YouTube Channel Scraper

Collect structured data from public YouTube channel pages using handles or channel URLs. Add one or more channels, start a run, and receive clean JSON in your Apify dataset — no YouTube login required.

Use it for creator research, competitive intelligence, influencer outreach, content monitoring, market research, lead enrichment, and automation workflows — without copying channel profiles, video lists, or Shorts manually.

---

What you get

Every run always collects channel profile data (subscribers, description, avatar, country, and more). You can optionally add videos from the channel’s Videos tab and Shorts from the Shorts tab.

Section	What it contains
Channel profile	Name, handle, URL, subscriber count, video count, total views, avatar, country, description, verification status
videos (optional)	Regular uploads with title, URL, publish date, duration, views, likes, comments, thumbnails
shorts (optional)	Short-form uploads with the same enriched fields
summary	How many videos and Shorts were requested vs collected
warnings	User-friendly notes when part of a channel could not be loaded

Results are saved to the dataset as each channel is processed, so you can preview progress before the run finishes.

---

Quick start on Apify

1. Open the Actor in the Apify Console.
2. Under Channel handles and links, add one or more YouTube channels (one per line).
3. Choose your output format — separate dataset rows per channel / video / Short (default), or one row per channel with nested arrays.
4. Enable Include channel videos and/or Include channel Shorts if you need uploads, and set the per-channel limits.
5. Click Start and open the Dataset tab as results are saved.

Supported input formats:

• Handle: @apify
• Channel URL: https://www.youtube.com/@apify
• Legacy URLs: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC…, /c/…, /user/…

Example input:

{
  "channelInputs": ["@apify", "https://www.youtube.com/@apify"],
  "separateChannelRecords": true,
  "includeChannelVideos": true,
  "includeChannelShorts": true,
  "maxChannelVideos": 20,
  "maxChannelShorts": 20,
  "channelDateRangeSortBy": "latest",
  "channelDateRangeDate": ""
}

---

Input parameters

Channel handles and links

Field	channelInputs
Type	List of text entries (one channel per line)
Required	Yes — at least one entry
Formats	@handle, youtube.com/@handle, youtube.com/channel/…, /c/…, /user/…

Duplicate channels in the same run are processed once.

Unsupported entries are skipped with a log message.

Output format

Field	Default	Description
separateChannelRecords	true	When enabled, the dataset uses separate rows for each channel (type: channel), video (type: video), and Short (type: short). When disabled, you get one row per channel with optional videos and shorts arrays on the same object.

Videos and Shorts (optional)

Field	Default	Description
includeChannelVideos	false	Collect items from the channel’s Videos tab
includeChannelShorts	false	Collect items from the channel’s Shorts tab
maxChannelVideos	10	Maximum videos per channel (1–2,000). Applies only when video collection is enabled
maxChannelShorts	10	Maximum Shorts per channel (1–2,000). Applies only when Shorts collection is enabled

The video and Short limits apply independently per channel. For example, 5 channels with maxChannelVideos: 20 and maxChannelShorts: 20 can return up to 100 videos and 100 Shorts in total (plus 5 channel profile rows when using separate records).

Sorting and date filter (videos only)

Field	Default	Description
channelDateRangeSortBy	latest	Order for tab results: latest, popular, or oldest
channelDateRangeDate	(empty)	Optional publish-time filter for videos only. Use YYYY-MM-DD or relative values such as 2 weeks, 3 months, 1 year. When set, sorting is automatically forced to Latest. Does not apply to Shorts

---

What you will see during a run

Messages describe collection progress and outcomes.

Typical messages:

• Starting collection for N channel(s).
• Prepared 41 dataset item(s) for channel 1 of 2 (Apify). when Separate dataset records is enabled
• Prepared channel result 1 of 2 (Apify). when results are nested on one row per channel
• Collection finished with N dataset item(s).
• N unsupported channel input(s) will be skipped.

If one channel cannot be fully loaded, other channels in the same run can still succeed. Check the status and warnings fields on each channel result.

On the Apify free plan, you may also see notices when free-tier limits apply (see Free plan limits).

---

Output overview

Dataset structure

Results are saved to a single Apify dataset.

Separate records (default) — filter by type:

type	One row represents
channel	Channel profile + summary + optional warnings
video	One regular video, with parent channel context fields
short	One Short, with parent channel context fields

Nested records (separateChannelRecords: false) — one row per input channel:

• Channel profile fields at the top level
• Optional videos and shorts arrays on the same object
• summary counts on the channel row

Status values

status	Meaning
ok	Channel profile (and requested media) collected successfully
partial	Channel or media collected with warnings — see warnings
failed	Channel could not be processed — see error or warnings
invalid_input	Input was not a supported channel handle or URL

Field presence varies by channel. Not every channel publishes country, full descriptions, or complete stats on the public page. Missing optional fields are omitted from the output.

---

Output fields

Channel record (type: channel, or nested mode)

Field	Description
type	channel (separate records mode only)
inputValue	Original input string for this channel
channelUrl	Normalized channel URL
status	ok, partial, failed, or invalid_input
error	Short explanation when collection failed or input was invalid
id	YouTube channel ID (UC…)
name	Channel display name
handle	Public handle (for example @apify)
url	Canonical channel URL
isVerified	Whether the channel shows a verification badge
subscriberCount	Subscriber count as a number when available
videoCountText	Public video count label from YouTube
totalViewsText	Total channel views label when shown
avatarUrl	Channel avatar image URL
country	Country code when published
description	Full channel description
shortDescription	Short description when available
sortBy	Sort applied when collecting videos or Shorts
dateRange	Date filter applied to videos, if any
videos	Array of video objects (nested mode only, when enabled)
shorts	Array of Short objects (nested mode only, when enabled)
summary	videosRequested, shortsRequested, videosCollected, shortsCollected
warnings	List of user-friendly warning messages
collectedAt	ISO timestamp when the record was saved

Video / Short record (type: video or type: short)

Field	Description
type	video or short
inputValue	Original channel input
channelUrl	Parent channel URL
channelId	Parent channel ID
channelName	Parent channel name
channelHandle	Parent channel handle
id	Video or Short ID
url	Watch or Shorts URL
title	Title
description	Description when available
publishedDate	ISO publish timestamp
durationSeconds	Duration in seconds
viewCount	View count
likeCount	Like count when available
commentCount	Comment count when available
thumbnailUrl	Primary thumbnail URL
thumbnails	Array of thumbnail sizes (url, width, height)
isLive	Whether the item is live content
isUpcoming	Whether the item is an upcoming premiere
collectedAt	ISO timestamp when the record was saved

Nested videos / shorts array items

Same fields as the video / Short rows above, without the type and parent channel context fields (those live on the parent channel object).

---

Example output

The excerpts below are from real runs against public YouTube channels. Your run dataset will contain the full records.

Example input

{
  "channelInputs": ["https://www.youtube.com/@apify"],
  "separateChannelRecords": true,
  "includeChannelVideos": true,
  "includeChannelShorts": true,
  "maxChannelVideos": 20,
  "maxChannelShorts": 20
}

Excerpt — separate records: channel row

When Separate dataset records is enabled (separateChannelRecords: true):

{
  "inputValue": "https://www.youtube.com/@apify",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@apify",
  "status": "ok",
  "sortBy": "latest",
  "summary": {
    "videosRequested": 20,
    "shortsRequested": 20,
    "videosCollected": 20,
    "shortsCollected": 20
  },
  "collectedAt": "2026-06-29T17:59:37+00:00",
  "id": "UCTgwcoeGGKmZ3zzCXN2qo_A",
  "name": "Apify",
  "handle": "@apify",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@apify",
  "isVerified": true,
  "subscriberCount": 14400,
  "videoCountText": "255",
  "totalViewsText": "9989847",
  "avatarUrl": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/taqvhsquq1iG09A82lJy_qSjXUmvQB0Tm-kAPIxgg0pv1fqSwvZ7ZNWhkWZ1Ias1_mZrllnNsQ4=s800-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
  "country": "CZ",
  "description": "Welcome to Apify’s official YouTube channel! Apify is a web scraping and automation platform...",
  "shortDescription": "Welcome to Apify’s official YouTube channel! Apify is a web scraping and automation platform...",
  "type": "channel"
}

Excerpt — separate records: video row

{
  "type": "video",
  "collectedAt": "2026-06-29T17:59:37+00:00",
  "inputValue": "https://www.youtube.com/@apify",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@apify",
  "channelId": "UCTgwcoeGGKmZ3zzCXN2qo_A",
  "channelName": "Apify",
  "channelHandle": "@apify",
  "id": "faf4ouwGykc",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faf4ouwGykc",
  "title": "I Scraped 90 YouTube Videos to See What's Actually Winning",
  "publishedDate": "2026-06-17T17:00:22Z",
  "durationSeconds": 230,
  "viewCount": 332,
  "likeCount": 15,
  "commentCount": 1,
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/faf4ouwGykc/maxresdefault.jpg",
  "isLive": false,
  "isUpcoming": false
}

Excerpt — separate records: Short row

{
  "type": "short",
  "collectedAt": "2026-06-29T17:59:37+00:00",
  "inputValue": "https://www.youtube.com/@apify",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@apify",
  "channelId": "UCTgwcoeGGKmZ3zzCXN2qo_A",
  "channelName": "Apify",
  "channelHandle": "@apify",
  "id": "LUTaRsyFzno",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LUTaRsyFzno",
  "title": "Watch Klára’s full presentation on our channel! 🏠📈 #apify #praguecrawl #dev",
  "publishedDate": "2026-06-24T11:44:01Z",
  "durationSeconds": 53,
  "viewCount": 877,
  "likeCount": 7,
  "commentCount": 0,
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LUTaRsyFzno/maxresdefault.jpg",
  "isLive": false,
  "isUpcoming": false
}

Excerpt — nested single record per channel

When Separate dataset records is disabled (separateChannelRecords: false), each channel is one dataset row with optional videos and shorts arrays:

{
  "inputValue": "https://www.youtube.com/@apify",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@apify",
  "status": "ok",
  "sortBy": "latest",
  "videos": [
    {
      "id": "faf4ouwGykc",
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faf4ouwGykc",
      "title": "I Scraped 90 YouTube Videos to See What's Actually Winning",
      "publishedDate": "2026-06-17T17:00:22Z",
      "durationSeconds": 230,
      "viewCount": 332,
      "likeCount": 15,
      "commentCount": 1,
      "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/faf4ouwGykc/maxresdefault.jpg",
      "isLive": false,
      "isUpcoming": false
    }
  ],
  "shorts": [
    {
      "id": "LUTaRsyFzno",
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LUTaRsyFzno",
      "title": "Watch Klára’s full presentation on our channel! 🏠📈 #apify #praguecrawl #dev",
      "publishedDate": "2026-06-24T11:44:01Z",
      "durationSeconds": 53,
      "viewCount": 877,
      "likeCount": 7,
      "commentCount": 0,
      "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LUTaRsyFzno/maxresdefault.jpg",
      "isLive": false,
      "isUpcoming": false
    }
  ],
  "summary": {
    "videosRequested": 20,
    "shortsRequested": 20,
    "videosCollected": 20,
    "shortsCollected": 20
  },
  "collectedAt": "2026-06-29T17:52:34+00:00",
  "id": "UCTgwcoeGGKmZ3zzCXN2qo_A",
  "name": "Apify",
  "handle": "@apify",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@apify",
  "isVerified": true,
  "subscriberCount": 14400,
  "videoCountText": "255",
  "totalViewsText": "9989847",
  "country": "CZ"
}

Excerpt — invalid input

{
  "inputValue": "not-a-channel",
  "status": "invalid_input",
  "error": "This input is not a supported YouTube channel handle or URL.",
  "type": "channel"
}

When status is invalid_input or failed, rely on error and warnings for context. Partial channel data may still be present when status is partial.

---

Pricing

This Actor uses pay-per-event pricing. You are charged only for successful collection — failed or invalid channels are not billed for channel events, and only successfully collected videos and Shorts count toward media events.

Event	When it is charged
channel_record	Once per channel successfully saved (status is ok or partial)
channel_videos_shorts	Once per video or Short successfully collected when the corresponding tab collection is enabled

Examples (see the Pricing tab on the Store listing for current rates):

Run	What you pay for
10 channels, videos and Shorts disabled	10 channel_record events
1 channel + 20 videos + 20 Shorts, all succeed	1 channel_record + 40 channel_videos_shorts events
5 channels + 100 videos each, all succeed	5 channel_record + 500 channel_videos_shorts events
10 channels requested, 2 invalid inputs skipped	8 channel_record events (invalid inputs are not charged)

Disable Include channel videos and Include channel Shorts if you only need profile data — you will not be charged for channel_videos_shorts events.

When Separate dataset records is enabled, the dataset lists each channel, video, and Short as its own row. Billing still uses the two events above: one charge per channel saved, and one charge per video or Short collected.

---

Free plan limits

On the Apify free plan, the Actor may automatically apply:

Limit	Value
Channels processed per run	10 (only the first entries in your list)
Maximum videos per channel	5 (when video collection is enabled)
Maximum Shorts per channel	5 (when Shorts collection is enabled)

Additional channels in the same run are not processed. Paid Apify plans can use the full input list and higher per-channel limits without these caps. If limits apply, the run log will include a short notice.

---

Public data and coverage

No YouTube login required
The Actor reads publicly visible channel pages. It does not sign in to YouTube and does not use your Google account.

Guest view vs signed-in view
Results reflect what YouTube shows to visitors who are not logged in. Compared with a signed-in session, output may differ slightly in counts, ordering, or available metadata.

Videos and Shorts
Collection reads the channel’s public Videos and Shorts tabs up to your limits. The number returned depends on what YouTube exposes and on your sort / date filter settings. The date filter applies to videos only, not Shorts.

Unavailable or restricted channels
Some channels may return partial or failed with a message in warnings or error. Retrying later or processing a smaller batch can help in some cases.

Compliance
You are responsible for using collected data in line with applicable laws and YouTube's Terms of Service.

---

Tips for best results

1. Use handles or full URLs — Both @apify and https://www.youtube.com/@apify work.
2. Start with a small batch — Test with 2–5 channels before large exports.
3. Pick the right output format — Use separate records (default) for spreadsheets, warehouses, and filtering by type. Use nested records when you want one JSON object per channel.
4. Enable only what you need — Profile-only runs are faster and cost less than full video + Shorts collection.
5. Set sensible limits — Use lower maxChannelVideos / maxChannelShorts for quick checks; raise them for catalog builds.
6. Filter on status — Use ok and partial for usable data; review warnings on partial rows.
7. Deduplicate on channel id — The UC… channel ID is a stable key across runs.
8. Schedule recurring runs — Use Apify schedules to refresh channel stats and latest uploads for your target list.
9. Export flexibly — Download as JSON, CSV, Excel, or connect via API to your BI tools, CRM, or automation stack.

---

Frequently asked questions

Can I scrape multiple channels in one run?
Yes. Add as many handles or URLs as you need (subject to free-plan caps on the Apify free tier).

What is the difference between separate and nested output?
Separate records (default) writes one dataset row per channel, video, and Short, each with a type field. Nested records writes one row per channel with videos and shorts arrays on the same object.

Do I always get channel profile data?
Yes. Every supported channel input produces channel profile fields. Videos and Shorts are optional.

Why are there fewer videos than my maxChannelVideos setting?
YouTube may expose fewer items than your limit, or a tab may not load fully. Check summary.videosCollected and warnings on the channel row.

Why is status partial?
Some part of the channel run had an issue — for example the Videos tab could not be loaded but the profile was retrieved. Read warnings for details.

Does the date filter apply to Shorts?
No. channelDateRangeDate filters videos only.

Can I sort videos by most popular?
Yes. Set channelDateRangeSortBy to popular or oldest. If a date range is set, sorting is forced to Latest.

Will failed channels be charged?
No. channel_record is charged only for successfully saved channels (ok or partial). Media events are charged only for videos and Shorts that were actually collected.

Can I get live stream or premiere metadata?
Video and Short items include isLive and isUpcoming when YouTube provides that information.

Does this Actor download video files?
No. It returns metadata and URLs only — not MP4 files or audio.

---

Support

For Actor-specific issues, use the Issues tab on the Apify Store listing or contact the publisher through Apify.

For platform questions (runs, billing, API, schedules), see Apify documentation and Apify support.