YouTube Video Details & Metadata Scraper

Export public YouTube video and Shorts metadata from known URLs or IDs without a YouTube API key. Build a source-linked video inventory with available titles, channel details, dates, thumbnails and public counts. Completeness markers and warnings help you distinguish full metadata from useful partial results.

Quick start

Paste one public video URL, keep direct access and the default memory allocation, then start the Actor:

{
  "videoUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw" }],
  "includeRawMetadata": false
}

Download completed rows from the Dataset tab. Check RUN_SUMMARY for unavailable targets, partial data, or unprocessed IDs. The Actor returns metadata, not video files, transcripts, or comment text.

Prefer a video guide? This short Apify walkthrough shows you how to set up and run an Actor. It uses a different Actor, but the setup steps are the same.

Ready-to-run examples

Choose a small preconfigured input, then replace its video URLs or IDs. Review the example's connection settings before starting, as saved examples can use a proxy. These examples do not add connectors or built-in monitoring.

• Enrich YouTube video URL metadata — Start with a public watch URL.
• Enrich YouTube Shorts URL metadata — Look up metadata from a Shorts URL.
• Export selected raw YouTube metadata — Include selected source objects for your own parsing.

What you get

One usable public video row per unique ID, with canonical identity, available text, channel attribution, thumbnails, dates, counts and source diagnostics. Full watch-page and partial embed or oEmbed rows are distinguished explicitly. A partial row can lack views, likes, comments or description even when it is useful and billable.

Who is it for?

• Content inventory teams enriching known video lists with source-linked metadata.
• Creator researchers reviewing public counts and channel context without private analytics.
• Data developers joining video IDs from search, playlist or channel exports.
• Media analysts checking completeness before separate classification or comparison.

Input settings

Setting	JSON key	What to enter
YouTube video or Shorts URLs	videoUrls	Watch, Shorts, youtu.be, or embed URLs.
YouTube video IDs	videoIds	Raw 11-character video IDs when you already have them.
Maximum concurrency	maxConcurrency	Upper limit of 1–10 parallel lookups. Actual parallelism also depends on available memory.
Include raw metadata	includeRawMetadata	Adds selected raw source objects for debugging or custom downstream parsing.
Retry count	retryCount	Bounded retries for rate limits, transient failures, and recognized challenge pages.
Initial retry delay	initialRetryDelayMillis	Starting delay between retry attempts.
Request pacing	requestPacingMillis	Delay before later requests to reduce bursts.
Safe run time	runTimeSecs	Stops new network work before timeout so completed rows and the summary are preserved.
Connection settings	proxyConfiguration	Optional proxy settings under Advanced options. Direct access is the default. Proxy use can add costs.

Supply at least one URL or ID. You can combine both lists, up to 500 entries in total. Repeated IDs are looked up once.

For a mixed batch:

{
  "videoUrls": [
    { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" },
    { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0zM3nApSvMg" }
  ],
  "videoIds": ["9bZkp7q19f0"],
  "maxConcurrency": 3,
  "includeRawMetadata": false,
  "retryCount": 3,
  "runTimeSecs": 270
}

Output data

Illustrative shape only, not a measured current video snapshot. Counts, dates, and other fields may be null.

{
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "type": "video",
  "title": "Public video title",
  "description": null,
  "channelId": null,
  "channelName": "Public channel",
  "channelUrl": null,
  "publishedAt": null,
  "uploadDate": null,
  "durationSeconds": null,
  "viewCount": null,
  "likeCount": null,
  "commentCount": null,
  "category": "Music",
  "hashtags": [],
  "thumbnailUrls": ["https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/hqdefault.jpg"],
  "keywords": [],
  "isLiveContent": false,
  "isShort": false,
  "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "extractionSource": "watch-page",
  "dataCompleteness": "full",
  "warnings": [],
  "scrapedAt": "2026-07-03T10:00:00.000Z",
  "status": "ok"
}

Field	Description
url, videoId, type	Canonical URL, YouTube ID, and detected type: video, short, or unknown.
title, description	Public video text when available.
channelId, channelName, channelUrl	Public channel information when exposed.
publishedAt, uploadDate, durationSeconds, category	Public dates, duration, and category when available.
viewCount, likeCount, commentCount, subscriberCount	Public engagement and channel audience counts when YouTube exposes them.
thumbnailUrls, thumbnails, bestThumbnailUrl	Thumbnail URLs plus available dimensions and a convenient largest-image URL.
keywords, hashtags, availableCountries	Public discovery terms and country availability metadata.
isLiveContent, isShort, isUnlisted, isFamilySafe, isEmbeddable	Public video-type and availability indicators.
embedUrl, extractionSource, dataCompleteness, warnings	Embed link and explicit source/completeness diagnostics.
status, scrapedAt	Saved useful rows have status ok and a scrape timestamp. Lookup failures and unavailable-target reasons are in RUN_SUMMARY.videos.
rawMetadata	Optional selected source metadata when includeRawMetadata is enabled.

Understand incomplete lookups

Check dataCompleteness and warnings before relying on a row's metrics. Partial rows can contain a title, channel and thumbnail while lacking dates, descriptions or counts. Missing values are unknown, not zero.

Open the RUN_SUMMARY record in the run's key-value store for per-video outcomes. EMPTY means confirmed unavailability without a usable row. BUDGET, DEADLINE and SKIPPED identify unfinished lookups. Blocking and extraction failures are reported separately from expected unavailability. Mixed batches retain usable rows, so a successful run does not by itself mean every lookup is complete.

Download your results

Open your run's dataset, choose Export and select JSON, CSV or Excel. JSON keeps nested fields together. CSV and Excel are useful when you want to review the records in a spreadsheet.

See Apify's download and export guide for the available formats and field options.

Pricing

The start event is charged once after valid input is confirmed. A started run can incur this charge even when no rows are returned.

The item event is charged after a usable row is saved. Both full and explicitly marked partial rows are billable. Unavailable targets and diagnostics have no item charge. Exhausted charge capacity stops new lookups.

See the live Pricing tab for current rates, discounts and announced future prices.

Apify may also charge platform usage for compute, storage, proxies, or data transfer outside this Actor pricing. Check the Actor run and the Apify Pricing tab for the exact cost shown to your account.

Tips for best results

• Begin with a small batch. Start with 5-20 URLs before running a large list.
• Retry only unfinished targets. A large batch can reach the run's safety deadline with some videos still unprocessed. Check RUN_SUMMARY.stoppedByTimeLimit and rerun only the DEADLINE video IDs listed in RUN_SUMMARY.videos in a smaller batch. For BUDGET entries, increase the permitted charge limit before retrying. Keep already usable rows instead of requesting and paying for them again.
• Combine input modes deliberately. Mix videoUrls and videoIds only when you need both. Duplicates are deduplicated by video ID.
• Keep raw objects optional. Keep includeRawMetadata off for normal exports because it makes dataset rows larger.
• Inspect completeness and outcomes. Use dataset dataCompleteness for full versus partial rows, and RUN_SUMMARY.videos for unavailable or failed lookups.
• Check each recurring run. For recurring batches, inspect the RUN_SUMMARY key-value-store record or the Output tab after every run.
• Keep missing metrics visible. Expect some metric fields to be null. YouTube does not expose every count for every video.

Limits and caveats

• The actor exports metadata. It does not download videos, scrape comments, or extract transcripts.
• Private, age-restricted, deleted, or region-blocked videos may return public partial data. When YouTube explicitly confirms unavailability and no usable fallback exists, the lookup produces no dataset row and its reason appears in RUN_SUMMARY. A failed request alone does not prove privacy or deletion.
• Like and comment counts are only available when YouTube exposes them in public page metadata.
• This Actor enriches supplied videos. It does not discover a channel's entire archive or return private audience analytics.
• Shorts URLs are recognized directly. Classification of other URL types can use duration, date and image dimensions, so isShort is not an independent guarantee of YouTube's classification.
• Large batches may finish with unprocessed IDs. Oversized pages can produce partial results or an extraction failure.
• Restarting a run that already has billed work is rejected to avoid repeat extraction. Start a new run with unfinished IDs only.
• YouTube page structure can change. Inspect run diagnostics when expected fields or records disappear.

Automation and integrations

Save your settings for next time

Once you have an input that works for you, save it as an Apify task. This keeps your settings together so you can use them again without filling in the form from scratch.

Run on a schedule

Need fresh results regularly? You can schedule the Actor or a saved task to run at a time that suits you.

Each scheduled run collects the data again. If you want to compare results or highlight changes, add that step in your own workflow.

Send results to your other tools

Use n8n, Make or Zapier to connect this scraper to the rest of your workflow. For example, you could pass its results to an AI assistant or add records to a spreadsheet. Follow the Apify integration guides for your chosen tool.

For a custom connection, an Apify webhook can notify your app when a run finishes or fails. Your app can then fetch the results or handle the failure.

API usage

Want to collect this data from your own app or automation? The examples below send input to the scraper and show how to collect its results.

The Node.js and Python examples wait for the run to finish before reading its results. The cURL example starts the run and returns its details. Wait for that run to finish, then use its defaultDatasetId to fetch the results.

For setup instructions, see Apify's JavaScript client guide, Python client guide and Actor runs API reference.

cURL

curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fetch_cat~youtube-video-details-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "videoUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" }],
    "maxConcurrency": 3
  }'

Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('fetch_cat/youtube-video-details-scraper').call({
  videoUrls: [{ url: 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ' }],
  maxConcurrency: 3,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Python

import os
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient(os.environ["APIFY_TOKEN"])
run = client.actor("fetch_cat/youtube-video-details-scraper").call(run_input={
    "videoUrls": [{"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"}],
    "maxConcurrency": 3,
})
items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items
print(items)

MCP and AI agents

You can ask your AI assistant to collect data with YouTube Video Details Scraper and help you work with the results. The scraper returns the data, and your assistant can then summarize it, compare records or prepare notes.

Connect your assistant through the Apify MCP server. MCP gives your assistant a way to find this scraper, run it and read the results. Follow the official setup and sign-in guide for your app.

Easier setup with an Apify plugin

If you use a supported coding assistant, the official Apify plugin can set up the connection for you. It connects your assistant to Apify and includes instructions for common tasks. Follow the guide for your particular app.

Use Apify AI in Console

Prefer to keep everything in Apify? Open Apify AI in Console and ask it to find Fetch Cat's YouTube Video Details Scraper. You can describe the data you want and ask questions about the results.

Apify AI is currently in beta. It asks for confirmation before starting an Actor, and normal run charges apply.

Choose your assistant

• Claude and Claude Code (Anthropic): Apify setup guide.
• ChatGPT and Codex (OpenAI): Apify setup guides.
• Grok Bot (xAI): Apify plugin guide.
• Gemini CLI (Google): MCP server setup guide. Use the server URL below with the HTTP configuration supported by Gemini CLI.

Connect just this scraper

To keep your setup focused on this scraper, add this server configuration to a compatible MCP client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=fetch_cat/youtube-video-details-scraper"
    }
  }
}

Sign in to Apify when your client asks. If your client uses a Bearer token instead, follow its setup guide and keep the token in its secure configuration. Configuration formats vary by app, so use the linked guide if your client needs a different format.

Use Apify's general server

Already connected to the general Apify MCP server at https://mcp.apify.com? You can use it to find this scraper without adding another server. Ask your assistant to use YouTube Video Details Scraper by Fetch Cat, or give it the identifier fetch_cat/youtube-video-details-scraper.

Your assistant can check the available settings and retrieve the results from the returned run. If the run is still working, it should follow that run rather than start it again. Both connection options use Apify's hosted service.

Example requests

• “Get the titles, channels and publication dates for these YouTube links, then prepare a catalog table and flag missing information.”
• “Collect the available public counts for these video IDs and help me compare the returned records, keeping incomplete results separate.”
• “Retrieve metadata for these Shorts links and include thumbnails and source links in a spreadsheet-ready summary.”

Normal Apify charges apply. Check the live Pricing tab before asking your assistant to run a larger batch.

Pay with x402

If your AI agent has a funded wallet, it can pay for Apify usage through x402. This experimental option lets an agent use Apify without a conventional account.

Apify AGI provides a prepaid API token with a spending cap after payment. Your agent can use that token to run this scraper through the Apify API or an authenticated MCP connection.

Direct per-request MCP payments have separate eligibility requirements. Use the prepaid-token API flow for this Actor unless the current platform guide confirms that your MCP payment setup supports it.

Follow the official guide for wallet setup, supported payment options and current terms. Apify handles the payments. Keep wallet keys and payment tokens in your agent's secure configuration.

Other ways for agents to pay

Apify also supports MPP for prepaid access through AGI and Skyfire for eligible Actors. If your agent already uses one of these, see the agentic payment guide to choose the right setup.

FAQ

Can this scrape YouTube Shorts?

Yes. Paste Shorts URLs into videoUrls. Rows are marked with isShort.

Do I need a YouTube API key?

No. This actor reads publicly available video metadata.

Does it scrape comments or transcripts?

No. It extracts video metadata and public engagement fields, not comments, transcript text, or media files.

Can I export to CSV or Excel?

Yes. Download the Apify dataset as CSV, Excel, JSON, XML, RSS, or through the Dataset API.

Related Actors

• YouTube Search Results Scraper — Collect public YouTube search-result metadata for supported video, channel or playlist searches.
• YouTube Channel Videos Scraper — Collect recent public YouTube channel video metadata, without promising a complete historical archive.
• YouTube Playlist Videos Scraper — Collect available public video metadata from supplied YouTube playlist URLs.
• YouTube Shorts Scraper — Collect metadata for available public YouTube Shorts.
• YouTube Comments Scraper — Collect available public YouTube video comments and exposed replies.

Support and feedback

For custom additions or integrations, email hello@fetchcat.dev.

Found an error or have a feature request? Open an issue with the run URL, a non-sensitive input example and what you expected.

Need help sharing it? See Apify’s guide to sharing a run when reporting an issue. Sharing a run can give the developer access to its input, logs and results, so use a run that contains no sensitive data. Please leave out API tokens, passwords, cookies, private documents and personal data. Use a public sample URL or a redacted example instead.

Tried this scraper? We'd love to hear how it worked for you. Leave a review to help others choose the right tool and help us improve it. Your feedback means a lot to us.

Made with care for curious people, AI agents and the possibilities in data. ♥