# YouTube Thumbnail Scraper (`intelscrape/youtube-thumbnail-scraper`) Actor YouTube Thumbnail Scraper Pro Instantly extract any YouTube thumbnail downloader pro in all 5 high-quality resolutions. This lightning-fast YouTube thumbnail scraper bypasses browsers for zero compute costs. Easily download YouTube thumbnails in bulk with premium video metadata built in - **URL**: https://apify.com/intelscrape/youtube-thumbnail-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [IntelScrape](https://apify.com/intelscrape) (community) - **Categories:** Videos, Social media, SEO tools - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $10.00 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use 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 Thumbnail Downloader PRO (Fastest + Metadata) The ultimate **YouTube thumbnail downloader** and production-grade API for extracting any high-quality **YouTube thumbnail** at scale. 🔥 **OUR KILLER FEATURE:** Paste *any* YouTube Channel URL (e.g. `youtube.com/@MrBeast`), and we will instantly extract **EVERY SINGLE THUMBNAIL** from their entire channel. Enable **Premium Deep Metadata** to automatically rank and sort all 500+ of their videos by exact View Count to discover their most viral thumbnails in seconds! Whether you need a single image, a bulk list of URLs, or an entire channel rip, this **YouTube thumbnail scraper** is built by data extraction experts and engineered for absolute reliability, speed, and anti-bot resilience. ![YouTube Thumbnail Downloader Banner](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/LqHL2gjy2s8bVVI42/records/banner.png) ### 🏆 Why Choose This Actor? No proxy setup. No API keys required. No hidden costs or surprises on your bill. Just configure, hit run, and instantly export perfectly structured data as JSON, CSV, or Excel. We built this tool because any other **YouTube thumbnail scraper** relies on slow, expensive headless browsers that frequently break or get blocked. **YouTube Thumbnail Downloader PRO** uses a proprietary, browserless architecture that interacts directly with YouTube's internal image routing servers to instantly fetch the perfect **YouTube thumbnail**. - **⚡ 0.001s Extraction Speeds**: Results are returned almost instantly. - **🛡️ 100% Anti-Bot Resilience**: Bypasses browsers entirely, meaning zero IP bans and a >99% run success rate. - **💰 Lowest Compute Cost**: Uses virtually $0 in platform compute credits. - **🤖 Built for AI Agents**: Includes full input/output schemas, semantic field names, and dataset metadata so Claude, ChatGPT, and n8n workflows can consume the API reliably via MCP. ### 🌟 Key Features - **✅ All 5 Resolutions Automatically**: We don't just give you one thumbnail. Every search returns the `maxresdefault` (1080p), `sddefault` (720p), `hqdefault` (480p), `mqdefault` (360p), and `default` (144p) resolutions. - **✅ Works on All Formats**: Supports standard video links, YouTube Shorts, mobile links (`youtu.be`), and embed links. - **✅ Full Channel & Playlist Scraping**: Want to analyze an entire creator or playlist? Just paste a Channel URL or Playlist URL (`youtube.com/playlist?list=...`) and we will automatically extract every single video instantly! *(Free Tier Cap: 30 videos. Enable Premium to unlock UNLIMITED videos)*. - **✅ Smart Resolution Fallback**: Never get a broken image link again. If a 1080p thumbnail doesn't exist for an older video, our engine instantly detects the 404 and falls back to a guaranteed high-quality image (`bestResolutionUrl`). - **💾 Save Images to Storage (Direct Download)**: Don't want just CSV URLs? Turn on "Save Images to Key-Value Store" and we will physically download the images and provide a direct Apify download link for the raw image files! - **✅ Bulk CSV Upload**: Don't waste time pasting URLs one by one. Paste a link to a Google Sheet containing thousands of URLs and we will process the entire list automatically! *(Free Tier Cap: 30 videos. Enable Premium to unlock UNLIMITED videos)*. - **💎 Deep Metadata Extraction (Premium)**: Enable this toggle to unlock **UNLIMITED video extractions per run**. This massive upgrade instantly pulls the **Video Title, Channel Name, Channel URL, and exact View Count** alongside your thumbnails. - **🔥 Auto-Sort & Virality Rank (Premium)**: When Deep Metadata is enabled, we automatically extract the exact view count of every video and **sort your CSV by most views to least views**. We even append a **Virality Rank** (e.g. `#1 (Most Viral)`) column so you can instantly identify which thumbnails are driving the most traffic! ### 🛠️ How to Use This Bot Right Now It takes less than 10 seconds to start downloading: 1. **The Quick Way**: Just paste a single YouTube URL, Channel URL, or Playlist URL into the `YouTube URLs` box and hit Start! 2. **The Automation/Bulk Way (CSV & Beyond)**: - Put thousands of YouTube URLs in the first column of a Google Sheet. - Click "Share" and set the permissions to "Anyone with the link". - Copy the link and paste it directly into the **Bulk CSV** box. - *That's it!* Our engine automatically converts your Google Sheet into a CSV in the background and extracts every thumbnail instantly. 3. *(Optional)* Turn on **Save Images to Key-Value Store** if you want to physically download the images, instead of just getting URLs. 4. *(Optional)* Turn on **Extract Deep Metadata** if you want the channel details and video titles returned in the results. ### 📊 Clean & Structured Output Example When the run finishes, you can download your dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or HTML. Here is an example of the clean output you will receive: ```json { "inputUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "maxresdefault": "https://img.youtube.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg", "sddefault": "https://img.youtube.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/sddefault.jpg", "hqdefault": "https://img.youtube.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/hqdefault.jpg", "mqdefault": "https://img.youtube.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/mqdefault.jpg", "default": "https://img.youtube.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/default.jpg", "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Music Video)", "authorName": "Rick Astley", "authorUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@RickAstleyYT" } ```` ### 💸 How to View Your Data & Make Money Once your run is complete, the real magic happens. Here is exactly how to use your new data: 1. **Download the CSV**: Head to the **Storage** tab of your Actor run, click **Export**, and choose the **CSV** format. 2. **Open the File**: Open that CSV in Google Sheets or Excel. You will immediately see beautiful, structured columns containing the direct high-res `maxresdefault` image links alongside the video titles and channel names. 3. **View the Images**: Simply click on any image link in the CSV. The 1080p thumbnail will open instantly in your browser in full resolution! **How to monetize this workflow:** - **Build High-CTR Swipe Files**: Scrape the top 1,000 trending videos in a specific niche. Download the CSV, package the best thumbnail links into a premium swipe file, and sell it to YouTubers looking for inspiration. - **Graphic Design Lead Generation**: Sort your CSV to find videos with terrible thumbnails from local businesses. Click the link to view their bad thumbnail, redesign it for free, and email them the new version to pitch a monthly retainer! - **Competitor Tracking**: Export the CSV weekly to track your biggest competitors. Log their exact title formulas and thumbnail styles in Google Sheets to instantly reverse-engineer what's getting them views. *** #### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ We Need Your Support! We built this to be the fastest, most reliable, and most affordable thumbnail extraction engine on the entire Apify store. **If this bot saves you hours of manual work or helps you generate revenue, please drop us a 5-star review!** Your 5-star reviews are the *only* thing that keeps this project alive, the servers running fast, and the data highly accurate for you! Happy scraping! 🚀 # Actor input Schema ## `urls` (type: `array`): 🔥 **THE ULTIMATE EXTRACTOR!** Paste a single YouTube URL, a Channel URL (e.g. `https://youtube.com/@MrBeast`), or a Playlist URL. If you paste an entire Channel or Playlist, this bot will unleash its full power and instantly extract EVERY SINGLE VIDEO inside it! Prepare to be amazed by the speed. 🚀 ## `csvUrl` (type: `string`): ⚡ **SUPERCHARGE YOUR WORKFLOW:** Why paste URLs one by one? Paste a public **Google Sheets link** right here and watch the magic happen! **The Ultimate Pro-Tip:** 1. Put thousands of URLs in column A of a Google Sheet. 2. Set permissions to 'Anyone with the link'. 3. Paste that exact link here! The bot will instantly rip the sheet, process every single URL simultaneously, and hand you a perfectly clean output in seconds! 🤯 ## `extractMetadata` (type: `boolean`): 💎 **UNLOCK PREMIUM DATA (Highly Recommended!)**: Enable this to transform your extraction into a massive data-mining operation. We will pull the exact **Video Title**, **Channel Name**, and **View Count**, AND we will automatically sort your entire list by views so you can spot viral trends instantly! 🔥 ## `saveImages` (type: `boolean`): 💾 **DOWNLOAD THE RAW FILES (NEW!)**: Turn this on and we won't just give you the URLs—we will physically download the highest-quality 1080p thumbnail for every single video, save it directly to Apify Storage, and hand you a direct download link for the raw image files! 📸 ## Actor input object example ```json { "urls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e3GPea1Tyg" ], "extractMetadata": true, "saveImages": false } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `inputUrl` (type: `string`): Original YouTube URL provided. ## `videoId` (type: `string`): Extracted YouTube video ID. ## `maxresdefault` (type: `string`): Link to the 1080p max resolution thumbnail. ## `sddefault` (type: `string`): Link to the 720p standard resolution thumbnail. ## `hqdefault` (type: `string`): Link to the 480p high quality thumbnail. ## `mqdefault` (type: `string`): Link to the 360p medium quality thumbnail. ## `default` (type: `string`): Link to the 144p default thumbnail. ## `title` (type: `string`): Premium: Title of the video. ## `authorName` (type: `string`): Premium: Name of the channel. ## `authorUrl` (type: `string`): Premium: URL to the channel. ## `viewCount` (type: `string`): Premium: The exact view count of the video. ## `viralityRank` (type: `string`): Premium: The ranking of this thumbnail based on its contribution to the video's virality. # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "urls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e3GPea1Tyg" ], "extractMetadata": true }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("intelscrape/youtube-thumbnail-scraper").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "urls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e3GPea1Tyg", ], "extractMetadata": True, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("intelscrape/youtube-thumbnail-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).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", "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e3GPea1Tyg" ], "extractMetadata": true }' | apify call intelscrape/youtube-thumbnail-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=intelscrape/youtube-thumbnail-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "YouTube Thumbnail Scraper", "description": "YouTube Thumbnail Scraper Pro Instantly extract any YouTube thumbnail downloader pro in all 5 high-quality resolutions. This lightning-fast YouTube thumbnail scraper bypasses browsers for zero compute costs. Easily download YouTube thumbnails in bulk with premium video metadata built in", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "6sVdTxwdbWu4OGFDH" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/intelscrape~youtube-thumbnail-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-intelscrape-youtube-thumbnail-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/intelscrape~youtube-thumbnail-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-intelscrape-youtube-thumbnail-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/intelscrape~youtube-thumbnail-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-intelscrape-youtube-thumbnail-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "urls": { "title": "YouTube URLs", "type": "array", "description": "🔥 **THE ULTIMATE EXTRACTOR!** Paste a single YouTube URL, a Channel URL (e.g. `https://youtube.com/@MrBeast`), or a Playlist URL. If you paste an entire Channel or Playlist, this bot will unleash its full power and instantly extract EVERY SINGLE VIDEO inside it! Prepare to be amazed by the speed. 🚀", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "csvUrl": { "title": "🚀 Bulk CSV (Paste Google Sheets URL)", "type": "string", "description": "⚡ **SUPERCHARGE YOUR WORKFLOW:** Why paste URLs one by one? Paste a public **Google Sheets link** right here and watch the magic happen!\n\n**The Ultimate Pro-Tip:**\n1. Put thousands of URLs in column A of a Google Sheet.\n2. Set permissions to 'Anyone with the link'.\n3. Paste that exact link here!\n\nThe bot will instantly rip the sheet, process every single URL simultaneously, and hand you a perfectly clean output in seconds! 🤯" }, "extractMetadata": { "title": "Extract Deep Metadata (Premium)", "type": "boolean", "description": "💎 **UNLOCK PREMIUM DATA (Highly Recommended!)**: Enable this to transform your extraction into a massive data-mining operation. We will pull the exact **Video Title**, **Channel Name**, and **View Count**, AND we will automatically sort your entire list by views so you can spot viral trends instantly! 🔥", "default": true }, "saveImages": { "title": "Save Images to Key-Value Store", "type": "boolean", "description": "💾 **DOWNLOAD THE RAW FILES (NEW!)**: Turn this on and we won't just give you the URLs—we will physically download the highest-quality 1080p thumbnail for every single video, save it directly to Apify Storage, and hand you a direct download link for the raw image files! 📸", "default": false } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```