# YouTube Comments Scraper - export to JSON (`jamhimself/youtube-comments-scraper`) Actor Scrape YouTube comments at scale as clean JSON: author, text, likes, replies, timestamps. Bulk, no API key, pay per comment. - **URL**: https://apify.com/jamhimself/youtube-comments-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Jaime Martinez](https://apify.com/jamhimself) (community) - **Categories:** Developer tools, Videos, AI - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing $0.40 / 1,000 comments 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 for developers and AI pipelines YouTube Comments Scraper for developers and AI pipelines — extract comments from any public YouTube video as clean JSON (author, text, likes, reply count, timestamps, pinned flag), in bulk, with no API key. YouTube throttles datacenter IPs and changes its comment endpoints often, so naive scrapers and free libraries break in production. This actor runs a hosted residential-proxy + uptime layer with automatic retries, and you only pay for comments actually delivered. Built for developers and AI builders: sentiment analysis, audience research, content ideas, moderation datasets, and RAG/LLM ingestion of community discussion. ### What it does Give it a list of YouTube video URLs or IDs and it returns the comments for each as structured JSON: - `author`, `authorChannelId`, `authorIsChannelOwner` - `text` (full comment) - `likeCount`, `replyCount`, `publishedTime` - `isPinned` - `videoId`, `videoTitle`, `channelName`, `url` Single videos or thousands in one run, top or newest order, up to thousands of comments per video. ### Use cases - **Sentiment & audience analysis** — feed comments to an LLM for themes, sentiment, FAQs. - **Content research** — mine what viewers ask for across a channel. - **Moderation datasets** — collect labeled examples of spam/toxicity. - **RAG / LLM ingestion** — add community discussion to your knowledge base. ### Input | Field | Type | Description | |---|---|---| | `videoUrls` | array | **Required.** YouTube video URLs or IDs. | | `maxComments` | integer | Max top-level comments per video. Default 100. | | `sortBy` | string | `top` or `newest`. Default `top`. | | `concurrency` | integer | Videos in parallel (1–8). Default 3. | ### Output One dataset item per comment. Videos with comments disabled, private, or unavailable are written to a separate `SKIPPED` record (with the reason) and are **never charged**. ### Pricing **Pay per delivered comment** — no subscription, no API key, no minimums. Videos with comments disabled are skipped for free. See the **Pricing** tab for the current per-comment rate. ### FAQ - **Do I need a YouTube API key?** No. No key, no quota, no OAuth. - **Replies?** Top-level comments are returned now; threaded replies are coming in a later version. - **Comments disabled?** Reported in the skipped list, not charged. - **Is this legal?** It accesses publicly available comment data. You are responsible for complying with YouTube's Terms of Service and applicable law in your use of the output. # Actor input Schema ## `videoUrls` (type: `array`): YouTube video URLs or IDs — scrape the comments of each as clean JSON (author, text, likes, replies, timestamps). Accepts watch, youtu.be, shorts, and live URLs or raw 11-character video IDs. ## `maxComments` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of top-level comments to fetch per video. ## `sortBy` (type: `string`): Comment order. ## `concurrency` (type: `integer`): How many videos to process in parallel (1-8). ## `proxyCountryCode` (type: `string`): Optional two-letter country code for proxies. ## Actor input object example ```json { "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw" ], "maxComments": 100, "sortBy": "top", "concurrency": 3 } ```` # 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 = { "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("jamhimself/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 = { "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("jamhimself/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 '{ "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw" ] }' | apify call jamhimself/youtube-comments-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=jamhimself/youtube-comments-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "YouTube Comments Scraper - export to JSON", "description": "Scrape YouTube comments at scale as clean JSON: author, text, likes, replies, timestamps. Bulk, no API key, pay per comment.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "p02d7i5RQua2C2Q8K" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/jamhimself~youtube-comments-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-jamhimself-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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/jamhimself~youtube-comments-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-jamhimself-youtube-comments-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/jamhimself~youtube-comments-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-jamhimself-youtube-comments-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": [ "videoUrls" ], "properties": { "videoUrls": { "title": "Video URLs or IDs", "type": "array", "description": "YouTube video URLs or IDs — scrape the comments of each as clean JSON (author, text, likes, replies, timestamps). Accepts watch, youtu.be, shorts, and live URLs or raw 11-character video IDs.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "maxComments": { "title": "Max comments per video", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 5000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of top-level comments to fetch per video.", "default": 100 }, "sortBy": { "title": "Sort by", "enum": [ "top", "newest" ], "type": "string", "description": "Comment order.", "default": "top" }, "concurrency": { "title": "Concurrency", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 8, "type": "integer", "description": "How many videos to process in parallel (1-8).", "default": 3 }, "proxyCountryCode": { "title": "Proxy country", "type": "string", "description": "Optional two-letter country code for proxies." } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```