# YouTube Comments Scraper (`itclan-bd/youtube-comments-scraper`) Actor Scrape YouTube comments and replies from any video or short — no API key or code. Export to JSON, CSV, or Excel with full author and video metadata, plus support for geo-restricted videos. - **URL**: https://apify.com/itclan-bd/youtube-comments-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [ITclan BD](https://apify.com/itclan-bd) (community) - **Categories:** Automation, Social media, Videos - **Stats:** 10 total users, 3 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars ## Pricing from $0.50 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. 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 Comments Scraper — Extract Comments & Replies **Scrape YouTube comments and replies at scale — no API key, no quotas, no code.** The **YouTube Comments Scraper** extracts every comment and nested reply from any YouTube **video or Short**, enriches each one with complete **author and video metadata**, and exports the results to **JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML** in a couple of clicks. It's built for **audience research, sentiment analysis, creator analytics, brand monitoring, and market intelligence** — turning public YouTube discussions into clean, structured datasets you can analyze immediately. ✅ Unlimited comments ✅ Full reply threads ✅ Videos **&** Shorts ✅ Works on **geo‑restricted** videos ✅ Rich author + video data ✅ No YouTube Data API required --- ### 🔎 What is the YouTube Comments Scraper? The YouTube Comments Scraper is a ready‑to‑use **YouTube comment extractor** that downloads comments and replies from any public video or Short and delivers them as a structured dataset. Instead of wrestling with the **YouTube Data API** — OAuth setup, API keys, and daily quota limits — you simply paste a URL and export clean, analysis‑ready data. Whether you're a **marketer** measuring sentiment, a **data scientist** building an NLP dataset, a **creator** studying your audience, or an **analyst** tracking competitors, this tool gives you the raw voice of the audience in seconds. --- ### 🚀 What this Actor does YouTube hides its comment data behind a rate‑limited official API with strict quotas and OAuth setup. This Actor gives you the same data — and more — **without an API key, developer account, or a single line of code**: - Collects **all top‑level comments** and **complete reply threads** from any public video or Short. - Adds **author details** (channel ID, channel URL, avatar, verified & creator badges) to every comment. - Attaches **full video metadata** (title, channel, views, likes, publish date, duration, category, tags, description, thumbnail) to every row — no extra lookups or joins. - **Streams results in real time** to your dataset as it scrapes, so you can start working before the run finishes. - Exports to **JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or HTML**, or pull data via the **Apify API** and integrations (Zapier, Make, Google Sheets, n8n, and more). --- ### ✨ Key features - 🔁 **Full reply extraction** — captures entire nested reply chains, not just the first page. - 🌍 **Geo‑restriction handling** — automatically manages region‑locked videos to return data. - 👤 **Rich author data** — channel ID, channel URL, avatar, `verified` and `creator` flags for every commenter. - 🎥 **Video context on every row** — denormalized video stats make the dataset ready for analysis without joins. - ⚡ **Fast & concurrent** — asynchronous engine scrapes multiple videos and reply threads in parallel. - 📡 **Real‑time streaming** — results appear in your dataset as they're collected. - 🔀 **Flexible sorting** — choose **Newest first** or **Top (most relevant)** comments. - 🎯 **Precise limits** — cap comments per video, or scrape everything. - 🛡️ **Resilient** — automatic retries with backoff handle transient errors and rate limits. - 🧱 **Clean, structured output** — consistent schema, ready for spreadsheets, BI tools, or databases. --- ### 💡 Use cases - **Audience & sentiment analysis** — understand how viewers react to a video, product, or campaign. - **Creator & competitor analytics** — benchmark engagement and study what resonates with an audience. - **Brand & reputation monitoring** — track mentions, feedback, and complaints across YouTube. - **Market & product research** — mine real customer language, feature requests, and objections. - **Lead & community insights** — identify active, influential commenters in your niche. - **Academic & data science** — build labeled datasets for NLP, toxicity, or trend research. - **Content strategy** — discover FAQs and content ideas straight from your viewers. --- ### ⚙️ How to scrape YouTube comments (step by step) 1. Click **Try for free / Start**. 2. Paste one or more **YouTube video or Shorts URLs** (up to 20). 3. *(Optional)* Choose a **sort order** (Newest or Top), toggle **Include replies**, and set a **max comments per video** limit — or enable **Scrape all comments** for no limit. 4. Click **Save & Start**. 5. Watch results stream into the **Output** tab in real time. 6. **Export** to JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML — or fetch them via the **Apify API**. No proxies to configure, no API keys to manage — it just works. --- ### 📥 Input | Field | Type | Required | Default | Description | | --------------------- | -------- | -------- | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | `video_urls` | string[] | ✅ Yes | – | 1–20 YouTube URLs (videos, Shorts, `youtu.be`, mobile links) | | `sort_type` | string | ❌ No | `Newest` | Sort order for every video: **Newest** or **Top** | | `includeReplies` | boolean | ❌ No | `true` | Scrape replies too. Set `false` for top‑level comments only | | `scrape_all_comments` | boolean | ❌ No | `false` | Collect **every** comment and reply, ignoring `max_comments` | | `max_comments` | number | ❌ No | `100` | Max comments (incl. replies) per video. Used only when `scrape_all_comments` is `false` | #### Example input ```json { "video_urls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/abc123def45" ], "sort_type": "Newest", "includeReplies": true, "max_comments": 1000 } ```` #### Supported URL formats - **Standard:** `https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID` - **Short link:** `https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID` - **Shorts:** `https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID` - **Mobile:** `https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID` *** ### 📤 Output Each dataset item is a **single comment or reply**, enriched with author and video details. Results stream in real time and can be exported to JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or HTML. #### Example output ```json { "comment_id": "Ugy6QKJ3KJUe-", "text": "This is the main comment text", "author": "Jane Doe", "author_channel_id": "UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx", "author_channel_url": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx", "author_avatar": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/.../s88-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj", "author_is_verified": false, "author_is_creator": false, "likes": 1247, "published": "2 weeks ago", "reply_level": 0, "replies_count": 3, "is_reply": false, "video_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "video_url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "video_title": "Never Gonna Give You Up", "channel_name": "Rick Astley", "channel_id": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw", "channel_url": "http://www.youtube.com/@RickAstleyYT", "video_view_count": 1600000000, "video_like_count": 17000000, "video_published_at": "2009-10-25T06:57:33-07:00", "video_duration_seconds": 213, "video_category": "Music", "video_keywords": ["rick astley", "never gonna give you up"], "video_description": "The official video for ...", "video_thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg", "is_family_safe": true } ``` #### Output fields | Field | Type | Description | | ----------------------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | `comment_id` | string | Unique YouTube comment identifier | | `text` | string | Full comment text | | `author` | string | Commenter's display name | | `author_channel_id` | string | Commenter's channel ID | | `author_channel_url` | string | Commenter's channel URL | | `author_avatar` | string | Commenter's avatar image URL | | `author_is_verified` | boolean | Whether the commenter's channel is verified | | `author_is_creator` | boolean | Whether the comment is by the video's own channel | | `likes` | integer | Number of likes on the comment | | `published` | string | Relative publish time (e.g. "3 days ago") | | `reply_level` | integer | Thread depth (`0` = top‑level, `1` = reply) | | `replies_count` | integer | Number of replies attached to the comment | | `is_reply` | boolean | `true` for replies, `false` for top‑level comments | | `video_id` | string | Source video ID | | `video_url` | string | Source video URL | | `video_title` | string | Video title | | `channel_name` | string | Video's channel name | | `channel_id` | string | Video's channel ID | | `channel_url` | string | Video's channel URL | | `video_view_count` | integer | Video view count | | `video_like_count` | integer | Video like count | | `video_published_at` | string | Video publish date (ISO 8601) | | `video_duration_seconds` | integer | Video duration in seconds | | `video_category` | string | Video category | | `video_keywords` | string\[] | Video tags / keywords | | `video_description` | string | Video description | | `video_thumbnail` | string | Video thumbnail URL | | `is_family_safe` | boolean | Whether the video is marked family‑safe | *** ### 🏆 Why choose this scraper? | | YouTube Comments Scraper | Official YouTube Data API | | --- | --- | --- | | API key / OAuth setup | ❌ Not needed | ✅ Required | | Daily quota limits | ❌ None | ⚠️ Strict quotas | | Coding required | ❌ No code | ✅ Yes | | Nested reply threads | ✅ Full threads | ⚠️ Limited / paginated | | Geo‑restricted videos | ✅ Handled automatically | ❌ Often blocked | | Author + video metadata on every row | ✅ Built in | ❌ Manual joins | | Export to CSV / Excel / JSON / XML | ✅ One click | ❌ Build it yourself | *** ### ❓ FAQ **Do I need a YouTube API key or developer account?** No. The Actor works out of the box — no API key, OAuth, or quota management. **Can I scrape replies, not just top‑level comments?** Yes. Replies are included by default and full nested threads are captured. Turn off **Include replies** for top‑level comments only. **Does it work with YouTube Shorts?** Yes — Shorts, standard videos, `youtu.be` links, and mobile URLs are all supported. **What about videos that are only available in certain countries?** The Actor automatically detects each video's available countries and routes traffic through a matching region, so geo‑restricted videos still return comments. **How many comments can I scrape?** As many as the video has. Use **Max comments per video** to cap the volume, or leave it empty for everything. **In what formats can I export the data?** JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, HTML, or RSS — and you can also pull data programmatically via the Apify API and integrations. **Can I automate or schedule it?** Yes. Run it on a **schedule**, trigger it via the **API/webhooks**, or connect it to Zapier, Make, n8n, and Google Sheets. *** ### 🙋 Support & feedback Found a bug, need an extra field, or have a feature request? Open an issue on the Actor's **Issues** tab — feedback is welcome and helps improve the Actor for everyone. # Actor input Schema ## `video_urls` (type: `array`): Add 1–20 YouTube URLs to scrape comments from. Supports standard videos, Shorts, youtu.be share links, and mobile URLs. ## `sort_type` (type: `string`): Which comments to collect first. **Newest** returns the most recent comments; **Top** returns the most relevant / popular ones. ## `includeReplies` (type: `boolean`): Also scrape the replies inside each comment thread. Turn this off to collect only top-level comments (faster and uses fewer resources). ## `scrape_all_comments` (type: `boolean`): Collect **every** comment and reply on each video, ignoring the **Max comments per video** limit below. Note: videos with many comments can take longer and use more resources. ## `max_comments` (type: `integer`): Stop after this many comments (including replies) per video. Defaults to 100 — increase it, or enable **Scrape all comments** above for no limit. Ignored when **Scrape all comments** is on. ## Actor input object example ```json { "video_urls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e3GPea1Tyg" ], "sort_type": "Newest", "includeReplies": true, "scrape_all_comments": false, "max_comments": 100 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `comments` (type: `string`): All collected comments and replies, each enriched with author and video metadata. # 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 = { "video_urls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e3GPea1Tyg" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("itclan-bd/youtube-comments-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 = { "video_urls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e3GPea1Tyg"] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("itclan-bd/youtube-comments-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 '{ "video_urls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e3GPea1Tyg" ] }' | apify call itclan-bd/youtube-comments-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=itclan-bd/youtube-comments-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "YouTube Comments Scraper", "description": "Scrape YouTube comments and replies from any video or short — no API key or code. Export to JSON, CSV, or Excel with full author and video metadata, plus support for geo-restricted videos.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "ownRn67j9uEMn7u0J" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/itclan-bd~youtube-comments-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-itclan-bd-youtube-comments-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/itclan-bd~youtube-comments-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-itclan-bd-youtube-comments-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/itclan-bd~youtube-comments-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-itclan-bd-youtube-comments-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", "required": [ "video_urls" ], "properties": { "video_urls": { "title": "YouTube video or Shorts URLs", "minItems": 1, "maxItems": 20, "type": "array", "description": "Add 1–20 YouTube URLs to scrape comments from. Supports standard videos, Shorts, youtu.be share links, and mobile URLs.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "sort_type": { "title": "Sort comments by", "enum": [ "Newest", "Top" ], "type": "string", "description": "Which comments to collect first. **Newest** returns the most recent comments; **Top** returns the most relevant / popular ones.", "default": "Newest" }, "includeReplies": { "title": "Include replies", "type": "boolean", "description": "Also scrape the replies inside each comment thread. Turn this off to collect only top-level comments (faster and uses fewer resources).", "default": true }, "scrape_all_comments": { "title": "Scrape all comments (unlimited)", "type": "boolean", "description": "Collect **every** comment and reply on each video, ignoring the **Max comments per video** limit below. Note: videos with many comments can take longer and use more resources.", "default": false }, "max_comments": { "title": "Max comments per video", "minimum": 1, "type": "integer", "description": "Stop after this many comments (including replies) per video. Defaults to 100 — increase it, or enable **Scrape all comments** above for no limit. Ignored when **Scrape all comments** is on.", "default": 100 } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```