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💬 YouTube Comments Scraper

Extract comments from any YouTube video with author information, likes, timestamps, and nested replies - fast, reliable, and built for scale.

This powerful Apify actor provides professional-grade extraction of YouTube comments including author details, engagement metrics, timestamps, and nested replies. Perfect for sentiment analysis, market research, content analysis, and social listening.

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-- Key Features --

💬 Complete Comment Extraction

• Top-level Comments with full text content
• Author Information including name, channel ID, avatar, and verification status
• Engagement Metrics - like counts and reply counts
• Timestamps - when comments were posted
• Nested Replies - optional extraction of comment replies with pagination support

⚡ Performance & Reliability

• Fast Extraction - Optimized for speed and efficiency with parallel processing
• Batch Operations - Smart buffering reduces API calls by up to 3x
• Pagination Support - Extract unlimited comments per video
• Sort Options - Get top comments or newest first
• Smart Token Handling - Automatic extraction of sort-specific continuation tokens
• Session Management - Advanced proxy rotation with health tracking
• Error Handling - Graceful handling of disabled comments or unavailable videos

🛠️ Developer-Friendly

• Clean JSON Output - Ready for any data pipeline or API integration
• Flexible Configuration - Control comment count, sorting, and reply depth
• Structured Data - Each comment includes parent/child relationships
• Performance Metrics - Real-time statistics on request rates and success
• Well-Documented - Clear examples and comprehensive documentation

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Quick Start

Simple Example (Top Comments, No Replies)

{
  "youtubeUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOO31qFmi9A"
    }
  ],
  "maxComments": 100,
  "sortBy": "top",
  "maxRepliesPerComment": 0
}

Extract Newest Comments

{
  "youtubeUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOO31qFmi9A"
    }
  ],
  "maxComments": 100,
  "sortBy": "newest",
  "maxRepliesPerComment": 0
}

With Nested Replies

{
  "youtubeUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOO31qFmi9A"
    }
  ],
  "maxComments": 50,
  "sortBy": "top",
  "maxRepliesPerComment": 10
}

Multiple Videos with Maximum Replies

{
  "youtubeUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID_1"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID_2"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID_3"
    }
  ],
  "maxComments": 200,
  "sortBy": "newest",
  "maxRepliesPerComment": 50
}

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📥 Input Configuration

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
youtubeUrls	array	Required	Array of YouTube video URLs to extract comments from
maxComments	integer	10	Maximum number of top-level comments to extract per video (10-100,000)
sortBy	string	top	Sort method: top (most relevant) or newest (most recent)
maxRepliesPerComment	integer	0	Max replies per comment. Set to 0 to disable replies, or any number > 0 to enable (1-500)

⚡ NEW: Simplified Reply Configuration

The includeReplies parameter has been removed! Now it's simpler:

• maxRepliesPerComment: 0 → Replies are disabled (faster extraction)
• maxRepliesPerComment: 10 → Extract up to 10 replies per comment
• maxRepliesPerComment: 100 → Extract up to 100 replies per comment

This makes configuration more intuitive - you just set how many replies you want, or 0 for none!

Supported URL Formats

• ✅ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
• ✅ https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID
• ✅ https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID
• ✅ https://www.youtube.com/live/VIDEO_ID
• ✅ Direct video ID: VIDEO_ID

Sort Options Explained

Top Comments (sortBy: "top")

• Sorted by YouTube's relevance algorithm
• Includes most liked and engaging comments
• Best for understanding popular opinion
• Default YouTube sorting method

Newest First (sortBy: "newest")

• Sorted by publication time (newest to oldest)
• Perfect for monitoring recent activity
• Track real-time engagement
• Requires an additional API call to extract the correct token

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📤 Output Structure

Complete Output Example

{
  "videoId": "kOO31qFmi9A",
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOO31qFmi9A",
  "commentsDisabled": false,
  "sortBy": "top",
  "commentId": "UgxQe-6VK3h-LZaul6x4AaABAg",
  "authorName": "@petertenthije",
  "authorChannelId": "UCjRXzLWPELehRVijzUiX7iQ",
  "authorThumbnail": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/ytc/AIdro_mvTOxNFL9dMAEzBQAvVcn4JgDSYUQHFQTOydPLOY4=s88-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
  "text": "30 years later, and nothing has changed:\n\nThe world still uses excel;\nThere is still one guy doing the work;\nThere are still three guys being clueless;\nThere is still one guy pushing to go faster, thinking the project is doomed… and taking the credit when everything works out.",
  "publishedTime": "3 years ago (edited)",
  "likeCount": "28K",
  "replyCount": 229,
  "isVerified": false,
  "isCreator": false,
  "isHearted": false,
  "isPinned": false,
  "replies": [
    {
      "commentId": "UgxQe-6VK3h-LZaul6x4AaABAg.9bBOqHCtsBY9bCzb1v1tt1",
      "authorName": "@arnaboceanatyahoo",
      "authorChannelId": "UCi7-fR2kGX18SCvKI_XV8rQ",
      "authorThumbnail": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/ytc/AIdro_ln6eho2LyWvvi4mCOpvOMntSiPC6DrhVb3fZyb9eY=s88-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
      "text": "Hahaha",
      "publishedTime": "3 years ago",
      "likeCount": "78",
      "parentCommentId": "UgxQe-6VK3h-LZaul6x4AaABAg"
    }
  ],
  "scrapedAt": "2025-10-24T18:21:50.350Z"
}

Output Fields Explained

Video Information

• videoId - YouTube video identifier (11 characters)
• videoUrl - Full YouTube video URL
• commentsDisabled - Whether comments are disabled (boolean)
• sortBy - Sort method used: top or newest
• scrapedAt - ISO 8601 timestamp when data was scraped

Top-Level Comment Fields

• commentId - Unique comment identifier
• text - Full comment text content (preserves line breaks)
• authorName - Display name with @ prefix
• authorChannelId - YouTube channel ID (starts with UC)
• authorThumbnail - URL to author's profile picture (88x88px)
• publishedTime - Relative time (e.g., "3 years ago", "2 days ago (edited)")
• likeCount - Number of likes as displayed (e.g., "28K", "150")
• replyCount - Total number of replies to this comment
• isVerified - Whether author has a verified checkmark
• isCreator - Whether author is the video creator
• isHearted - Whether creator hearted this comment
• isPinned - Whether comment is pinned by creator
• replies - Array of reply objects (if maxRepliesPerComment > 0)

Reply Fields

• commentId - Unique reply identifier
• parentCommentId - ID of the parent comment
• text - Reply text content
• authorName - Reply author's name
• authorChannelId - Reply author's channel ID
• authorThumbnail - Reply author's avatar URL
• publishedTime - When the reply was posted
• likeCount - Number of likes on the reply
• isCreator - Whether the reply is from the video creator
• isHearted - Whether the reply was hearted by the creator
• isPinned - Whether the reply is pinned

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🛡️ Legal & Compliance

This actor extracts publicly available comment data from YouTube. All data is accessible through normal YouTube viewing.

Important Legal Considerations

Compliance Requirements:

• ✅ YouTube's Terms of Service
• ✅ Applicable copyright laws
• ✅ Data protection regulations (GDPR, CCPA, etc.)
• ✅ Your jurisdiction's specific laws

Recommended Practices:

• ✅ Use for research, analysis, or legitimate business purposes
• ✅ Respect user privacy and anonymize data when sharing
• ✅ Do not use for harassment, spam, or malicious purposes
• ✅ Comply with data retention and deletion requirements
• ✅ Provide opt-out mechanisms if republishing data
• ✅ Credit sources appropriately

Prohibited Uses:

• ❌ Harassment or targeted attacks on users
• ❌ Building spam or bot networks
• ❌ Circumventing YouTube's security measures
• ❌ Selling or redistributing raw user data
• ❌ Creating deepfakes or manipulated content

Data Privacy

Personal Information Handling:

• Comments include publicly visible usernames and profile pictures
• Channel IDs are public identifiers
• No private or non-public data is extracted
• Consider anonymization before sharing datasets

GDPR Compliance:

• Users have the right to request data deletion
• Implement data retention policies
• Document data processing purposes
• Provide transparency about data usage

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🛠️ Troubleshooting

No Comments Found

Symptoms:

• Empty dataset
• Message: "No comments section found or comments are disabled"

Solutions:

• ✅ Verify comments are enabled on the video (check YouTube page)
• ✅ Ensure the video URL is correct and complete
• ✅ Try with a different video to confirm actor functionality
• ✅ Check if video is age-restricted or private

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Missing or Incomplete Data

Symptoms:

• Some fields are null or missing
• Truncated comment text

Solutions:

• ✅ Normal behavior - not all fields exist for all comments
• ✅ authorChannelId may be null for deleted accounts
• ✅ likeCount may be null if likes are hidden
• ✅ Check frameworkUpdates merging for enhanced data

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Slow Performance

Symptoms:

• Actor runs longer than expected
• Timeouts or incomplete results

Solutions:

• ✅ Reduce maxComments for faster runs
• ✅ Set maxRepliesPerComment: 0 if not needed (major speedup)
• ✅ Lower maxRepliesPerComment to reduce reply fetching time
• ✅ Process multiple videos in separate runs
• ✅ Check Apify platform limits and usage

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Rate Limiting Errors

Symptoms:

• HTTP 429 errors
• "Too many requests" messages
• Sudden failures mid-scrape

Solutions:

• ✅ Automatic proxy rotation is enabled by default
• ✅ Reduce request frequency (handled automatically)
• ✅ Split large jobs into multiple smaller runs
• ✅ Add delay between consecutive runs
• ✅ Contact support if persistent issues

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Best Practices

For Optimal Performance

1. Start Small, Scale Up

   • Test with 50-100 comments first
   • Verify output format meets your needs
   • Then scale to larger extractions

2. Choose Appropriate Settings

   • Use sortBy: "top" for popular opinion
   • Use sortBy: "newest" for real-time monitoring
   • Set maxRepliesPerComment: 0 when replies aren't needed (10x faster!)
   • Enable replies only when needed (significant performance impact)

3. Monitor Resource Usage

   • Check Apify platform usage regularly
   • Optimize maxComments and maxRepliesPerComment
   • Balance speed vs. completeness

4. Batch Processing

   • Process videos in groups of 5-10
   • Use separate runs for very large videos
   • Schedule regular runs for ongoing monitoring

For Data Quality

1. Validate Input URLs

   • Test URLs in browser first
   • Ensure videos have comments enabled
   • Check video is public and accessible

2. Handle Missing Data

   • Implement null checks in your code
   • Some fields may legitimately be empty
   • Don't assume all fields always exist

3. Verify Sort Order

   • Compare first few results with YouTube
   • Check console logs for sort token extraction
   • Newest sort requires extra API call

4. Clean and Process Data

   • Remove duplicates (rare but possible)
   • Parse likeCount strings to numbers if needed
   • Convert relative timestamps to dates if required

For Compliance

1. Respect User Privacy

   • Anonymize data when sharing publicly
   • Remove personally identifiable information
   • Don't republish offensive or harmful content

2. Document Usage

   • Keep records of data sources
   • Document purpose of data collection
   • Maintain data processing logs

3. Implement Retention Policies

   • Delete old data per your policy
   • Honor user deletion requests
   • Don't hoard unnecessary data

4. Stay Updated

   • Review YouTube's ToS regularly
   • Monitor changes in data structure
   • Update actor when API changes

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📊 Output Examples

Example 1: Single Comment (No Replies)

{
  "videoId": "kOO31qFmi9A",
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOO31qFmi9A",
  "commentsDisabled": false,
  "sortBy": "top",
  "commentId": "UgxQe-6VK3h-LZaul6x4AaABAg",
  "authorName": "@petertenthije",
  "authorChannelId": "UCjRXzLWPELehRVijzUiX7iQ",
  "authorThumbnail": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/ytc/AIdro_mvTOxNFL9dMAEzBQAvVcn4JgDSYUQHFQTOydPLOY4=s88-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
  "text": "30 years later, and nothing has changed",
  "publishedTime": "3 years ago (edited)",
  "likeCount": "28K",
  "replyCount": 229,
  "isVerified": false,
  "isCreator": false,
  "isHearted": false,
  "isPinned": false,
  "replies": [],
  "scrapedAt": "2025-10-24T18:21:50.350Z"
}

Example 2: Comment with Replies (maxRepliesPerComment: 2)

{
  "videoId": "kOO31qFmi9A",
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOO31qFmi9A",
  "commentsDisabled": false,
  "sortBy": "top",
  "commentId": "UgxQe-6VK3h-LZaul6x4AaABAg",
  "authorName": "@petertenthije",
  "text": "Great video!",
  "replyCount": 3,
  "replies": [
    {
      "commentId": "UgxQe-6VK3h-LZaul6x4AaABAg.9bBOqHCtsBY9bCzb1v1tt1",
      "parentCommentId": "UgxQe-6VK3h-LZaul6x4AaABAg",
      "authorName": "@user1",
      "text": "I agree!",
      "likeCount": "78"
    },
    {
      "commentId": "UgxQe-6VK3h-LZaul6x4AaABAg.9bBOqHCtsBY9bDP_Iw25XS",
      "parentCommentId": "UgxQe-6VK3h-LZaul6x4AaABAg",
      "authorName": "@user2",
      "text": "Thanks for sharing!",
      "likeCount": "520"
    }
  ],
  "scrapedAt": "2025-10-24T18:21:50.350Z"
}

Example 3: Comments Disabled

{
  "videoId": "ABC123",
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABC123",
  "commentsDisabled": true,
  "totalCommentsFetched": 0,
  "scrapedAt": "2025-10-24T18:21:50.350Z"
}

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💬 Support & Community

Community:

• 💬 Discord Community
• 🐛 GitHub Issues
• 📧 Email Support

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