# YouTube Shorts Scraper: Channel Shorts List & Views (`buy-it/youtube-shorts-scraper`) Actor

List the YouTube Shorts of any channel from its @handle, URL or channel ID. Get title, Shorts link, views and thumbnail. Export JSON, CSV or Excel, use the API, or schedule runs.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-shorts-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Ioannis Kokkinis](https://apify.com/buy-it) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.40 / 1,000 shorts

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

## YouTube Shorts Scraper

List the Shorts of any YouTube channel from its @handle, link or channel ID, as JSON, CSV or Excel: title, Shorts link, views and thumbnail.

### What you get for each Short

- Title, video ID and Shorts link
- View count (as a number and as shown on YouTube)
- Thumbnail link
- Channel name, ID and link

### How to use it

1. Paste channels into **Channels**, one per line: `@TED`, a channel link, or a channel ID (`UC...`).
2. Set how many Shorts you want per channel (newest first), then press **Start**.

### Input

| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Channels | @handle, channel link or channel ID |
| Shorts per channel | Maximum Shorts from each channel |
| Maximum results in total | Stops the whole run |

### Output example

```json
{
  "videoId": "hPoJWjJ9Ao8",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hPoJWjJ9Ao8",
  "title": "Heating A Ball Just By Squeezing It",
  "viewCount": 351000,
  "viewCountText": "351K views",
  "channelName": "Veritasium"
}
```

### Pricing

You pay per Short returned, plus a tiny start fee. Channels that do not exist or have no Shorts return nothing and cost nothing. Set a maximum spend per run and the Actor stops when it is reached.

### Notes

- YouTube shows rounded view counts for Shorts (for example 351K), so `viewCount` is rounded too.
- Channels that could not be read are listed in the `FAILED_CHANNELS` record of the run's key-value store.
- The Actor reads publicly visible data. Use it in line with YouTube's terms.

### Related actors

More scrapers from the same publisher:

- [YouTube Transcript Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-transcript-scraper) — Captions and subtitles by video URL
- [YouTube Comments Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-comments-scraper) — Comments, likes and replies
- [YouTube Channel Videos Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-channel-videos-scraper) — Full video list for a channel
- [YouTube Channel Info Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-channel-info-scraper) — Subscribers, views, links and about
- [YouTube Search Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-search-scraper) — Search results by keyword
- [YouTube Playlist Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-playlist-scraper) — Every video in a playlist
- [YouTube Video Details Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/youtube-video-details-scraper) — Likes, views, tags and description
- [TikTok Profile Scraper](https://apify.com/buy-it/tiktok-profile-scraper) — Followers, likes, bio and avatar

# Actor input Schema

## `channelUrls` (type: `array`):

YouTube channels as @handle, channel link or channel ID (UC...), one per line. For example @TED or https://www.youtube.com/@TED.

## `maxShortsPerChannel` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of Shorts to list from each channel, newest first.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop the whole run after this many Shorts across all channels.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "channelUrls": [
    "@TED"
  ],
  "maxShortsPerChannel": 100,
  "maxItems": 1000
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `shorts` (type: `string`):

One row per Short. Download as JSON, CSV or Excel.

# 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 = {
    "channelUrls": [
        "@TED"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("buy-it/youtube-shorts-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 = { "channelUrls": ["@TED"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("buy-it/youtube-shorts-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 '{
  "channelUrls": [
    "@TED"
  ]
}' |
apify call buy-it/youtube-shorts-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,buy-it/youtube-shorts-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/4jzj5Cqf0dqXJLIBz/builds/LUgDVLCaKavhtdphr/openapi.json