Youku Video Scraper

Scrape Youku (优酷) videos in seconds. Paste any Youku video or share link and this Actor returns clean, structured video details — title, uploader, duration, tags, thumbnail, and every available resolution — plus a direct video URL for each quality. You can also download the video file itself. It runs on the Apify platform, so you get API access, scheduling, integrations, and run monitoring out of the box.

What does Youku Video Scraper do?

Youku is one of China's largest video platforms. This Actor turns any Youku link into ready-to-use data: for each video you provide, it collects the title, uploader, duration, tags, thumbnail, and available qualities, and gives you a direct video URL you can stream or save. Want the file on disk? Switch on Download video files and the Actor saves a single, full-length MP4 you can grab straight from the run.

You can try it right away with the prefilled example link, then paste your own.

Why use Youku Video Scraper?

• Media monitoring & research — track a creator's uploads, durations, and tags over time.
• Content archiving — save direct video URLs or downloaded MP4 files for backup.
• Dataset building — collect structured video metadata across many links for analysis or ML.
• Automation — call it from the Apify API, run it on a schedule, or connect it to Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets, and more.

How to use Youku Video Scraper

1. Open the Actor and go to the Input tab.
2. Paste one or more Youku video URLs into Youku video URLs.
3. (Optional) Set Preferred video quality to best or worst.
4. (Optional) Turn on Download video files if you want the MP4 saved, not just its URL.
5. (Optional) Turn on Proxy if your videos are restricted to mainland China (see Tips below).
6. Click Start. When the run finishes, open the Output tab to view or export your results.

Input

Field	Key	Type	Description
Youku video URLs	startUrls	array	Video or share links to scrape. Required.
Download video files	downloadVideos	boolean	Also save the video as an MP4 (default false).
Preferred video quality	videoQuality	string	best (default) or worst.
Max videos	maxItems	integer	Cap the number processed (0 = no limit).
Proxy configuration	proxyConfiguration	object	Off by default; turn on for videos limited to mainland China or for high-volume runs.

Example input:

{
    "startUrls": [
        { "url": "https://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTA2NTA0MjA1Mg==.html" }
    ],
    "videoQuality": "best",
    "downloadVideos": false,
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false }
}

Output

Each scraped video becomes one row in the dataset. You can download the results in various formats such as JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel. Simplified example:

{
    "vid": "XNTA2NTA0MjA1Mg==",
    "url": "https://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTA2NTA0MjA1Mg==.html",
    "title": "Minecraft我的世界：建造超大巨型航空飞机，菜鸟vs高手vs黑客",
    "durationSeconds": 542.13,
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://m.ykimg.com/054101016001F5EA07937EACA8E0510A",
    "tags": ["高手", "飞机", "黑客", "菜鸟", "我的世界"],
    "uploaderName": "皮皮游戏Game",
    "uploaderUrl": "https://www.youku.com/profile/index/?uid=...",
    "uploaderFanCount": 209206,
    "videoQuality": "Full HD (1080p)",
    "videoUrl": "https://...",
    "availableQualities": ["Full HD (1080p)", "HD (720p)", "HD (540p)", "SD (360p)"],
    "downloadUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/<storeId>/records/<file>.mp4"
}

downloadUrl appears only when Download video files is enabled.

Data table

Field	Description
vid	Youku video ID.
title	Video title.
url	Youku page URL for the video.
durationSeconds	Length in seconds.
thumbnailUrl	Cover image URL.
tags	List of video tags.
uploaderName / uploaderUrl	Uploader name and channel page.
uploaderFanCount	Uploader's follower count.
videoQuality	The quality selected for videoUrl.
availableQualities	All qualities offered for this video.
videoUrl	Direct URL for the selected quality.
streams	Every available quality, each with its resolution, file size, and direct URL.
downloadUrl	Link to the saved MP4 (only when downloading).

How much does it cost to scrape Youku?

This Actor runs on the Apify platform and consumes compute units based on how long a run takes. Collecting video details is fast and inexpensive. Turning on Download video files saves full MP4s, which takes longer and uses storage, so only enable it when you actually need the files. New Apify accounts include free monthly usage that's more than enough to try the Actor and scrape plenty of videos.

Tips and advanced options

• Video URLs expire. The direct videoUrl links are time-limited (a few hours). If you need permanent copies, turn on Download video files, or use the URLs soon after the run.
• Region-restricted videos. Many Youku videos are available only in mainland China. If a video is skipped for this reason, enable Proxy and pick a China / residential option.
• Best-quality note. The highest resolutions (e.g. 1080p) sometimes require a Youku login for a given video. The Actor picks the best quality it can actually retrieve and reports it in videoQuality.
• Batch your links. Add many URLs to a single run's startUrls list rather than launching lots of separate runs.

FAQ, disclaimers, and support

Is scraping Youku legal? This Actor collects publicly available video information. You are responsible for how you use the data — respect Youku's Terms of Service, copyright, and applicable laws, and don't redistribute content you don't have the rights to.

Does it work for every video? No. Private videos, paid/VIP-only content, and some region-locked videos may not be available without the right account or a suitable proxy.

Which sites are supported? Youku (youku.com) and Tudou (tudou.com) video links.

Found a bug or need a custom solution? Use the Issues tab on the Actor's page to report problems or request features.