected on a scheduled run. Queries that cannot be read are free. 200 channels for each of 50 queries cost $10.00.

### Limits and notes

- Subscriber counts are the rounded values YouTube shows publicly; the video count appears only when YouTube includes it in the result.
- Results follow YouTube's own ranking for the query and the US English edition of the site.
- For the videos of a channel use the **YouTube Channel Videos Scraper**; for channel statistics the **YouTube Channel Stats Scraper**.

### Related Actors

- **YouTube Channel Videos Scraper**, **YouTube Channel Stats Scraper**, **YouTube Search Scraper**, **YouTube Video Details Scraper**.

# Actor input Schema

## `queries` (type: `array`):

One per line, as you would type it in YouTube. Up to 500 per run.

## `maxChannels` (type: `integer`):

Pages of 20 channels are read until this limit (up to 200). Also caps what you pay per query.

## `product` (type: `string`):

Internal. Leave as is.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "web scraping"
  ],
  "maxChannels": 20,
  "product": "youtube-channel-search"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

Dataset items: url, changed, events, data, timestamp and error (when the target failed).

# 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 = {
    "queries": [
        "web scraping"
    ],
    "maxChannels": 20
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("aolmo/youtube-channel-search").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 = {
    "queries": ["web scraping"],
    "maxChannels": 20,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("aolmo/youtube-channel-search").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 '{
  "queries": [
    "web scraping"
  ],
  "maxChannels": 20
}' |
apify call aolmo/youtube-channel-search --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/0Joen4cBANJ2fDiHO/builds/jOcHCvCDfhWVp1O4M/openapi.json