# YouTube Thumbnail Downloader: Bulk, Every Size & Titles (`h1018y/anvil-youtube-thumbnail-downloader`) Actor

Gets YouTube thumbnails in bulk from video links (watch, youtu.be, shorts): the best image URL, which sizes really exist (maxres, sd, hq, mq), the video title and the channel. A YouTube thumbnail grabber with clean CSV output, no API key.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-youtube-thumbnail-downloader.md
- **Developed by:** [ANVIL Tools](https://apify.com/h1018y) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, Social media, SEO tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.50 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## YouTube Thumbnail Downloader: Bulk, Every Size & Titles

**YouTube Thumbnail Downloader** - Bulk-download YouTube thumbnails and get one flat row per video with title, channel and every available resolution, ready for CSV.

### What does YouTube Thumbnail Downloader do?

Each output row combines the thumbnail with the video title, channel name and channel URL (from YouTube's public oEmbed endpoint). It also has a boolean per resolution (maxres, sd, hq, mq) showing which sizes actually exist, so there is no silent fallback to a lower size.

- Bulk input of video URLs (watch, youtu.be, shorts, embed) with duplicates removed
- Title, channel name and channel URL on every row via the public oEmbed endpoint
- Availability flags for maxres, sd, hq and mq thumbnails, plus the URL of the best available size
- Flat, CSV-friendly output with no nested fields
- Toggles to turn off image saving to the key-value store and to turn off the metadata lookup

### Why this YouTube Thumbnail Downloader?

The low cases are generic copies of the same pagination-based scraper template, with no distinct output or use case and a high minimum price, so nobody has a reason to pick them. This YouTube Thumbnail Downloader checks every run and tells you plainly when a page could not be read, instead of returning empty or wrong rows.

### How to use YouTube Thumbnail Downloader

1. Press **Start** - the form already holds an example that works.
2. Put in your own input (see the fields on the Input tab).
3. Run it once, or put it on an **Apify Schedule** to get fresh rows every day.
4. Download the results as JSON, CSV or Excel, or send them to Google Sheets, Zapier, Make, the Apify API or an AI agent (Apify MCP server).

#### Input example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
  ],
  "checkSizes": true,
  "maxItems": 3
}
```

#### Output example (a real run)

```json
[
  {
    "input": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "video_url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video) (4K Remaster)",
    "channel": "Rick Astley",
    "channel_url": "https://www.youtube.com/@RickAstleyYT",
    "maxres_url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg",
    "has_maxres": true,
    "sd_url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/sddefault.jpg",
    "has_sd": true,
    "hq_url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/hqdefault.jpg",
    "has_hq": true,
    "mq_url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/mqdefault.jpg",
    "has_mq": true,
    "best_url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg"
  }
]
```

One flat row per result.

### How much does YouTube Thumbnail Downloader cost?

You pay only per result (pay per event) - no monthly fee, no minimum, and the price per result is lower on Apify's Bronze, Silver and Gold plans. The exact price is on the **Pricing** tab. Apify's free plan credit is enough to try it on real input.

### Also searched as

- youtube thumbnail grabber
- youtube thumbnail bulk
- download youtube thumbnail hd
- youtube thumbnail scraper
- youtube video title channel

### FAQ

**Does YouTube Thumbnail Downloader need a login, cookies or an API key?** No. It reads public pages only.

**Can I run YouTube Thumbnail Downloader on a schedule?** Yes - with Apify Schedules; each run returns fresh rows.

**Can I call it from Python, JavaScript or an AI agent?** Yes - through the Apify API, the Apify client libraries or the Apify MCP server.

**Is it legal?** It collects only data anyone can see without logging in. You are responsible for using it within the source site's terms and data protection law (GDPR, CCPA).

**What if the site blocks a request?** The run retries from a fresh connection and, if it still cannot read the page, stops with a clear message - never with made-up rows.

Data source: [www.youtube.com](https://www.youtube.com)

### More tools from this developer

- [Tweet Scraper: Tweet Details by URL, No Login or Cookies](https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-tweet-scraper)
- [ML Conference Alternatives: NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML by Topic](https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-ml-conference-finder)
- [YouTube Transcript Search: Every Moment a Word Is Said](https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-youtube-transcript-scraper)
- [Facebook Ads Library Scraper: Only New Ads & Days Running](https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-facebook-ads-library-scraper)
- [Reddit Scraper: Keyword Alerts for New Posts & Comments](https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-reddit-scraper)
- [Twitter Scraper: New Tweets From Any X Account, No Login](https://apify.com/h1018y/anvil-twitter-scraper)

# Actor input Schema

## `urls` (type: `array`):

YouTube video links (watch, youtu.be, shorts) or 11-character video IDs.

## `checkSizes` (type: `boolean`):

Send one light request per size to see which thumbnail sizes really exist.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of videos to process.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
  ],
  "checkSizes": true,
  "maxItems": 3
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

All result rows (open as table, JSON, CSV or Excel).

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "urls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
    ],
    "checkSizes": true,
    "maxItems": 3
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("h1018y/anvil-youtube-thumbnail-downloader").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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "urls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"],
    "checkSizes": True,
    "maxItems": 3,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("h1018y/anvil-youtube-thumbnail-downloader").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
  ],
  "checkSizes": true,
  "maxItems": 3
}' |
apify call h1018y/anvil-youtube-thumbnail-downloader --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,h1018y/anvil-youtube-thumbnail-downloader"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/DfChTahCdvFchm5WV/builds/9ceTwYR2NUPhDDRWN/openapi.json