# YouTube Shorts Scraper: Exact Views, Likes & Dates (`leathered_latch/youtube-shorts-scraper`) Actor

Every Short from a YouTube channel, newest first, with exact views, exact likes, publish time and length. Or paste single Shorts links. Pay per Short.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/leathered_latch/youtube-shorts-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Noor Holdings](https://apify.com/leathered_latch) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Videos
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$3.50 / 1,000 shorts

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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## YouTube Shorts Scraper: exact views, likes and publish date

Give it a channel and get its Shorts, newest first, with the exact view count, exact like count, comment count, publish time and length for each one. You can also paste single Shorts links.

YouTube's Shorts tab only shows rounded numbers like "7.8M views" and no dates at all. This tool opens each Short and reads the full figures: 7,834,989 views and 311,767 likes, published 2025-09-04 at 12:26 Pacific. We checked 8 random rows against each Short's own page a few minutes later, and all 8 matched on title, date and length. Views and likes were just behind the live counters, as they should be.

You pay per Short delivered. Channels that don't exist, bad links and videos that won't load cost nothing.

### What you get

```json
{
  "videoId": "oeHtfMFdzIY",
  "title": "Phone Camera PSA",
  "viewCount": 7834989,
  "likeCount": 311767,
  "commentCount": "4.1K",
  "commentsOff": false,
  "publishedAt": "2025-09-04T12:26:55-07:00",
  "durationSeconds": 86,
  "channelName": "Marques Brownlee",
  "channelHandle": "@mkbhd",
  "hashtags": null,
  "position": 31,
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oeHtfMFdzIY"
}
```

Each row also carries the description, channel ID, thumbnail link and the channel you entered. Rows are flat, so they open straight in Excel or Google Sheets.

### Quick start

1. Add channels as `@handle`, a channel link or a `UC...` ID. Or paste Shorts links in the second box.
2. Set how many Shorts you want per channel.
3. Click **Start**.

### Use cases

- Find which Shorts actually took off for a creator, by exact views and likes per day since posting.
- Vet creators before a deal. Likes against views on their last 50 Shorts says more than subscriber count.
- Track a competitor's Shorts output: how often they post, how long the videos run, what's working.

### Pricing

Pay per Short delivered, plus Apify's small start fee per run. Set a maximum cost per run and the scraper stops at your limit.

### FAQ

**Why not just read the Shorts tab?**
The tab rounds everything ("7.8M views") and shows no dates. You can't work out views per day from that, and views per day is the number that tells you what's working.

**How many Shorts can I get per channel?**
Up to 1,000, newest first. Set **Max Shorts per channel** to what you need; each Short is read separately, so smaller runs finish faster.

**Can I paste single Shorts instead of a channel?**
Yes. Use the second box for `youtube.com/shorts/...` links or 11-character video IDs.

**Something broke?**
Open an issue with the channel or link. I answer within a day.

### Limitations

- Comment counts come as YouTube shows them ("4.1K"), not exact. When a channel turns comments off, `commentCount` is empty and `commentsOff` is `true`.
- Hashtags come from the title and description only. Many Shorts have none.
- Each Short is read one at a time, so 1,000 Shorts take a while. A 120-Short run on Apify took about 12 minutes.
- No comments, no video downloads, no transcripts. This tool returns the stats.
- If YouTube asks to confirm you're not a bot, we try again later from a different ordinary connection. We don't get around those checks. Shorts that still won't load are listed in RUN_SUMMARY and not charged.

### Export or use as an API

Download any run's results from the **Storage** tab as CSV, Excel, JSON or XML.

To call it from your own code, send your input to Apify's API and get the rows back in one request:

```
POST https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/leathered_latch~youtube-shorts-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN
```

It also plugs into Make, Zapier and n8n through Apify's integrations, and AI agents can find and run it through Apify's MCP server.

### Your responsibility

How you use the output is your call, and so is the legal side of it. Copyright covers titles, descriptions and thumbnails if you republish them. Channel names and handles can be personal data once you store them. YouTube's own terms apply too. If you're unsure about a use, check with a lawyer first.

If you own content that shows up in these results and want it handled differently, open an issue on the Issues tab. We answer within 14 days.

### Data source and credit

Every row comes from YouTube (Google LLC). We don't own this data, and we don't take credit for it. The Shorts, titles and descriptions belong to the creators who made them.

This tool reads only what YouTube shows to any logged-out visitor. No logins, no private data. Each row keeps a link back to the Short (the `url` field), so you can check any result and credit the creator when you use it.

Not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by YouTube or Google. All names and trademarks belong to their owners.

### Changelog

- **0.1** First release. Exact views and likes per Short, publish time, channel listing with paging, direct links.

# Actor input Schema

## `channels` (type: `array`):

Get the Shorts from these channels, newest first. Use @handle, a channel link, or a UC... channel ID.

## `shorts` (type: `array`):

Or paste individual Shorts links (youtube.com/shorts/...) or 11-character video IDs.

## `maxShortsPerChannel` (type: `integer`):

Stops after this many Shorts from each channel (newest first).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "channels": [
    "@mkbhd"
  ],
  "shorts": [],
  "maxShortsPerChannel": 20
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "channels": [
        "@mkbhd"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("leathered_latch/youtube-shorts-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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "channels": ["@mkbhd"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("leathered_latch/youtube-shorts-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "channels": [
    "@mkbhd"
  ]
}' |
apify call leathered_latch/youtube-shorts-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,leathered_latch/youtube-shorts-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/lGWLkecdCAPT0dkql/builds/lZByHVIIVIkbyRMbz/openapi.json