# YouTube Video Downloader (`lurkapi/youtube-video-downloader`) Actor Download YouTube videos and audio. Supports quality selection (up to 4K), multiple formats (MP4, WebM, MP3, M4A), and returns the file with thumbnail and metadata. - **URL**: https://apify.com/lurkapi/youtube-video-downloader.md - **Developed by:** [LurkAPI](https://apify.com/lurkapi) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, Videos - **Stats:** 2 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $12.00 / 1,000 minutes at 1080ps 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 Video Downloader Download YouTube videos and audio. Paste one or more links, pick quality and format, get the files. ### What it does Give it one or more YouTube video links, and it will: 1. **Download the videos or audio** in your chosen quality and format 2. **Save them** to your Apify storage with permanent links 3. **Grab video details** like the channel name, description, view count, and more 4. **Save the thumbnails** with permanent links 5. **Download subtitles** (optional) in SRT format Works with any public YouTube video, Shorts, and playlists. Just copy the link from the YouTube app or website. ### How to use it #### Step 1: Paste your links and choose options Add your YouTube video URLs and select quality/format in the input. You can add up to 1,000 URLs at a time. ```json { "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "https://youtu.be/9bZkp7q19f0" ], "quality": "720p", "format": "mp4", "includeSubtitles": false, "maxConcurrency": 3 } ```` **Quality options:** best (up to 4K if available), 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p **Format options:** - **mp4** — Standard video format, works everywhere - **webm** — Open video format, smaller file sizes - **mp3** — Audio only, great for music - **m4a** — Audio only, higher quality than mp3 Selecting mp3 or m4a will download audio only (quality setting is ignored). **Supported URL types:** - Full links: `youtube.com/watch?v=...` - Short links: `youtu.be/...` - Shorts: `youtube.com/shorts/...` - Playlists: `youtube.com/playlist?list=...` (auto-expanded into individual videos) Set `includeSubtitles` to `true` to download available captions (SRT format). You can adjust `maxConcurrency` (1 to 5) to process more videos in parallel. ### Proxy settings By default, the Actor uses Apify's datacenter proxies. - **Automatic (default)**: Apify selects the best proxy. - **Datacenter**: Fast and cheap. Works for popular videos, but YouTube may block some requests. - **Residential**: Use if you get frequent "sign-in challenge" blocks. Most reliable for all videos. - **Own proxies**: Provide your own proxy URLs. - **No proxy**: Disable proxies. Not recommended for YouTube. #### Step 2: Run it Click **Start** and wait for it to finish. Download time depends on video length, quality, and number of videos. #### Step 3: Get your file Once it's done, check the **Output** tab. You'll get: - **status**: "Success" or an error message explaining what went wrong. - **videoFileUrl**: Permanent link to the downloaded file, stored in your Apify storage. - **thumbnailFileUrl**: Permanent link to the thumbnail image. - **subtitleFileUrls**: Map of language codes to subtitle file URLs (when `includeSubtitles` is enabled). - **videoYoutubeUrl**: Original YouTube URL. - **channel**: Channel name. - **title**: Video title. - **duration**: Video length in seconds. - **stats**: Views, likes, and comments. #### Example output ```json { "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Music Video)", "channel": "Rick Astley", "channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw", "duration": 212, "uploadDate": "2009-10-25", "videoFileUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/.../records/video-dQw4w9WgXcQ", "videoYoutubeUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "thumbnailFileUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/.../records/thumbnail-dQw4w9WgXcQ", "thumbnailYoutubeUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg", "format": "mp4", "quality": "720p", "fileSize": 15728640, "stats": { "views": 1500000000, "likes": 16000000, "comments": 3000000 }, "status": "Success", "error": null } ``` ### Good to know - **Proxy recommended:** YouTube blocks most requests from datacenter IPs. If you see "YouTube is blocking this request", switch to **Residential** proxy in the Proxy configuration input. - **Age-restricted videos** cannot be downloaded — they require a logged-in YouTube account, which this actor does not have. You'll get a clear error message explaining this. - **Private videos** cannot be downloaded. They'll show an error in the output. - **Playlists** are automatically expanded into individual videos. - **Shorts** work just like regular videos. - Short links (`youtu.be/...`) are resolved automatically. - Duplicate URLs are automatically removed. - You can add up to 1,000 URLs per run. - Very long videos (>2 GB file size) are not supported. - Live streams cannot be downloaded. - Always use `videoFileUrl` and `thumbnailFileUrl` for permanent access. # Actor input Schema ## `videoUrls` (type: `array`): Paste your YouTube video links here. Supports video URLs, short links (youtu.be/...), Shorts, and playlist URLs. ## `quality` (type: `string`): Select video quality. 'best' downloads the highest available quality. Ignored for audio-only formats. ## `format` (type: `string`): Select output format. Audio formats (mp3, m4a) download audio only. ## `includeSubtitles` (type: `boolean`): Download available subtitles/captions. Saved as SRT files in the key-value store. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Select proxy to route requests through YouTube. Recommended for reliable downloads. Datacenter is cheapest but may be blocked. Residential is most reliable. ## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of videos to process in parallel. ## Actor input object example ```json { "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" ], "quality": "1080p", "format": "mp4", "includeSubtitles": false, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [] }, "maxConcurrency": 3 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `overview` (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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" ], "quality": "1080p", "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [] } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("lurkapi/youtube-video-downloader").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=dQw4w9WgXcQ"], "quality": "1080p", "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True, "apifyProxyGroups": [], }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("lurkapi/youtube-video-downloader").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=dQw4w9WgXcQ" ], "quality": "1080p", "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [] } }' | apify call lurkapi/youtube-video-downloader --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=lurkapi/youtube-video-downloader", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "YouTube Video Downloader", "description": "Download YouTube videos and audio. Supports quality selection (up to 4K), multiple formats (MP4, WebM, MP3, M4A), and returns the file with thumbnail and metadata.", "version": "0.0", "x-build-id": "eqpifcdXaF9tokP2y" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/lurkapi~youtube-video-downloader/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-lurkapi-youtube-video-downloader", "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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/lurkapi~youtube-video-downloader/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-lurkapi-youtube-video-downloader", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/lurkapi~youtube-video-downloader/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-lurkapi-youtube-video-downloader", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": "YouTube Video URLs", "type": "array", "description": "Paste your YouTube video links here. Supports video URLs, short links (youtu.be/...), Shorts, and playlist URLs.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "quality": { "title": "Video Quality", "enum": [ "best", "1080p", "720p", "480p", "360p" ], "type": "string", "description": "Select video quality. 'best' downloads the highest available quality. Ignored for audio-only formats.", "default": "1080p" }, "format": { "title": "Output Format", "enum": [ "mp4", "webm", "mp3", "m4a" ], "type": "string", "description": "Select output format. Audio formats (mp3, m4a) download audio only.", "default": "mp4" }, "includeSubtitles": { "title": "Include Subtitles", "type": "boolean", "description": "Download available subtitles/captions. Saved as SRT files in the key-value store.", "default": false }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Select proxy to route requests through YouTube. Recommended for reliable downloads. Datacenter is cheapest but may be blocked. Residential is most reliable.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [] } }, "maxConcurrency": { "title": "Max Concurrency", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 5, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of videos to process in parallel.", "default": 3 } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```