# YouTube Scraper: Channels, Search, Playlists & Shorts (`hxckya/youtube-scraper-channels-search-playlists`) Actor

Scrape YouTube channels, search results, playlists and Shorts. Every video row carries exact view and like counts, publish date, duration, category and channel subscribers, including live streams. No API key, no quota, pay per video.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/hxckya/youtube-scraper-channels-search-playlists.md
- **Developed by:** [KO HYESONEUNG](https://apify.com/hxckya) (community)
- **Categories:**
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.40 / 1,000 videos

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?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## 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.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## YouTube Scraper: Channels, Search & Playlists

Scrape YouTube **channels**, **search results** and **playlists**. Every video comes with the numbers people actually need: **exact views, exact likes, publish date, category, duration, type (video, Short or live)** and the channel's **subscriber count**.

There is no API key, no daily quota and no Google Cloud project. You pay per video.

### YouTube channel, search and playlist scraper: use cases

- **Competitor and niche research:** see a channel's latest uploads with views and likes side by side, and spot which topics outperform.
- **Content strategy:** search a topic and compare the top videos by views, likes, age and length before you film.
- **Influencer and partner discovery:** find channels that rank for a keyword, with subscriber counts and recent performance.
- **Tracking:** schedule a daily run on your own or rival channels and chart the views and likes over time.
- **Data for AI agents:** give Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor fresh YouTube stats through the Apify MCP server (see below).

### YouTube video stats you get: views, likes, subscribers

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| `title`, `url`, `videoId` | *But what is a neural network?* |
| `viewCount` | 24,223,498 (exact, not "24M") |
| `likeCount` | 560,285 (exact) |
| `publishDate`, `uploadDate` | 2017-10-05T08:11:25-07:00 |
| `category` | Education |
| `durationSeconds`, `type` | 1120, `video` / `short` / `live` |
| `channelName`, `channelHandle`, `channelUrl` | 3Blue1Brown, @3blue1brown |
| `channelSubscribers`, `channelVideoCount` | 8,610,000, 242 |
| `keywords`, `thumbnailUrl`, `description`\* | *description when enabled* |
| `source`, `position` | which channel, search or playlist it came from, and its rank there |

### How to scrape YouTube channel videos, search results and playlists

```json
{
  "channels": ["@3blue1brown", "https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium"],
  "searchQueries": ["neural network explained"],
  "urls": ["https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZHQObOWTQDNU6R1_67000Dx_ZCJB-3pi"],
  "maxVideos": 50,
  "contentType": "videos",
  "includeDescription": false
}
```

- **Channels:** `@handle`, a channel URL, `/channel/UC…`, `/c/…` or `/user/…`. Uploads come newest first.
- **Channel content:** long videos, Shorts, live streams, or everything.
- **Search terms:** videos in YouTube's own ranking order. `position` is the rank.
- **Playlists or videos:** playlist URLs are expanded, and single video or Shorts URLs are taken as they are.
- **Max videos:** applies to each channel, search and playlist separately.

### Output example (JSON)

```json
{
  "videoId": "aircAruvnKk",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk",
  "title": "But what is a neural network? | Deep learning chapter 1",
  "type": "video",
  "channelName": "3Blue1Brown",
  "channelHandle": "@3blue1brown",
  "channelId": "UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw",
  "channelSubscribers": 8610000,
  "channelSubscribersText": "8.61M",
  "channelVideoCount": 242,
  "viewCount": 24223498,
  "likeCount": 560285,
  "publishDate": "2017-10-05T08:11:25-07:00",
  "uploadDate": "2017-10-05T08:11:25-07:00",
  "publishedText": "8 years ago",
  "durationSeconds": 1120,
  "category": "Education",
  "keywords": [],
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aircAruvnKk/hqdefault.jpg",
  "source": "search: neural network explained",
  "position": 1
}
```

The dataset has an *Overview* view and a *Channel stats* view. You can export to JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML, or read it through the API.

### Pricing: one event is one video

You pay **per video scraped**: one event is one video row with its stats. The price is on the Pricing tab, and exact likes, dates and category are included. Private, removed or region-blocked videos and bad links still get a row with an `error`, and **you are not charged** for them. You can cap the cost of each run.

### YouTube Data API alternative: no API key, no quota

The official YouTube Data API needs a Google Cloud project and an API key, and its default quota is 100 `search.list` calls a day plus 10,000 units a day for the other endpoints. This Actor has no quota: you set how many videos you want and pay only for what you get.

### YouTube scraper API and integrations

- **API:** start a run with your channels, search terms or playlists and read the dataset. The *API* tab has ready-made snippets.
- **Integrations:** Make, Zapier, n8n and Google Sheets through Apify integrations, and Apify schedules for daily runs.

### Use it with AI agents (MCP)

AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor can find and run this Actor through the [Apify MCP server](https://mcp.apify.com): they search the Store with `search-actors`, read the input with `fetch-actor-details` and start a run with `call-actor`. To give an agent only this tool, connect it to `https://mcp.apify.com?tools=hxckya/youtube-scraper-channels-search-playlists`. Because the Actor is priced per event, agents can also pay for runs with the MCP server's agentic payments.

Example prompt:

> Search YouTube for "home espresso machine review", take the top 20 videos, and give me a table of title, channel, subscribers, views, likes and publish date, sorted by likes per view.

### Good to know

- Only public data is collected. The Actor never logs in, and it does not collect comments or anything about viewers.
- Subscriber counts are YouTube's rounded display (for example 8.61M becomes 8,610,000), because YouTube does not show exact figures publicly.
- If a creator hides likes, `likeCount` is empty.
- Requests go directly to YouTube first. If YouTube asks to confirm they are not from a bot, which is common from cloud servers, the run switches to a residential proxy automatically.
- This Actor is an independent tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by YouTube or Google.

### FAQ

#### Does it work without a YouTube Data API key?

Yes. There is no API key, OAuth or Google Cloud project to set up, and no daily quota to run out of.

#### Can I scrape YouTube Shorts and live streams?

Yes. For channels, set *Channel content* to Shorts, Live streams or Everything; each row's `type` says `video`, `short` or `live`. Single Shorts URLs work too.

#### Can I get all videos of a channel?

Yes. Set *Max videos* high enough. Long videos, Shorts and live streams each come from their own list.

#### Does it scrape comments?

No. It returns public video and channel statistics only, without comments or anything about the people who watch.

#### Can I track views over time?

Yes. Create a schedule in Apify and export each run, or send it to Google Sheets.

#### Do I get transcripts?

Use [YouTube Transcript & Subtitles Scraper](https://apify.com/hxckya/youtube-transcript-subtitles-scraper) for transcripts, translation and SRT/VTT.

### Changelog

- **1.0:** First release. Channels (videos, Shorts, live), search and playlists; exact views, likes, publish date and category per video; channel subscribers. No charge for unavailable videos.

# Actor input Schema

## `channels` (type: `array`):

Channel handles or URLs, one per line: @name, https://www.youtube.com/@name, /channel/UC… or /c/… links.

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Search YouTube for these terms and scrape the videos found, in YouTube's order.

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

Playlist URLs, or individual video / Shorts URLs.

## `maxVideos` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many videos for each channel, search term or playlist.

## `contentType` (type: `string`):

Which uploads to take from each channel, newest first.

## `includeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Add exact likes, views, publish date, upload date and category for every video (one extra small request per video, same price).

## `includeDescription` (type: `boolean`):

Include the full description text of each video (requires exact stats).

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many videos to process at the same time.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Requests go directly to YouTube first. If YouTube asks to confirm they are not from a bot (common from cloud servers), the run switches to this proxy automatically. Residential proxies work best.

## `alwaysUseProxy` (type: `boolean`):

Skip the direct attempt and send every request through the proxy.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "channels": [
    "@3blue1brown"
  ],
  "maxVideos": 50,
  "contentType": "videos",
  "includeDetails": true,
  "includeDescription": false,
  "maxConcurrency": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  },
  "alwaysUseProxy": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

Per video: title, URL, channel, views, likes, publish date, duration, type, category, and how it was found.

## `channels` (type: `string`):

Per video: channel name, URL, subscriber count and number of videos on the channel.

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

Complete rows including thumbnails, relative publish time as shown on YouTube, upload date, description and channel details.

# 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 = {
    "channels": [
        "@3blue1brown"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ]
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("hxckya/youtube-scraper-channels-search-playlists").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 = {
    "channels": ["@3blue1brown"],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("hxckya/youtube-scraper-channels-search-playlists").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 '{
  "channels": [
    "@3blue1brown"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}' |
apify call hxckya/youtube-scraper-channels-search-playlists --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,hxckya/youtube-scraper-channels-search-playlists"
        }
    }
}

```

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/QnhEMUFwRWg2mfNPg/builds/5GaI59cN1iGWAPwbP/openapi.json