YouTube Shorts Downloader

📥 Get links and data from public YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts Downloader is for creators, developers, and teams that already have public Shorts URLs. Add the links to get media URLs, the chosen quality, format details, thumbnails, duration, channel data, and source pages in one dataset. Source media links can expire or stop working, so use them soon after the run.

• YouTube Shorts Video Downloader — get media links and metadata from known public Shorts URLs.
• Video Download From Link — turn a list of YouTube links into rows you can use in another tool.
• Download YouTube Shorts in Bulk — process up to 1,000 unique Shorts URLs in one run.
• YouTube Shorts Download Links — collect links for review, moderation, or archiving.
• YouTube Shorts Video Metadata — export titles, thumbnails, duration, channel data, and format details.

This Actor does not search YouTube or crawl channels. It does not handle regular long videos, private videos, transcripts, comments, or MP3 conversion.

📦 Returned data

Each saved row can include:

• The submitted URL and its 1-based input position
• The video ID, canonical Shorts URL, and watch URL
• The title, channel name, channel ID, channel URL, duration, and thumbnail
• The requested and provided quality
• The main media URL and separate video or audio URLs when available
• The download type: playable, separate_video_audio, or video_only
• Format, codec, file size, content type, and link expiry details when available

Some fields can be null when YouTube does not provide them. A saved media URL may still expire or later be refused by YouTube.

🚀 Running the Actor

1. Open the Actor input.
2. Add one or more public YouTube Shorts URLs.
3. Pick the highest video quality you want.
4. Start the Actor.
5. Open the dataset and read bestDownloadUrl for the main link.

You can also start runs with the Apify API, schedules, or webhooks.

🔧 Input

shortUrls is a list of public YouTube URLs or request-list objects with a url field. It accepts Shorts, watch, youtu.be, embed, and live URL forms, plus a bare 11-character video ID. The Actor keeps the first form of each video ID and processes up to 1,000 unique IDs.

preferredResolution can be 8k, 4k, 2k, 1080p, 720p, 480p, or 360p. This is a preference, not a promise. YouTube controls which formats exist.

{
  "shortUrls": [
    { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8Zk5XzLJSAw" },
    { "url": "https://youtu.be/H9AVsyDE4Eg" }
  ],
  "preferredResolution": "1080p"
}

🧾 Output

A small output example:

{
  "status": "available",
  "input": {
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8Zk5XzLJSAw",
    "index": 1
  },
  "videoId": "8Zk5XzLJSAw",
  "canonicalShortsUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8Zk5XzLJSAw",
  "watchUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zk5XzLJSAw",
  "requestedQuality": "1080p",
  "downloadType": "playable",
  "bestDownloadUrl": "https://rr1---sn-example.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?...",
  "bestFormat": {
    "formatId": "18",
    "quality": "360p",
    "resolution": "360x640",
    "extension": "mp4",
    "videoCodec": "avc1.42001E",
    "audioCodec": "mp4a.40.2",
    "filesizeBytes": 1867885
  },
  "media": {
    "extension": "mp4",
    "mimeType": "video/mp4",
    "filesizeBytes": 1867885,
    "urlExpiresAt": "2026-07-20T05:00:00.000Z"
  },
  "availability": {
    "downloadLinkStatus": 206,
    "downloadContentType": "video/mp4",
    "note": null
  },
  "source": "youtube",
  "videoType": "short",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-07-20T04:55:00.000Z"
}

Open the dataset in Apify or export it as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, RSS, or HTML.

💳 Pricing

This Actor uses pay-per-event pricing. You are charged for each Short row saved with download links and metadata. Invalid, private, removed, unresolved, or skipped inputs that do not create a row do not create this paid event. See the Pricing tab for the current event price.

🔌 Integrations

Use the Apify API to start runs with shortUrls and preferredResolution. You can schedule runs, export datasets, or send completed run data through webhooks.

❓ FAQ

🔗 Can a saved download link fail?

Yes. YouTube owns these links. They can expire, return an error, or stop working after the Actor saves them. Use them soon after the run. Check the returned availability details when your workflow needs to confirm a link.

🎞️ Can I choose the output quality?

You can choose a highest preferred quality. The Actor picks from the formats YouTube returns, so the actual quality can be lower.

📚 Can I submit many Shorts?

Yes. One run can process up to 1,000 unique video IDs. One bad or unavailable input does not stop the other inputs.

🔑 Do I need cookies or a YouTube API key?

No. The input does not ask for cookies, a YouTube login, or an API key. It only works with public media that YouTube makes available without them.

🎬 Does it download regular YouTube videos?

No. It is made for Shorts you already know. It does not search YouTube or crawl a channel or playlist.

🎧 Does it make MP3 files or merge streams?

No. It does not convert, merge, or store media files. It returns source-hosted links. Some Shorts may have separate video and audio links.

⚖️ Why not use the official YouTube API?

The official API is useful for approved metadata tasks. It does not give direct Shorts media download links. Follow YouTube's terms and only download media you may use.

📝 Changelog

• 0.2: Improved default runs for more reliable first results and faster hosted validation.
• 0.1: Initial release.

🆘 Support

For issues, questions, or feature requests, file a ticket and I'll fix or implement it in less than 24h 🫡

🔗 Related Actors

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• Facebook Media Downloader — get media links and metadata from public Facebook videos and reels.
• Pinterest Video Downloader — get video and image URLs from public Pinterest pins.
• Streamable Video Downloader — get direct MP4 links and metadata from Streamable URLs or IDs.
• YouTube Channel Statistics Scraper — get public channel counts and profile data without an API key.

Made with ❤️ by Maxime Dupré