Youtube Video Downloader

What does YouTube Video Downloader do?

YouTube Video Downloader is an SEO-friendly Apify Actor for downloading public YouTube video metadata, format URLs, Shorts data, and live replay details at scale. It processes public YouTube URLs with the Apify SDK for TypeScript, extracts downloadable MP4/WebM stream information, optional transcript data, thumbnails, and channel metadata, and can optionally save one best progressive file into the run's default key-value store.

If you need to download YouTube video metadata with an API, automate YouTube Shorts downloader workflows, or prepare reusable media records for internal tools, this Actor is built for it. You can run it from Apify Console, API, schedules, webhooks, or integrations, with dataset exports and scalable automation around a simple JSON input.

Why use YouTube Video Downloader?

This Actor is useful when you need a repeatable way to:

1. Validate public YouTube URLs before downstream processing.
2. Collect downloadable stream metadata for content operations, archiving, or internal tooling.
3. Save one progressive file copy for approved public content workflows.
4. Capture transcripts and video metadata for search, indexing, or QA pipelines.
5. Monetize a Store Actor with predictable pay-per-event (PPE) behavior tied to dataset output and optional file export.

How to use YouTube Video Downloader

1. Open the Actor in Apify Console.
2. Paste one or more public YouTube URLs into YouTube video URLs.
3. Choose whether you want format URLs only or to save the best progressive file.
4. Adjust quality, container, transcript capture, and format limits as needed.
5. Start the run and inspect the dataset plus saved files in the default key-value store.

Input

Use the Input tab in Apify Console. The main fields are:

1. YouTube video URLs: public watch, Shorts, or live replay URLs.
2. Max videos: caps how many URLs are processed in one run.
3. Preferred quality: guides the optional saved file selection.
4. Preferred container: filters MP4 or WebM results.
5. Include progressive/adaptive formats: controls output breadth.
6. Download mode: either return metadata only or save one progressive file.
7. Include transcript: fetch public transcript text when available.
8. Max saved file size (MB): prevents large in-memory exports.

Example input:

{
  "startUrls": [
    { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" }
  ],
  "maxVideos": 5,
  "preferredQuality": "720p",
  "preferredContainer": "mp4",
  "includeProgressiveFormats": true,
  "includeAdaptiveFormats": true,
  "downloadMode": "save-best-progressive",
  "includeTranscript": true,
  "maxDownloadSizeMb": 150
}

Output

Each dataset item represents one input URL. Successful items include metadata, direct format URLs, and optional saved-file details. You can download the dataset in various formats such as JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel.

[
  {
    "status": "downloaded",
    "inputUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "canonicalUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "mediaType": "Video",
    "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Music Video)",
    "durationSeconds": 213,
    "viewCount": 123456789,
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg",
    "formats": [
      {
        "itag": 18,
        "container": "mp4",
        "streamType": "progressive",
        "qualityLabel": "360p",
        "downloadUrl": "https://..."
      }
    ],
    "selectedDownload": {
      "key": "download-rick-astley-never-gonna-give-you-up-official-music-video-dQw4w9WgXcQ.mp4",
      "publicUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/...",
      "container": "mp4",
      "bytes": 18452133
    }
  }
]

Data table

Field	Description
status	ready, downloaded, or error
videoId	Normalized YouTube video ID
title	Video title from YouTube metadata
mediaType	Video, Short, or Live replay
formats	Returned download format metadata and expiring direct URLs
selectedDownload	Saved file details when file export is enabled
transcript	Public transcript data when available and requested

FAQ, disclaimers, and support

This Actor is intended for public YouTube content that you own, are licensed to use, or are otherwise authorized to process. Make sure your use complies with YouTube terms, copyright rules, and local law.

Direct format URLs returned by YouTube are typically time-limited. If you need durable access, use the saved-file mode and fetch the file from the run's key-value store instead.

Some videos may not expose transcripts, progressive formats, or playable streams in every context. In those cases the Actor returns a structured error item instead of failing the whole run.

If you publish this Actor to Apify Store, use the Issues tab for support and feedback. If you need a custom downloader or a larger content-processing pipeline, this project is a good base for extending the workflow.