YouTube Video Scraper

🤖 What does YouTube Video Scraper do?

YouTube Video Scraper enables you to extract comprehensive metadata and media details from any YouTube resource—channels, playlists, search results pages, or individual video URLs. It retrieves:

• Video Details – ID, title, length, complete description, keywords, author, view count, like count, publish/upload dates, and more
• Captions – Auto-generated and manual subtitle tracks, with track URLs and language codes
• Microformat Data – Thumbnails, embed settings (iframe URL, dimensions), category, family-safe flag, and availability by country
• Owner & Channel Info – Channel ID, channel name, external channel URL
• Thumbnail URLs – Multiple sizes of thumbnails (hqdefault, maxresdefault, etc.)
• Embed & Playback Links – Direct embed URL for iframe usage

This scraper gives you structured JSON output, ready for analytics, archiving, or feeding into downstream pipelines.

💡 Why scrape YouTube videos?

YouTube hosts over 2 billion monthly logged-in users and immense volumes of video content. Scraping YouTube videos lets you:

• Perform Content Analysis: Gather titles, descriptions, transcripts, and tags for NLP or sentiment analysis
• Track Channel Performance: Monitor upload frequency, view/like growth, and emerging keywords
• Build Datasets: Aggregate structured metadata across thousands of videos for research or machine learning
• Automate Reporting: Generate periodic reports on trending videos in a niche or competitor channels
• Enable Multimedia Applications: Preload thumbnails, embed links, or captions for custom apps or dashboards

🚀 How to scrape YouTube videos

1. Configure Your Input:

   • Max Items: Specify how many videos to scrape (e.g., the latest 20 uploads in a playlist)
   • URLs: Provide one or more YouTube URLs (channel, playlist, search page, or video link)
   • Proxy Configuration: (Optional) Choose to route requests through Apify Proxy for reliability

2. Run the Actor:

   • Click Run in the Apify Console or invoke via API/CLI

3. Access & Use Your Data:

   • Once finished, open the Dataset tab to preview, filter, or download your JSON results

📝 Input Parameters

The scraper supports the following parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description	Default
maxItems	Integer	Yes	Maximum number of videos to scrape. Must be ≥ 1.	10
urls	Array of Strings	Yes	One or more YouTube URLs (channel, playlist, search results, or video) to scrape videos from.	["https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=apify"]
proxyConfiguration	Object	No	Proxy settings to control how requests are routed. Use Apify Proxy for better success rates.	{ useApifyProxy: true, apifyProxyGroups: ["RESIDENTIAL"] }

Example input:

{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "urls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=apify",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@Apify"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
  }
}

---

📊 Results

Example output snippet:

[
  {
    "Video": {
      "ID": "gZ_RLC25gCw",
      "Title": "The Simplest Way to Automate Scraping Anything with No Code (Apify + n8n tutorial)",
      "Thumbnails": [
        {
          "URL": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gZ_RLC25gCw/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEiCKgBEF5IWvKriqkDFQgBFQAAAAAYASUAAMhCPQCAokN4AQ==\u0026rs=AOn4CLDddnaM9iDPX8YXetwPC6t-2Lvh7w",
          "Width": 168,
          "Height": 94
        },
        {
          "URL": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gZ_RLC25gCw/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEiCMQBEG5IWvKriqkDFQgBFQAAAAAYASUAAMhCPQCAokN4AQ==\u0026rs=AOn4CLCB8vHsYqFiuI_HueuLcBxnIDKGCQ",
          "Width": 196,
          "Height": 110
        },
        {
          "URL": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gZ_RLC25gCw/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEjCPYBEIoBSFryq4qpAxUIARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJDeAE=\u0026rs=AOn4CLDRMwMBIyADpxCUea4r9Djxu-VvSQ",
          "Width": 246,
          "Height": 138
        },
        {
          "URL": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gZ_RLC25gCw/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEjCNACELwBSFryq4qpAxUIARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJDeAE=\u0026rs=AOn4CLB2aMoAqrE0qe1uDSTDl6DJ7-DHvQ",
          "Width": 336,
          "Height": 188
        },
        {
          "URL": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gZ_RLC25gCw/maxresdefault.jpg",
          "Width": 1920,
          "Height": 1080
        },
        {
          "URL": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gZ_RLC25gCw/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEiCKgBEF5IWvKriqkDFQgBFQAAAAAYASUAAMhCPQCAokN4AQ==\u0026rs=AOn4CLDddnaM9iDPX8YXetwPC6t-2Lvh7w",
          "Width": 168,
          "Height": 94
        },
        {
          "URL": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gZ_RLC25gCw/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEiCMQBEG5IWvKriqkDFQgBFQAAAAAYASUAAMhCPQCAokN4AQ==\u0026rs=AOn4CLCB8vHsYqFiuI_HueuLcBxnIDKGCQ",
          "Width": 196,
          "Height": 110
        },
        {
          "URL": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gZ_RLC25gCw/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEjCPYBEIoBSFryq4qpAxUIARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJDeAE=\u0026rs=AOn4CLDRMwMBIyADpxCUea4r9Djxu-VvSQ",
          "Width": 246,
          "Height": 138
        },
        {
          "URL": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gZ_RLC25gCw/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEjCNACELwBSFryq4qpAxUIARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJDeAE=\u0026rs=AOn4CLB2aMoAqrE0qe1uDSTDl6DJ7-DHvQ",
          "Width": 336,
          "Height": 188
        },
        {
          "URL": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gZ_RLC25gCw/maxresdefault.jpg",
          "Width": 1920,
          "Height": 1080
        }
      ],
      "Description": "🔗 Try out Apify with code 30NATEHERK for 30% off: https://www.apify.com/?fpr=nate\n\n🌟 Want my full course on building AI Agents with no code?👇\nhttps://www.skool.com/ai-automation-society-plus/about\n\n📌 Join my FREE Skool community for all the resources to set this system up! 👇\nhttps://www.skool.com/ai-automation-society/about\n\n🚧 Start Building with n8n! (I get kickback if you sign up here - thank you!)\nhttps://n8n.partnerlinks.io/22crlu8afq5r\n\n💻 Check out my agency. We build intelligent AI systems for businesses. \nhttps://truehorizon.ai/\n\nWant to scrape websites, social media, or generate leads without writing a single line of code? In this video, I’ll show you the fastest and easiest way to use Apify with n8n to scrape anything, from Instagram profiles to Google Maps businesses and more. \n\nApify is a platform full of powerful, pre-built actors, and when you connect it to n8n, you unlock a no-code automation system that can collect and move data wherever you need it. I’ll walk you through how to set up your first Actor in under 5 minutes, how to connect it to n8n just by copying and pasting. \n\nWhether you’re a business owner, marketer, or just exploring no-code tools, this combo is incredibly powerful for lead generation, research, and content workflows. No coding, no headaches—just plug, play, and scrape.\nYou can sign up for Apify here: https://www.apify.com/?fpr=nate and use the code 30NATEHERK for 30% off Apify credits.\n\nSponsorship Inquiries:\n📧 sales@uppitai.com\n\nWATCH NEXT:\nhttps://youtu.be/QhujcQk8pyU?si=kpGWo0cF4aiAaT68\n\nTIMESTAMPS\n00:00 What is Apify?\n00:48 How this works in n8n\n01:41 Live Setup TikTok Scraper\n05:07 Run Actor Synchronously Issue\n05:49 Adding a Wait Step\n07:14 Advanced Technique: Polling\n\nGear I Used:\nCamera: Razer Kiyo Pro\nMicrophone: Blue Yeti USB",
      "Channel": {
        "ID": "UC2ojq-nuP8ceeHqiroeKhBA",
        "Name": "Nate Herk | AI Automation",
        "Handle": "",
        "Description": "",
        "Thumbnails": [
          {
            "URL": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/oIDUNVZEoSIIiR7d7xSguLYmI6zs3B_NB1Tbq617pzQ9g54jybjiD3jiZ9zy36tJcLyt12QOlQ=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
            "Width": 48,
            "Height": 48
          },
          {
            "URL": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/oIDUNVZEoSIIiR7d7xSguLYmI6zs3B_NB1Tbq617pzQ9g54jybjiD3jiZ9zy36tJcLyt12QOlQ=s88-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
            "Width": 88,
            "Height": 88
          },
          {
            "URL": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/oIDUNVZEoSIIiR7d7xSguLYmI6zs3B_NB1Tbq617pzQ9g54jybjiD3jiZ9zy36tJcLyt12QOlQ=s176-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
            "Width": 176,
            "Height": 176
          }
        ],
        "SubscriberCount": "389K subscribers",
        "Videos": {},
        "Shorts": {},
        "Live": {},
        "Playlists": {},
        "Posts": {},
        "URL": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2ojq-nuP8ceeHqiroeKhBA"
      },
      "UploadDate": "May 16, 2025",
      "ViewCount": {},
      "LikeCount": {},
      "IsLiveContent": false,
      "Tags": [],
      "Related": {},
      "Captions": {
        "Languages": [
          {
            "Name": "English (auto-generated)",
            "Code": "en",
            "IsTranslatable": true,
            "URL": "https://www.youtube.com/api/timedtext?v=gZ_RLC25gCw\u0026ei=yzTgaJXgFdKN1d8PicbdqQk\u0026caps=asr\u0026opi=112496729\u0026xoaf=5\u0026xowf=1\u0026hl=en\u0026ip=0.0.0.0\u0026ipbits=0\u0026expire=1759549243\u0026sparams=ip,ipbits,expire,v,ei,caps,opi,xoaf\u0026signature=1F6878915EB4DB0DD75A84FDD55E18D228BAD39B.813031B257B5BD36C8554B31B40D2988E322D55D\u0026key=yt8\u0026kind=asr\u0026lang=en"
          }
        ]
      },
      "Duration": 474,
      "Chapters": null,
      "Comments": {}
    },
    "LiveVideo": null
  }
]

🌍 Proxy Usage

To ensure high success rates and minimize detection risks, YouTube Video Scraper leverages Apify's proxy infrastructure:

• Geo-distributed Access: Scrape region-locked or localized content.
• Reliability: Reduced request failures and IP blocks during high-volume runs.
• Configurability: Easily switch between "RESIDENTIAL" and "DATACENTER" groups.

⚖️ Legal Considerations

When using YouTube Video Scraper, please keep in mind:

• YouTube's Terms of Service: Ensure your use case complies with YouTube's policies.
• Respect Rate Limits: Configure maxItems reasonably to avoid overwhelming YouTube's servers.
• Data Privacy Laws: If you're processing personal data, ensure GDPR or other regulations compliance.
• Consult Legal Advice: When in doubt about data usage rights or redistribution, seek professional guidance.

For more on web scraping legality, see our blog post: Is web scraping legal?