YouTube Scraper

Collect structured public YouTube data from keywords, search result URLs, channel pages, direct video links, and Shorts links in one run.

This actor is built for research, monitoring, reporting, content analysis, automation, and dataset creation. It returns one clean record per video or Short, with optional enrichments for channel profiles, detailed item metadata, comments, and replies.

What This Actor Can Collect

• Search results from plain-text keywords
• Search results from direct YouTube search URLs
• Videos from channel pages
• Shorts from channel pages
• Direct video records from watch URLs
• Direct Short records from Shorts URLs
• Optional channel profile information
• Optional detailed video metadata
• Optional comments and replies

Why Teams Use It

• Track creators, brands, competitors, and topics
• Build datasets for dashboards and reporting
• Monitor search visibility for videos and Shorts
• Collect channel content for audits and research
• Enrich direct YouTube links into structured records
• Export consistent data for spreadsheets, APIs, and downstream automation

Supported Inputs

You can mix multiple input types in the same run.

Search Terms And Direct Links

Use the searchAndDirectInputs field to provide:

• Plain search terms such as mrbeast latest video
• YouTube search result URLs
• YouTube watch URLs
• YouTube Shorts URLs

Example:

mrbeast latest video
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ai+tools+for+students
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jCE1Ol3PYDs

Channel Inputs

Use the channelInputs field to provide:

• Channel handles such as @MrBeast
• Full YouTube channel URLs

Example:

@MrBeast
https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast

Main Controls

You can control how much data the actor returns by adjusting:

• maxVideos
• maxShorts
• maxChannelVideos
• maxChannelShorts
• includeChannelVideos
• includeChannelShorts
• channelDateRangeSortBy
• channelDateRangeDate

For keyword and search URL collection, you can also apply optional search filters:

• duration
• uploadDate
• features
• prioritize

Optional Enrichments

You can keep runs lightweight or enable deeper output when needed.

Channel Info

Enable scrapeChannelInfo to add public channel profile data where available, including fields such as:

• Channel ID
• Channel name
• Handle
• Profile URL
• Avatar URL
• Subscriber count
• Description

Detailed Video Data

Enable scrapeDetailedVideoData to add extra fields for regular videos, such as:

• Publish and upload dates
• Tags and keywords
• Category
• Chapters
• Metadata rows
• Captions availability
• Embed URL
• Additional video metadata when publicly available

Comments And Replies

Enable scrapeCommentsAndReplies to collect:

• Top-level comment threads
• Reply counts
• Replies per thread

You can control comment depth with:

• maxCommentThreads
• maxRepliesPerThread

Output Format

Each dataset item represents one YouTube video or one YouTube Short.

Common top-level fields include:

• inputType
• inputValue
• sourceUrl
• surface
• contentType
• id
• url
• title
• description
• publishedTimeText
• publishedDate
• durationText
• durationSeconds
• viewCount
• viewCountText
• likeCount
• commentCount
• thumbnailUrl
• thumbnails
• isShort
• isLive
• isUpcoming
• channel
• details
• comments
• searchContext
• channelContext
• collectedAt
• error

Example Output

{
  "inputType": "search",
  "inputValue": "mrbeast latest video",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mrbeast+latest+video",
  "surface": "search",
  "contentType": "video",
  "id": "QJI0an6irrA",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJI0an6irrA",
  "title": "30 Celebrities Fight For $1,000,000!",
  "description": "I was not prepared for how intense that ending was",
  "publishedTimeText": "2 months ago",
  "publishedDate": "2026-01-07T12:00:09Z",
  "durationText": "41:39",
  "durationSeconds": 2499,
  "viewCount": 114372718,
  "viewCountText": "114,372,718 views",
  "likeCount": 0,
  "commentCount": 0,
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QJI0an6irrA/maxresdefault.jpg",
  "isShort": false,
  "channel": {
    "id": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
    "name": "MrBeast",
    "handle": "@MrBeast",
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast"
  },
  "details": {
    "id": "QJI0an6irrA",
    "publishDate": "2026-01-07T12:00:09Z",
    "uploadDate": "2026-01-07T12:00:09Z",
    "category": "Entertainment",
    "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/QJI0an6irrA"
  },
  "comments": null,
  "searchContext": {
    "searchType": "keyword",
    "searchQuery": "mrbeast latest video"
  },
  "channelContext": null,
  "collectedAt": "2026-04-02T09:30:00+00:00",
  "error": null
}

How To Use

1. Add search terms, YouTube URLs, channel inputs, or any combination of them.
2. Set the number of videos and Shorts you want to collect.
3. Enable optional enrichments only when you need deeper output.
4. Run the actor.
5. Export the dataset in JSON, CSV, Excel, or use it directly through the Apify API.

Best Use Cases

• SEO and visibility tracking
• Creator and competitor monitoring
• Topic and trend research
• Content strategy analysis
• Media and brand intelligence
• Dataset generation for internal tools
• Automation workflows and reporting pipelines

Notes

• This actor works with publicly available YouTube data.
• Available fields may vary by page type, content type, and public availability.
• Search surfaces, channel pages, videos, and Shorts do not always expose the same metadata.
• Comment availability depends on the target item and whether comments are publicly available.
• Detailed metadata is richer for regular videos than for Shorts.

FAQ

Can I use keywords and URLs in the same run?

Yes. You can combine search terms, search URLs, watch URLs, Shorts URLs, and channel inputs in a single run.

Does this actor support both videos and Shorts?

Yes. Videos and Shorts are supported separately, and you can set different limits for each.

Can I collect from channel pages?

Yes. You can collect from channel Videos and Shorts surfaces independently.

Can I filter channel results by date?

Yes. You can use channelDateRangeDate and channelDateRangeSortBy to control channel-based collection.

Can I collect comments and replies?

Yes. Enable scrapeCommentsAndReplies and choose your limits for threads and replies.

Is the output suitable for automation?

Yes. The dataset is structured for exports, APIs, analysis workflows, and downstream processing.