YouTube Shorts Scraper

Extract all YouTube Shorts from any channel with comprehensive metadata including titles, view counts, thumbnails, dimensions, and URLs. Perfect for YouTube Shorts analytics, trending analysis, content research, and viral content monitoring.

Table of Contents

• Features
• How to Use
• Input Parameters
• Output Data
• Best Practices
• FAQ

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Features

Feature	Description
Channel Username Support	Extract Shorts using YouTube channel username (@YouTube, @MrBeast, etc.)
Complete Shorts Metadata	Get Short titles, view counts, thumbnails, and dimensions
High-Quality Thumbnails	Vertical format thumbnail URLs (1080x1920 or 720x1280)
Sorting Options	Sort by newest, popular, or oldest Shorts
Flexible Limits	Control how many Shorts to scrape (0-5000)
Channel Information	Get channel metadata including subscriber count and video count
Pagination Support	Automatic pagination to fetch all available Shorts
Localization Support	Choose from 30+ countries and languages for localized content
Clean Table Views	Organized data views with thumbnails for easy browsing
Fast & Reliable	Built-in error handling with user-friendly messages

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How to Use

Step 1: Find YouTube Channel Username

To find a YouTube channel username:

1. Visit the YouTube channel
2. Look at the URL or channel handle (e.g., @YouTube, @MrBeast, @NASA)
3. Copy the username without the @ symbol

Note: Not all channels have Shorts. Make sure the channel you're scraping has Shorts content.

Step 2: Configure Input

Basic Example:

{
  "channelUsername": "YouTube",
  "sortBy": "newest",
  "maxShorts": 50,
  "geo": "US",
  "lang": "en"
}

Scrape Popular Shorts:

{
  "channelUsername": "MrBeast",
  "sortBy": "popular",
  "maxShorts": 100,
  "geo": "IN",
  "lang": "hi"
}

Scrape All Available Shorts:

{
  "channelUsername": "YouTube",
  "sortBy": "newest",
  "maxShorts": 0
}

Step 3: Run the Actor

Click "Start" and the actor will extract Shorts from the channel.

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Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description	Default	Example
channelUsername	String		YouTube channel username (without @)	-	"YouTube"
sortBy	String		Sort Shorts by newest, popular, or oldest	"newest"	"popular"
maxShorts	Integer		Maximum Shorts to scrape (0 for unlimited)	30	100
geo	String		Country/region code (ISO 3166-2)	"US"	"IN"
lang	String		Language code for localized results	"en"	"hi"

Input Details

channelUsername (Required)

• YouTube channel username without the @ symbol
• Examples: YouTube, MrBeast, NASA, Veritasium
• This is the handle that appears in the channel URL
• Make sure the channel has Shorts content

sortBy (Optional)

• Sort Shorts by:
  • newest: Latest Shorts first (default)
  • popular: Most viewed Shorts first
  • oldest: Earliest Shorts first

maxShorts (Optional)

• Maximum number of Shorts to scrape
• Range: 0-5000 Shorts
• Default: 30 Shorts
• Set to 0 for unlimited (scrape all available Shorts)
• Each page returns approximately 12-30 Shorts

geo (Optional)

• Select from 31 countries including:
  • United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India, Australia
  • Germany, France, Japan, Brazil, Mexico
  • And 21 more countries
• Affects which Shorts and content are shown based on regional availability and trending topics

lang (Optional)

• Select from 30 languages including:
  • English, Hindi, Spanish, French, German
  • Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese
  • And 20 more languages including regional Indian languages

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Output Data

Sample Channel Metadata Output

{
  "itemType": "channel_metadata",
  "channelId": "UCBR8-60-B28hp2BmDPdntcQ",
  "title": "YouTube",
  "description": "like & subscribe",
  "channelHandle": "@YouTube",
  "avatar": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/3s6evpqAiDU9tQR4sC2siJippbH2RWVPnwHgyl4V0th2iuQz0VDQZbUhQBGmsxLYo-mjG6TqZQ=s160-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
  "banner": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/P8mZnDuGAB-OQBE70IPiTQ-8-h9Ye6AU2pcTxc-Il4c_GQk0n_sHGuVRmm9g_sgnZ7KdIu4TlQ=w2560-fcrop64=1,00005a57ffffa5a8-k-c0xffffffff-no-nd-rj",
  "subscriberCountText": "44.3M",
  "videosCountText": "1.2K videos"
}

Sample Short Output

{
  "itemType": "short",
  "videoId": "8Cdx6rR6x_U",
  "title": "you've been upgraded ✈️ by Veo in Shorts",
  "viewCountText": "16K views",
  "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8Cdx6rR6x_U/frame0.jpg",
  "thumbnails": [
    {
      "url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8Cdx6rR6x_U/frame0.jpg",
      "width": 720,
      "height": 1280
    }
  ],
  "width": 720,
  "height": 1280,
  "isOriginalAspectRatio": true,
  "channelId": "UCBR8-60-B28hp2BmDPdntcQ",
  "channelTitle": "YouTube",
  "channelHandle": "@YouTube",
  "shortUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8Cdx6rR6x_U"
}

Output Fields

Channel Metadata Fields

Field	Type	Description
itemType	String	Type of item (channel_metadata)
channelId	String	Unique YouTube channel ID
title	String	Channel name
description	String	Channel description
channelHandle	String	Channel handle (e.g., @YouTube)
avatar	String	Channel avatar/profile picture URL
banner	String	Channel banner image URL
subscriberCountText	String	Formatted subscriber count (e.g., "27M")
videosCountText	String	Formatted video count (e.g., "5.4K videos")

Short Fields

Field	Type	Description
itemType	String	Type of item (short)
videoId	String	Unique YouTube video ID
title	String	Short title
viewCountText	String	Formatted view count (e.g., "16K views")
thumbnail	String	Short thumbnail URL (vertical format)
thumbnails	Array	Array of thumbnail objects with different sizes
width	Integer	Thumbnail width (typically 720 or 1080)
height	Integer	Thumbnail height (typically 1280 or 1920)
isOriginalAspectRatio	Boolean	Whether thumbnail maintains original aspect ratio
channelId	String	Channel ID
channelTitle	String	Channel name
channelHandle	String	Channel handle (e.g., @YouTube)
shortUrl	String	Direct URL to the Short (youtube.com/shorts/...)

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Best Practices

Do's

• Use correct channel usernames (without @ symbol)
• Verify the channel has Shorts content before scraping
• Select appropriate geo/lang for your target audience
• Export data immediately after extraction
• Use pagination to get all available Shorts (set maxShorts to 0)
• Check the clean table view with thumbnails

Don'ts

• Don't include @ symbol in channel username
• Don't ignore error messages
• Don't expect data from channels without Shorts
• Don't expect data from deleted/suspended channels
• Don't forget to check data completeness

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FAQ

How do I find a YouTube channel username?

Visit the YouTube channel and look at the URL or the channel handle displayed on the page. It's usually shown as @ChannelName. Copy just the name part without the @ symbol.

What's the difference between geo and lang?

• geo: Controls which Shorts are shown based on regional availability and trending topics (some Shorts may be restricted in certain countries)
• lang: Controls the language of UI elements and localized content

Can I extract from private or unlisted channels?

No, only public YouTube channels are supported. The actor cannot access private or unlisted content.

How long does extraction take?

Typically 10-60 seconds depending on the number of Shorts being scraped and network conditions. More Shorts take longer to extract. Pagination adds approximately 2-3 seconds per page.

What data formats are supported?

The actor outputs data in JSON format, which can be exported to CSV, Excel, or other formats from the Apify platform.

How many Shorts can I scrape?

You can scrape from 0 to 5000 Shorts per run. Set the maxShorts parameter to control the limit. Set it to 0 for unlimited scraping (all available Shorts). The actor will extract Shorts based on your selected sorting option (newest, popular, or oldest).

Can I run this actor multiple times?

Yes, you can run the actor as many times as needed. Each run is independent.

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🏷️ Tags

YouTube Scraper • YouTube Shorts Scraper • YouTube Shorts Data Extractor • YouTube Shorts Analytics • Channel Shorts Metadata Extractor • YouTube Video Scraper • Shorts Social Media Analytics • Content Research Tool • YouTube Automation • Channel Monitoring • YouTube Intelligence • Video Analytics • YouTube SEO • Content Strategy Tool • Shorts Competitive Analysis • YouTube Shorts Research • Channel Analytics • YouTube Shorts Data Mining • Social Listening • Brand Monitoring

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Get Started Now

Ready to extract YouTube Shorts data?

1. Enter the YouTube channel username (without @)
2. Set maxShorts (0 for unlimited)
3. Select your preferred sorting, region, and language
4. Click "Start" to run the actor
5. View results in clean table views with thumbnails
6. Export data in your preferred format
7. Click "Try for free" to test the actor

If this actor helps your workflow, please give it a star!

Looking for more YouTube data? Check out these complementary actors:

• YouTube Video Downloader
• YouTube Comment Scraper
• YouTube Search Scraper
• YouTube Video Scraper
• YouTube Subtitles Scraper
• YouTube Transcript Scraper
• YouTube Channel Videos Scraper

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Built with ❤️ by Sachin Kumar Yadav using Apify Platform