YouTube Metadata Scraper

Full metadata for YouTube videos by ID or URL: views, likes, comments, length, publish date, description, tags, and channel.

For analysts, agencies, and AI builders who need exact video stats. Every run tells you plainly what worked and what did not: no silent empty runs.

What you can do with it

• Campaign reporting: track views, likes, and comments for a list of videos.
• Video audits: export title, description, and tags for SEO review.

What you get

Field	What it is	Example
input	The ID or URL you submitted.	tIgIF5lve8U
type	video or error.	video
videoId	11-character YouTube video id.	tIgIF5lve8U
url	Watch URL.	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIgIF5lve8U
title	Video title.	I Just Need A Programmer | Prime Reacts
description	Video description text.	Recorded live on twitch, GET IN https://twitch.tv/ThePrimeagen Become…
channelName	Uploader display name.	The PrimeTime
channelId	YouTube channel id.	UCUyeluBRhGPCW4rPe_UvBZQ
channelUrl	https://www.youtube.com/channel/{channelId}	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUyeluBRhGPCW4rPe_UvBZQ
views	View count as an integer when YouTube provided one.	224438
likes	Like count when YouTube showed it.	5658
commentCount	Comment count when available.	501
durationSeconds	Length in seconds.	1106
duration	Length as m:ss or h:mm:ss.	18:26
publishedAt	Upload or publish date as returned for the video.	20240105
thumbnailUrl	Largest thumbnail URL returned.	https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tIgIF5lve8U/maxresdefault.jpg
category	YouTube category when present.
tags	Creator tags when present.	[programming, …]

Examples come from a real run. Every row has every field; a value the page did not show is null, never guessed.

One row per video.

How to use it

1. Click Try for free (or Start) on this page.
2. Enter one video ID or URL per line in the first field. The form is prefilled with a working example.
3. Optional: set Max results and the other options.
4. Click Start. Open the Output tab, or export JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML.

Example input

{
  "videoIds": [
    "tIgIF5lve8U"
  ],
  "maxResults": 1
}

Example output

One real row from a run on 17 October 2026 (long values shortened here):

{
  "input": "tIgIF5lve8U",
  "type": "video",
  "videoId": "tIgIF5lve8U",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIgIF5lve8U",
  "title": "I Just Need A Programmer | Prime Reacts",
  "description": "Recorded live on twitch, GET IN \n\nhttps://twitch.tv/ThePrimeagen\n\nBecome a backend engineer.  Its my favorite site\nhttps://boot.dev/?promo=PRIMEYT\n\nThis is a…",
  "channelName": "The PrimeTime",
  "channelId": "UCUyeluBRhGPCW4rPe_UvBZQ",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUyeluBRhGPCW4rPe_UvBZQ",
  "views": 224438,
  "likes": 5658,
  "commentCount": 501,
  "durationSeconds": 1106,
  "duration": "18:26",
  "publishedAt": "20240105",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tIgIF5lve8U/maxresdefault.jpg",
  "category": null,
  "tags": [
    "programming",
    "software engineer",
    "software engineering",
    "…"
  ]
}

Pricing

Pay per result: $5.00 per 1,000 rows, plus $0.001 per run start. No subscription.

Event	When	Price
Actor start	Once per run (per GB of memory; the default 256 MB counts as one)	$0.001
Result row	Each row saved to the dataset	$0.005

Example	Rows	Cost
10 videos	10	$0.001 + $0.05 = $0.051
100 videos	100	$0.001 + $0.50 = $0.501
1,000 videos	1,000	$0.001 + $5.00 = $5.001

• Retries after a bot check or a temporary error cost you nothing. You pay only for rows saved.
• An input that fails after all retries saves one error row (one row charge), so you can see what failed and why.
• Set Max total charge per run in the run options. The Actor stops cleanly at that limit and keeps every row saved so far.

What you can count on

• Same columns on every row. Missing values are null, so spreadsheets and databases never break.
• No silent failures. An input that fails gets an error row with errorCode and a plain-language errorMessage. The other inputs keep running.
• A clear run summary. The run status says how many results were saved, how many inputs failed, and why. The same numbers are saved as the RUN_SUMMARY record in the run's key-value store, for automations.
• Automatic retries. Bot checks and temporary errors are retried with a fresh request before an input counts as failed.
• Limits respected. Max results and your spending limit stop the run cleanly.

Use it from code, automations, and AI agents

API (returns the rows when the run finishes):

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/datacortex~youtube-metadata-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"videoIds": ["tIgIF5lve8U"], "maxResults": 1}'

Python (pip install apify-client):

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("datacortex/youtube-metadata-scraper").call(run_input={"videoIds": ["tIgIF5lve8U"], "maxResults": 1})
for row in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(row)

JavaScript (npm install apify-client):

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_API_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('datacortex/youtube-metadata-scraper').call({"videoIds": ["tIgIF5lve8U"], "maxResults": 1});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();

No-code: connect the Actor in Make, Zapier, n8n, or Google Sheets through Apify's integrations, or add a webhook to get notified when a run finishes.

AI agents (MCP): add https://mcp.apify.com?tools=datacortex/youtube-metadata-scraper to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client. The agent can call this Actor as a tool with the same input as above.

Limitations

• Private, deleted, and members-only videos return an error row with the reason.
• Transcripts and comment texts are not included.

FAQ

What does an error row mean? It marks an input that failed after retries. errorCode is short (blocked, empty_result, not_available, http_404, or invalid_... for a bad ID or URL) and errorMessage says what to do. Remove error rows with a filter on type.

Can I run it on a schedule? Yes. Create a task with your input in Apify Console, then add a schedule (for example every day at 8:00).

Is it legal to collect this data? The Actor reads public pages that anyone can open without logging in. You are responsible for how you use the data, including copyright, personal data rules such as GDPR, and the site's terms. If you are not sure, ask a lawyer.

Related Actors

• YouTube Search Scraper: YouTube search results by keyword.
• YouTube Channel Scraper: Latest videos from any YouTube channel plus the channel profile.

Support

Found a problem or need a field? Open an issue on the Issues tab. Include the run ID and one input that shows the problem. We read every issue.