# YouTube Shorts Scraper — Discovery, Virality & Downloads (`constructive_calm/youtube-shorts-scraper-pro`) Actor Scrape YouTube Shorts by channel, keyword, hashtag, or URL (auto-detected). Views, likes, comments, duration, hashtags, channel stats + viral score & engagement rate. Optional comment scraping and 360p video downloads to Apify storage. - **URL**: https://apify.com/constructive\_calm/youtube-shorts-scraper-pro.md - **Developed by:** [Omar Eldeeb](https://apify.com/constructive_calm) (community) - **Categories:** Videos, Social media, AI - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 2 bookmarks - **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars ## Pricing from $2.50 / 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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## YouTube Shorts Scraper — Discovery, Virality & Downloads Scrape **YouTube Shorts** from any channel, keyword, hashtag, or Short URL — no login, no API key, no quotas. Get full metadata (views, likes, comments, duration, hashtags, channel stats) plus a **viral score** and **engagement rate** on every result, optional **comment scraping**, and optional **360p video downloads** saved straight to Apify storage with a shareable link. Just paste what you want into one box — the actor auto-detects whether each line is a channel, a keyword, a hashtag, or a Short URL. No modes to configure. --- ### What does YouTube Shorts Scraper do? It extracts structured data from [YouTube Shorts](https://www.youtube.com/shorts) using YouTube's own internal data API (the same one the website uses), so it's fast and returns exact numbers — not rounded estimates. For every Short you get the title, description, hashtags, exact view/like/comment counts, duration, publish date, thumbnail, and channel details (name, subscribers, verified badge). On top of the raw numbers it computes two metrics incumbents don't give you: - **Viral score** = views ÷ channel subscribers. A score above 1 means the Short reached more people than the channel's own audience; above 5 is a breakout hit. - **Engagement rate** = (likes + comments) ÷ views, so you can compare how well Shorts land regardless of size. Run it on the [Apify platform](https://apify.com) and export to JSON, CSV, or Excel, or pull results via API. ### Why use this Shorts scraper? - **Marketers & creators** — find breakout Shorts and high-performing formats by viral score and engagement, not just raw views. - **Trend & competitive research** — track any channel's Shorts, or discover Shorts by keyword/hashtag across the whole platform. - **AI & data teams** — build clean, tabular training/analysis datasets with exact engagement numbers and (optionally) the video files themselves. - **Agencies** — monitor clients' and competitors' Shorts output, comments, and audience reaction in one export. - **Anyone who needs the video** — optionally download the 360p MP4 of each Short to Apify storage and share a direct link. ### How to use it 1. Add one or more entries to **Channels, keywords, hashtags, or Short URLs** — for example `@MrBeast`, `cooking tips`, `#asmr`, or a `https://www.youtube.com/shorts/…` link. Mix and match freely; each line is auto-detected. 2. Set **Max Shorts per input** (default 10). 3. (Optional) Filter by publish date, choose a sort order, turn on **comments**, or turn on **video downloads**. 4. Click **Start**. 5. Export the dataset as JSON, CSV, or Excel — or grab it from the API. ### Input Only `startUrls` is required. Everything else has sensible defaults. **Scrape a channel's newest Shorts:** ```json { "startUrls": ["@MrBeast"], "maxResults": 25 } ```` **Discover Shorts by keyword, most popular first:** ```json { "startUrls": ["cooking tips", "home workout"], "maxResults": 20, "sortOrder": "popular" } ``` **Track a hashtag, last 7 days only:** ```json { "startUrls": ["#asmr"], "maxResults": 50, "publishedAfter": "7 days" } ``` **Enrich specific Shorts with comments:** ```json { "startUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID"], "includeComments": true, "maxComments": 50 } ``` **Scrape a channel and download the videos:** ```json { "startUrls": ["@mkbhd"], "maxResults": 10, "downloadVideos": true } ``` | Field | Type | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | `startUrls` | array of strings | — (required) | Channel handles (`@MrBeast`), usernames, channel URLs, keywords, `#hashtags`, or Short URLs. Auto-detected. | | `maxResults` | integer | 10 | Max Shorts per input entry (1–10,000). | | `publishedAfter` | string | — | Date `YYYY-MM-DD` or relative (`7 days`, `1 month`, `1 year`). | | `sortOrder` | string | `newest` | `newest`, `popular` (by views), or `oldest`. | | `includeComments` | boolean | `false` | Also scrape top comments. | | `maxComments` | integer | 20 | Comments per Short when enabled (1–500). | | `downloadVideos` | boolean | `false` | Download each Short (360p MP4) to Apify storage; adds `videoDownloadUrl`. | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | Residential (US) | YouTube blocks datacenter IPs, so residential is used automatically. | ### Output Each Short is one dataset row (`recordType: "short"`). Comments, when enabled, are separate rows (`recordType: "comment"`). ```json { "recordType": "short", "videoId": "LgbyEFILLJI", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LgbyEFILLJI", "title": "$1 vs $10,000 Cake", "description": "", "hashtags": [], "viewCount": 14785052, "likeCount": 418269, "commentCount": 8600, "durationSeconds": 49, "publishedAt": "2026-07-03T16:00:02.000Z", "viralScore": 0.0292, "engagementRate": 0.02887, "channelId": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA", "channelName": "MrBeast", "channelSubscribers": 506000000, "channelVerified": true, "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LgbyEFILLJI/oardefault.jpg", "captionsAvailable": false, "commentsDisabled": false, "videoDownloadUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/.../records/video-LgbyEFILLJI.mp4", "videoFileSizeBytes": 4521210, "videoQuality": "360p", "source": "channel", "query": "@MrBeast", "scrapedAt": "2026-07-06T10:55:48.718Z" } ``` | Field | Description | |---|---| | `viewCount` / `likeCount` / `commentCount` | Engagement counts (exact when YouTube exposes them, otherwise the best available value). | | `viralScore` | views ÷ subscribers (>1 = beat the channel's audience). | | `engagementRate` | (likes + comments) ÷ views. | | `channelSubscribers` / `channelVerified` | Channel size and verification. | | `hashtags` | Hashtags parsed from the description. | | `captionsAvailable` | Whether the Short has subtitles/captions. | | `videoDownloadUrl` | Shareable link to the downloaded MP4 (only if `downloadVideos` is on). | ### How much does it cost to scrape YouTube Shorts? This actor uses **pay-per-event** pricing — you only pay for what you get: | Event | Price | |---|---| | Short scraped (full metadata + viral score + engagement rate) | **$2.50 / 1,000** | | Comment scraped | **$0.40 / 1,000** | | Video downloaded | **$0.012 / MB** (a typical Short is ~3–8 MB) | **The first 10 chargeable events of every run are free**, so you can try it on a real run at no cost. Typical runs: - **1,000 Shorts, metadata only** → ~$2.50 - **1,000 Shorts + 20 comments each** → ~$2.50 + ~$8.00 comments - **100 Shorts + downloads** (~5 MB each) → ~$0.25 + ~$6.00 downloads (YouTube requires residential IPs, which is why downloads are priced by size — you pay in proportion to the bandwidth used.) ### Tips & advanced options - **Mix input types in one run** — put channels, keywords, and hashtags together; each is auto-detected. - **Find breakouts** — set `sortOrder: "popular"` and sort/filter your export by `viralScore` to surface Shorts that punched above the channel's audience. - **Keep runs cheap** — leave `downloadVideos` and `includeComments` off unless you need them; base metadata already includes viral score + engagement. - **Date filtering** — `publishedAfter` accepts both absolute dates and relative windows like `2 weeks`. - **Scheduling** — use Apify Schedules to track a channel or hashtag over time; the actor dedupes within a run. - **Downloads** — files land in the run's key-value store; the `videoDownloadUrl` on each row is a direct, shareable link. ### Legal & disclaimer This actor collects **publicly available** data from YouTube and does not log in or bypass any paywall. You are responsible for how you use the scraped data and for complying with [YouTube's Terms of Service](https://www.youtube.com/t/terms), copyright law, and applicable privacy regulations (GDPR/CCPA) — especially when downloading video files or scraping comments that contain personal data. Do not use this actor to infringe creators' rights or republish content without permission. ### FAQ & support **Do I need a YouTube API key?** No. The actor needs no key, no login, and has no daily quota. **Are the numbers exact?** View counts, durations, and publish dates are exact. Like/subscriber/comment counts are exact when YouTube exposes them and otherwise the closest available value (YouTube rounds some publicly). **Why is a channel returning fewer Shorts than expected?** `maxResults` caps per input, and very old Shorts on huge channels are paginated — raise `maxResults` to go deeper. **Can I download in HD?** v1 downloads 360p (fast, small, reliable). Higher resolutions are on the roadmap. **Which regions?** Results are fetched from US residential IPs for consistency. Questions or a feature request? Open an issue on the actor's **Issues** tab. # Actor input Schema ## `startUrls` (type: `array`): Paste anything — each line is auto-detected: • Channel: @MrBeast, mrbeast, or https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast • Keyword: funny shorts, cooking tips • Hashtag: #cooking, #asmr • Short URL: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO\_ID Mix and match as many as you like. ## `maxResults` (type: `integer`): Maximum Shorts to scrape for each channel / keyword / hashtag above (1–10,000). Higher = more data, longer run. Short URLs always return that one video. ## `publishedAfter` (type: `string`): Filter by publish date. Use a date (YYYY-MM-DD) or a relative time (e.g. 7 days, 2 weeks, 1 month, 1 year). Leave empty to include all Shorts. ## `sortOrder` (type: `string`): Order of results: Newest first, Oldest first, or by Popularity (view count). ## `includeComments` (type: `boolean`): When on, also scrape top comments (text, author, likes, date) for each Short. Priced separately per comment. Off = no comments (cheaper, faster). ## `maxComments` (type: `integer`): How many top comments to scrape per Short. Only used when 'Scrape comments' is on. ## `downloadVideos` (type: `boolean`): When on, download each Short as a 360p MP4 to Apify storage and add a `videoDownloadUrl` to every row. Priced per megabyte downloaded (a typical Short is ~3-8 MB). Uses residential proxy automatically for reliability. Off = metadata only. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): YouTube blocks datacenter IPs, so this actor uses Apify Residential proxy (pinned to the US for consistent results). Leave as-is for best reliability. Advanced: pick a different residential country if you need region-specific results. ## Actor input object example ```json { "startUrls": [ "@MrBeast" ], "maxResults": 10, "sortOrder": "newest", "includeComments": false, "maxComments": 20, "downloadVideos": false, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ] } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): All scraped Shorts (and comments, if enabled) in one dataset. # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "startUrls": [ "@MrBeast" ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ] } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("constructive_calm/youtube-shorts-scraper-pro").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "startUrls": ["@MrBeast"], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"], }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("constructive_calm/youtube-shorts-scraper-pro").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "startUrls": [ "@MrBeast" ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ] } }' | apify call constructive_calm/youtube-shorts-scraper-pro --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=constructive_calm/youtube-shorts-scraper-pro", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "YouTube Shorts Scraper — Discovery, Virality & Downloads", "description": "Scrape YouTube Shorts by channel, keyword, hashtag, or URL (auto-detected). Views, likes, comments, duration, hashtags, channel stats + viral score & engagement rate. Optional comment scraping and 360p video downloads to Apify storage.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "oHTE3yfIcsURckxao" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/constructive_calm~youtube-shorts-scraper-pro/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-constructive_calm-youtube-shorts-scraper-pro", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/constructive_calm~youtube-shorts-scraper-pro/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-constructive_calm-youtube-shorts-scraper-pro", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/constructive_calm~youtube-shorts-scraper-pro/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-constructive_calm-youtube-shorts-scraper-pro", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "startUrls" ], "properties": { "startUrls": { "title": "📍 Channels, keywords, hashtags, or Short URLs", "type": "array", "description": "Paste anything — each line is auto-detected:\n• Channel: @MrBeast, mrbeast, or https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast\n• Keyword: funny shorts, cooking tips\n• Hashtag: #cooking, #asmr\n• Short URL: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID\n\nMix and match as many as you like.", "items": { "type": "string" }, "default": [ "@MrBeast" ] }, "maxResults": { "title": "🔢 Max Shorts per input", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 10000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum Shorts to scrape for each channel / keyword / hashtag above (1–10,000). Higher = more data, longer run. Short URLs always return that one video.", "default": 10 }, "publishedAfter": { "title": "📅 Only Shorts published after", "pattern": "^(\\d{4})-(0[1-9]|1[0-2])-(0[1-9]|[12]\\d|3[01])$|^(\\d+)\\s*(day|week|month|year)s?$", "type": "string", "description": "Filter by publish date. Use a date (YYYY-MM-DD) or a relative time (e.g. 7 days, 2 weeks, 1 month, 1 year). Leave empty to include all Shorts." }, "sortOrder": { "title": "↕️ Sort by", "enum": [ "newest", "popular", "oldest" ], "type": "string", "description": "Order of results: Newest first, Oldest first, or by Popularity (view count).", "default": "newest" }, "includeComments": { "title": "💬 Scrape comments", "type": "boolean", "description": "When on, also scrape top comments (text, author, likes, date) for each Short. Priced separately per comment. Off = no comments (cheaper, faster).", "default": false }, "maxComments": { "title": "Max comments per Short", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 500, "type": "integer", "description": "How many top comments to scrape per Short. Only used when 'Scrape comments' is on.", "default": 20 }, "downloadVideos": { "title": "⬇️ Download video files (360p)", "type": "boolean", "description": "When on, download each Short as a 360p MP4 to Apify storage and add a `videoDownloadUrl` to every row. Priced per megabyte downloaded (a typical Short is ~3-8 MB). Uses residential proxy automatically for reliability. Off = metadata only.", "default": false }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "🌐 Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "YouTube blocks datacenter IPs, so this actor uses Apify Residential proxy (pinned to the US for consistent results). Leave as-is for best reliability. Advanced: pick a different residential country if you need region-specific results.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ] } } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```