# YouTube Shorts Scraper - Fast & Cheap (`aolmo/youtube-shorts`) Actor

Lists the Shorts of any YouTube channel or search as clean rows: title, views, thumbnail and link, and optionally exact views, likes, publish date and channel for each Short. No browser, no API key, no quota. $0.001 per Short; new Shorts flagged on scheduled runs.

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

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 short scrapeds

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

Get the YouTube Shorts of any channel, or the Shorts YouTube returns for any search, as clean structured rows. Paste channel URLs, handles or search queries and the Actor returns one row per Short with its title, views, thumbnail and link. Switch on **Include details** to also get exact views, likes, publish date and channel for every Short. Schedule it and each run flags the Shorts that are new since the previous one.

No browser, no proxies on your side, no YouTube API key and no daily quota: the Actor reads the same internal endpoints the YouTube website uses, so it is fast and cheap. You pay $0.001 per Short returned.

### What you get

One Dataset row per Short:

- `title`, `url` (`https://www.youtube.com/shorts/<id>`), `id`, `thumbnailUrl`.
- `views` and `viewsText`: rounded in listings (`47M views`), exact with **Include details** (`47,071,907`).
- With **Include details**: `likes`, `likesText`, `publishedAt` (`YYYY-MM-DD`), `channelName`, `channelId`, `channelUrl`.
- For channel rows: `channelName`, `channelUrl`, `channelSubscribers`.
- `source`, `kind`, `query`: where the row comes from.
- `isNew`: `true` when the Short was not in the previous run of that channel or query.

A channel that does not exist produces a single row with an `error` field and is not charged.

### How to use it

1. Open the **Input** tab.
2. In **Channels** paste one per line: `https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast`, `@MrBeast` or a channel id.
3. Optionally add **Search queries** such as `cooking hacks` to get the Shorts YouTube shows for them.
4. Set **Max Shorts per channel or query** (default 50) and switch on **Include details** if you need exact views, likes and dates.
5. Click **Start** and export the rows as JSON, CSV or Excel.
6. To follow creators or topics, schedule the Actor; new Shorts come with `isNew: true`.

### Input

```json
{
  "channels": ["https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast"],
  "queries": ["cooking hacks"],
  "maxShorts": 100,
  "includeDetails": true
}
```

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `channels` | Channel URLs, `@handles` or channel ids. |
| `queries` | Search texts; results use YouTube's Shorts filter. |
| `maxShorts` | Per channel or query, 1 to 1,000. Default 50. |
| `includeDetails` | Exact views, likes, publish date and channel per Short. Default off. |

Up to 50 channels and queries per run.

### Output example

```json
{
  "source": "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast/shorts",
  "kind": "channel",
  "query": null,
  "id": "CEJXqm2eiJ0",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CEJXqm2eiJ0",
  "title": "What’s Inside My Briefcase?",
  "viewsText": "47,071,907 views",
  "views": 47071907,
  "likesText": "815K",
  "likes": 815000,
  "publishedAt": "2026-09-27",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CEJXqm2eiJ0/sardefault.jpg",
  "channelId": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
  "channelName": "MrBeast",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
  "channelSubscribers": 520000000,
  "isNew": false,
  "timestamp": "2026-10-07T20:00:00.000Z"
}
```

### Pricing

Pay per event, no subscription:

- **Short scraped**: $0.001 per Short row, details included when you switch them on. 1,000 Shorts cost $1.
- **New Short**: $0.002 per Short flagged as new in a scheduled run.

Channels or queries that cannot be read are free. Compare with YouTube Shorts scrapers at $2.40 per 1,000 Shorts.

### Use it as an API

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/aolmo~youtube-shorts/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"channels": ["@MrBeast"], "maxShorts": 50, "includeDetails": true}'
```

You can also call it from AI agents through the Apify MCP server. For regular videos use `aolmo/youtube-videos`, for comments `aolmo/youtube-comments` and for transcripts `aolmo/youtube-transcript`.

### FAQ

**Why are views rounded?** YouTube shows rounded counts in Shorts listings. Switch on **Include details** to get the exact number from each Short's page.

**How far back does it go?** As far as the channel's Shorts tab scrolls, up to 1,000 Shorts per channel per run.

**Does it download the videos?** No, it returns data and links only.

**Where is the data stored between runs?** In a Key-Value Store of your account named `micro-saas-state-youtube-shorts`, one key per channel or query. Delete it to start fresh.

# Actor input Schema

## `channels` (type: `array`):

One per line: channel URL (https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast), @handle or channel id. Returns the channel's Shorts, newest first.

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

Optional. Each query returns the Shorts YouTube finds for it (Shorts filter).

## `maxShorts` (type: `integer`):

Also caps what you pay per channel or query.

## `includeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Opens each Short for exact views, likes, publish date and channel (one extra request per Short).

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

Internal. Leave as is.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "channels": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast"
  ],
  "maxShorts": 50,
  "includeDetails": false,
  "product": "youtube-shorts"
}
```

# 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 = {
    "channels": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("aolmo/youtube-shorts").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 = { "channels": ["https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("aolmo/youtube-shorts").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 '{
  "channels": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast"
  ]
}' |
apify call aolmo/youtube-shorts --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/nbhv0Gee6UPVadIFY/builds/Rp5GGHK7SRU2i6idK/openapi.json