# YouTube Channel Scraper - Videos, Shorts & Stats (`clearfetch/youtube-channel-scraper`) Actor

Scrape YouTube channels without login or API key: subscribers, video count, description, plus the latest videos or Shorts with exact views, likes, comment count, publish date and duration. Schedule it to track new uploads.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/clearfetch/youtube-channel-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Nada Hanad](https://apify.com/clearfetch) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Videos, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.70 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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 Channel Scraper - Videos, Shorts & Stats

Scrape YouTube channels without logging in or an API key: subscribers, video count, description and keywords for
each channel, plus its latest videos or Shorts with exact views, likes, comment count, publish date and duration.
**$1.00 per 1,000 results.** No quota, no cookies, no proxy, no browser.

### What data you get

**Channels** (one row each): `subscribers`, `videoCount`, `description`, `keywords`, `verified`, `avatarUrl`,
`channelId`, `handle`, `url`, `isFamilySafe`.

**Videos** (the channel's latest, newest first):

- `views` and `likes` (exact), `commentCount` when YouTube shows it
- `publishedAt` (exact date), `durationSeconds`, `title`, full `description`, `hashtags`, `isShort`, `isLive`
- Channel fields on every video row, so each row stands on its own in a spreadsheet

### How to use

1. Add channels: @handles, channel links or channel ids (UC...), one per line.
2. Pick how many of the latest videos to read per channel, Videos or Shorts, and optionally only uploads newer than a
   date or an age like "7 days".
3. Run it, then download JSON, CSV or Excel, or pull the rows through the API. Schedule it daily to catch new uploads.

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|-------|------|---------|-------------|
| `channels` | array | — | @handles, channel links or channel ids. |
| `maxResultsPerSource` | integer | `20` | Latest videos per channel (0 = as many as YouTube lists, up to 1,000). |
| `contentType` | string | `videos` | `videos` (the Videos tab) or `shorts` (the Shorts tab). |
| `fetchVideoDetails` | boolean | `true` | Read each video's page for exact views, likes, date and full description. |
| `includeChannelInfo` | boolean | `true` | One row per channel. |
| `newerThan` | string | — | A date or an age like `"7 days"`. Older videos are left out and not charged. |
| `maxConcurrency` | integer | `5` | Pages read in parallel. |
| `timeoutSecs` | integer | `30` | Per request. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | off | Not needed. |

Searches and single video links also work: pass `searchQueries` or `videoUrls` through the API.

### Output example

Real rows from a run with `"channels": ["@NASA", "@veritasium"]` on 2026-09-29 (locally; the same run on Apify returned
the same fields). The channel row:

```json
{
  "ok": true,
  "type": "channel",
  "channelId": "UCHnyfMqiRRG1u-2MsSQLbXA",
  "name": "Veritasium",
  "handle": "@veritasium",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium",
  "subscribers": 21300000,
  "subscribersText": "21.3M subscribers",
  "videoCount": 536,
  "description": "An element of truth - videos about science, education, and anything else we find interesting.",
  "keywords": "\"science videos\" science \"science education\" \"science literacy\" veritasium misconceptions physics education astronomy chemistry biology teaching learning math",
  "verified": true,
  "avatarUrl": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/7vCbvtCqtjQ3YLgsJt7Y952MQV1sBvhllSCSxHP8_sVZdcPCBrITfhkN2RdyCuwPnsByq-1GoA=s900-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
  "isFamilySafe": true,
  "inputUrl": "@veritasium",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-09-29T17:38:00.610Z"
}
```

And one of its videos (description shortened here):

```json
{
  "ok": true,
  "type": "video",
  "id": "JsBZOcqZerk",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsBZOcqZerk",
  "title": "The Insane Real Engineering of the Nazi Enigma Machine",
  "channelName": "Veritasium",
  "channelId": "UCHnyfMqiRRG1u-2MsSQLbXA",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium",
  "channelHandle": "@veritasium",
  "channelSubscribers": 21300000,
  "channelVerified": true,
  "views": 12671217,
  "viewsApproximate": false,
  "likes": 108045,
  "commentCount": 5800,
  "commentCountApproximate": true,
  "publishedAt": "2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z",
  "publishedAtApproximate": false,
  "publishedText": "Sep 21, 2026",
  "durationSeconds": 2862,
  "description": "How was the \"unbreakable\" enigma cracked? Sponsored by Incogni - use code veritasium at https://incogni.com/veritasium to get an exclusive 60% off your annual subscription. …",
  "hashtags": [],
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JsBZOcqZerk/hqdefault.jpg",
  "isShort": false,
  "isLive": false,
  "source": "channel",
  "sourceValue": "@veritasium",
  "sourceRank": 1,
  "detailed": true,
  "inputUrl": "@veritasium",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-09-29T17:38:02.028Z"
}
```

A channel that cannot be read comes back as one row with `ok: false` and a plain reason, such as
`channel not found on YouTube`. Those rows are free.

### Pricing

**$1.00 per 1,000 results**: one charge per channel or video row written. Failed channels and videos filtered out
by date are free.

Paid Apify plans pay less: 10% off on Bronze, 20% on Silver and 30% on Gold and higher tiers.

### Use cases

- **Competitor monitoring**: a daily schedule with `newerThan: "1 day"` returns only each channel's new uploads
  with their stats.
- **Influencer vetting**: subscribers next to real per-video views and likes show who has an engaged audience.
- **Channel audits and reports**: upload frequency, average views and top videos for any list of channels.
- **Lead lists**: channel descriptions and keywords for outreach research.

### FAQ

**Do I need a YouTube API key?** No, and there is no daily quota. The Actor reads the same public pages a visitor
sees.

**Are subscriber counts exact?** YouTube shows them rounded to three digits (21.3M) to everyone, so that is what you
get; `subscribersText` keeps YouTube's wording. Video views and likes are exact.

**How far back can it go?** Up to 1,000 of a channel's latest videos, newest first.

**Is it legal?** It reads public pages that anyone can see without logging in. You are responsible for how you use
the data, including data protection rules for personal data.

### Integrations

Run it from the Apify API or a client library, schedule it in Apify Console, or connect it to n8n, Make, Zapier or
any MCP client through Apify's integrations. Results are available as JSON, CSV, Excel and through the dataset API.

### More tools from clearfetch

- [YouTube Scraper](https://apify.com/clearfetch/youtube-scraper): search results and any video links
- [YouTube Shorts Scraper](https://apify.com/clearfetch/youtube-shorts-scraper): a channel's Shorts, Shorts search and Shorts links
- [YouTube Comments Scraper](https://apify.com/clearfetch/youtube-comments-scraper): every comment and reply under a video

### Changelog

- **1.0.0** (2026-09) — first release: channel stats, latest videos or Shorts with exact views, likes and dates,
  date filter for scheduled runs.

# Actor input Schema

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

@handles, channel links or channel ids (UC...), one per line. Each returns a channel row (subscribers, video count, description, keywords) and the channel's latest videos or Shorts.

## `maxResultsPerSource` (type: `integer`):

Latest videos per channel, newest first. 0 means as many as YouTube lists (up to 1,000).

## `contentType` (type: `string`):

Which tab to list: the channel's Videos or its Shorts.

## `fetchVideoDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Exact views, likes, comment count, full description and exact publish date for listed videos. Off is faster and keeps title, rounded views, relative date and duration from the list.

## `includeChannelInfo` (type: `boolean`):

One row per channel with subscribers, video count, description and keywords.

## `newerThan` (type: `string`):

An age like "7 days" or a date like 2026-09-01. Only videos published since then are written and charged, which makes a schedule return just the new uploads.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

Pages read in parallel.

## `timeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

Per request. Pages YouTube returns without data are retried.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Not needed: YouTube serves these pages to Apify's own servers. Only for very large volumes.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "channels": [
    "@NASA",
    "@veritasium"
  ],
  "maxResultsPerSource": 5,
  "contentType": "videos",
  "fetchVideoDetails": true,
  "includeChannelInfo": true,
  "newerThan": "",
  "maxConcurrency": 5,
  "timeoutSecs": 30,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

Video rows with views, likes, comment count, publish date, duration, description and channel; channel rows with subscribers and video count. Inputs that could not be read appear with ok=false and a reason, and are not charged.

# 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": [
        "@NASA",
        "@veritasium"
    ],
    "maxResultsPerSource": 5
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("clearfetch/youtube-channel-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 = {
    "channels": [
        "@NASA",
        "@veritasium",
    ],
    "maxResultsPerSource": 5,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("clearfetch/youtube-channel-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 '{
  "channels": [
    "@NASA",
    "@veritasium"
  ],
  "maxResultsPerSource": 5
}' |
apify call clearfetch/youtube-channel-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,clearfetch/youtube-channel-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/E6kauezqex38CQoPf/builds/G2ZVU8SC9tQwgQ00q/openapi.json