YouTube Shorts Scraper - Extract Shorts, Channel Data & Engagement Metrics

Unlock the power of YouTube Shorts analytics with our comprehensive Shorts Scraper. Extract detailed metadata, engagement metrics, and complete channel information from any YouTube Shorts channel or individual short video.

Overview

This actor allows you to scrape detailed information about YouTube Shorts, including title, view count, likes, duration, thumbnail URLs, and comprehensive channel metadata. Extract all shorts from any channel with complete engagement data and channel statistics. It provides valuable insights for content creators, marketers, and researchers looking to analyze Shorts performance, channel growth, and audience engagement.

Features

• Complete Shorts Information: Extract comprehensive metadata about each short video including title, views, likes, duration, and upload date.
• Channel Analytics: Get detailed channel information including total subscribers, total views, total videos, join date, and location.
• Engagement Metrics: Capture view counts, like counts, and engagement statistics for every short.
• Channel Branding Assets: Extract channel avatar URLs, banner images, and profile information.
• Bulk Scraping: Scrape all shorts from a channel or specify a maximum number of items.
• Sorting Options: Sort shorts by NEWEST, POPULAR, or OLDEST to get exactly the content you need.
• Hashtag Extraction: Automatically extract all hashtags from short descriptions.
• Transcripts (TXT / SRT / VTT): Optional includeTranscript adds plain text, timed segments, and ready-to-save SubRip + WebVTT subtitle files for every Short.
• Real Comment Counts: commentsCount is read from the Shorts page for every video.
• Music / Sound Credits: Song title, artist, and album for Shorts that use licensed audio (music field).
• Computed Engagement Metrics: engagementRate (likes/views), viewsPerDay, and daysSincePublished on every row — viral-score analysis without extra math.
• Region & Language Targeting: Optional regionCode (gl) and contentLanguage (hl) to localize listings and metadata.
• Error Reporting: Failed sources (missing channel, empty hashtag, blocked page…) push structured error items to the dataset instead of failing silently — integration-friendly (Make, Zapier, n8n).
• Customizable: Flexible configuration options including max items, sorting, and concurrency settings.
• Proxy Support: Built-in proxy configuration to enhance scraping reliability and avoid blocks.
• Scrape 40+ critical data points from any YouTube Short, including:

🎯 Core Metrics

• View counts per short
• Like counts (real-time engagement data)
• Engagement rate, views per day, days since published (computed)
• Music/sound credits (song, artist, album)
• Video duration and upload date
• Short type and format information

📊 Channel Analytics

• Total subscriber count
• Total channel views (all-time)
• Total videos published
• Channel join date and location
• Channel verification status

📜 Content Details

• Complete Short Metadata
  • Title and translated title support
  • Thumbnail URLs (high quality)
  • Hashtag extraction
  • Description and links
• Channel Information:
  • Channel description
  • Channel username and ID
  • Avatar and banner URLs
  • Age restriction status

🛠 Technical Features

• Automatic resolution of:
  • Channel URLs (handle, @username, or channel ID)
  • Individual short URLs
  • Bulk channel shorts extraction

How to Use

1. Set Up: Ensure you have an Apify account and access to the Apify platform.
2. Configure Input: Set the YouTube channel URL(s) or individual short URL(s) you want to scrape (see Input Configuration section).
3. Adjust Parameters: (Optional) Configure maxItems, sorting order (NEWEST/POPULAR/OLDEST), concurrency, and proxy settings.
4. Run the Scraper: Execute the scraper on the Apify platform.
5. Data Collection: The scraper will output detailed data about each short including views, likes, and complete channel metadata.

Input Configuration

Here's an example of how to set up the input for the YouTube Shorts Scraper:

{
    "startUrls": [
        "rainbowicecream9780",
        "https://www.youtube.com/@channelname/shorts"
    ],
    "searchQueries": ["web scraping", "apify tutorial"],
    "hashtags": ["shorts", "coding"],
    "shortUrls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HKs9NvVRi5s"
    ],
    "maxItems": 50,
    "maxResultsShorts": 100,
    "sortChannelShortsBy": "NEWEST",
    "oldestPostDate": "2026-01-01",
    "regionCode": "US",
    "contentLanguage": "en",
    "maxConcurrency": 10,
    "minConcurrency": 1,
    "maxRequestRetries": 10,
    "includeTranscript": false,
    "downloadVideo": false,
    "language": "default",
    "proxy": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
        "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
    }
}

Input Fields Explanation

You need at least one source: startUrls, searchQueries, hashtags, and/or shortUrls (or deprecated channels merged into startUrls).

Data sources

Field	Type	Description
startUrls	string[]	All channel scraping in one list: handles ("name" or "@name"), full Shorts tab URLs (https://www.youtube.com/@handle/shorts, m.youtube.com, /channel/UC…/shorts, /c/…/shorts), or scheme-less youtube.com/…. Optional if you use search, hashtags, or direct Short URLs.
searchQueries	string[]	Keywords for YouTube Shorts search (each query is run separately; same detail pipeline as channels).
hashtags	string[]	Hashtag hub pages: enter apify or #apify per row → /hashtag/{tag}/shorts.
shortUrls	string[]	Direct Shorts only: youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID, watch?v=, youtu.be/…. Each unique video id is scraped once; counts toward maxItems.
channels	string[]	Deprecated. Not shown in the Apify Console input form; still accepted via API and merged into startUrls. Use startUrls only.

Limits and filtering

Field	Type	Description
maxItems	number	Global cap: maximum total Shorts to scrape (default 30 if omitted; free users are capped at 30).
maxResultsShorts	number	Per-source cap: max Shorts per channel, per search query, or per hashtag (in addition to maxItems).
sortChannelShortsBy	string	Channel Shorts tab order: "NEWEST" (default), "POPULAR", or "OLDEST" (uses YouTube sort chips for Popular/Oldest).
oldestPostDate	string	Only keep Shorts published on or after this threshold. Absolute: YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM[:SS]Z (UTC, inclusive). Relative: e.g. 30 minutes, 2 hours, 7 days, 2 weeks, 3 months, 1 year. Empty = disabled.

Localization

Field	Type	Description
regionCode	string	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country for YouTube gl (e.g. US, DE, JP). Applied to listing pages and InnerTube requests. Empty = proxy IP default.
contentLanguage	string	Interface language for YouTube hl (e.g. en, de, pt-BR). Affects localized metadata text. Empty = default.

Crawler and reliability

Field	Type	Default (input schema)	Description
maxConcurrency	number	10	Max pages processed in parallel.
minConcurrency	number	1	Min concurrent pages.
maxRequestRetries	number	10	Retries per failed request before giving up.

If you pass a minimal JSON body without maxRequestRetries, the actor code currently falls back to 3; the Apify Console usually prefills 10 from the schema.

Proxy

Field	Type	Description
proxy	object	Standard Apify proxy settings: e.g. useApifyProxy, apifyProxyGroups (e.g. RESIDENTIAL), apifyProxyCountry, or custom proxyUrls. See Apify proxy docs.

Transcripts

Field	Type	Default	Description
includeTranscript	boolean	false	Fetch the transcript for each Short and add a subtitles object to the output: plain text, timed segments, plus ready-to-save SRT and WebVTT strings.
language	string	"default"	Preferred transcript language code (e.g. en, de, es). Falls back to English / YouTube's default track when unavailable.

Extra fields (API / JSON input only)

These are not in the current Apify input_schema.json but are read by the actor when present in JSON (local runs or API):

Field	Type	Default	Description
downloadVideo	boolean	false	Download video to Key-Value Store (heavier run).

Output Structure

The output data includes detailed information about each YouTube Short along with comprehensive channel metadata. Here's a complete sample of the structure:

[
    {
        "title": "ASRM Satisfying sounds #asmr #music #funny #animation #shortvideo #shorts #satisfying",
        "translatedTitle": null,
        "type": "shorts",
        "id": "HKs9NvVRi5s",
        "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HKs9NvVRi5s",
        "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HKs9NvVRi5s/hq2.jpg?sqp=-oaymwFACKgBEF5IWvKriqkDMwgBFQAAiEIYANgBAeIBCggYEAIYBjgBQAHwAQH4AbYIgAKAD4oCDAgAEAEYciBDKDkwDw==&rs=AOn4CLBaOHct_7Ob2lwOZzME6tCzLeyl5g",
        "viewCount": 173323,
        "date": "2025-08-04T03:00:33-07:00",
        "likes": 1251,
        "location": null,
        "channelName": "Coco Creator Rainbow",
        "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3N1VbltR6aREupzvJ8y-sw",
        "channelUsername": "rainbowicecream9780",
        "collaborators": null,
        "channelId": "UC3N1VbltR6aREupzvJ8y-sw",
        "channelDescription": "Thank you so much! I appreciate you all watching the videos.\n",
        "channelJoinedDate": "Aug 9, 2021",
        "channelDescriptionLinks": [],
        "channelLocation": "United States",
        "channelAvatarUrl": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/nVSr8lanf5UPU4Mc6oWOmKWqQ8VoFceHcQsM5sW63ZPp4r1S6M6pHr4stNOMGyknf1ig1Wjh3A=s160-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
        "channelBannerUrl": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/Wg27ZtirmK5sH4Bx7atk4CugZubFCTwsXZsKdITtWPT6aTiikJgl26heFNxnM16UJi0-qnlUxQ=w2560-fcrop64=1,00005a57ffffa5a8-k-c0xffffffff-no-nd-rj",
        "channelTotalVideos": 230,
        "channelTotalViews": 919280766,
        "numberOfSubscribers": 1380000,
        "isChannelVerified": false,
        "inputChannelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@rainbowicecream9780/shorts",
        "isAgeRestricted": false,
        "aboutChannelInfo": {
            "channelName": "Coco Creator Rainbow",
            "channelId": "UC3N1VbltR6aREupzvJ8y-sw",
            "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3N1VbltR6aREupzvJ8y-sw",
            "channelUsername": "rainbowicecream9780",
            "numberOfSubscribers": 1380000,
            "channelTotalViews": 919280766,
            "channelTotalVideos": 230,
            "channelAvatarUrl": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/nVSr8lanf5UPU4Mc6oWOmKWqQ8VoFceHcQsM5sW63ZPp4r1S6M6pHr4stNOMGyknf1ig1Wjh3A=s160-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
            "channelBannerUrl": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/Wg27ZtirmK5sH4Bx7atk4CugZubFCTwsXZsKdITtWPT6aTiikJgl26heFNxnM16UJi0-qnlUxQ=w2560-fcrop64=1,00005a57ffffa5a8-k-c0xffffffff-no-nd-rj",
            "isChannelVerified": false,
            "channelDescription": "Thank you so much! I appreciate you all watching the videos.\n",
            "channelJoinedDate": "Aug 9, 2021",
            "channelLocation": "United States",
            "isAgeRestricted": false,
            "inputChannelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@rainbowicecream9780/shorts"
        },
        "duration": "00:00:51",
        "commentsCount": 0,
        "text": null,
        "translatedText": null,
        "descriptionLinks": null,
        "subtitles": null,
        "order": 0,
        "commentsTurnedOff": false,
        "fromYTUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@rainbowicecream9780/shorts",
        "isMonetized": null,
        "hashtags": [],
        "formats": [],
        "isMembersOnly": false,
        "input": "https://www.youtube.com/@rainbowicecream9780/shorts",
        "fromChannelListPage": "shorts",
        "isPaidContent": false,
        "music": {
            "song": "Night",
            "artist": "Kilo G",
            "album": "Mercy",
            "thumbnailUrl": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/28bcrPUQOxi6GimxKsf…",
            "source": "videoAttribute"
        },
        "engagementRate": 0.007218,
        "viewsPerDay": 561.26,
        "daysSincePublished": 310
    }
]

Output Fields Explanation

Each short in the output contains the following fields:

🎬 Video Information

• title (string): The title of the YouTube Short as it appears on YouTube
• translatedTitle (string|null): Translated title if translation is enabled, otherwise null
• type (string): Content type, always "shorts" for YouTube Shorts
• id (string): Unique YouTube video ID for the short
• url (string): Full URL to access the short on YouTube
• thumbnailUrl (string): High-quality thumbnail image URL for the short
• duration (string): Video duration in HH:MM:SS format (e.g., "00:00:51")
• date (string): Upload/publish date in ISO 8601 format
• order (number): Sequential order number of the short in the result set

📊 Engagement Metrics

• viewCount (number): Total number of views the short has received
• likes (number): Total number of likes on the short
• commentsCount (number): Total number of comments on the short (read from the Shorts page; 0 when none are visible)
• commentsTurnedOff (boolean): Whether comments are disabled for this short
• engagementRate (number|null): Likes ÷ views ratio (0–1, 6 decimals); null when views are unknown
• viewsPerDay (number|null): Views ÷ days since publish — spot virality at a glance
• daysSincePublished (number|null): Whole days since the publish date

🎵 Music / Sound

• music (object|null): Sound credits when the Short uses licensed audio, otherwise null (original audio)
  • song (string|null): Track title
  • artist (string|null): Artist name
  • album (string|null): Album name when available
  • thumbnailUrl (string|null): Cover art URL
  • source (string): Which YouTube data shape supplied the credits (musicSection or videoAttribute)

📺 Channel Information

• channelName (string): Display name of the channel that posted the short
• channelUrl (string): Full URL to the channel page
• channelUsername (string): Channel username/handle (without @ symbol)
• channelId (string): Unique YouTube channel ID
• channelDescription (string): Channel's about/description text
• channelJoinedDate (string): Date when the channel was created (e.g., "Aug 9, 2021")
• channelLocation (string): Geographic location of the channel
• channelAvatarUrl (string): URL to the channel's profile picture/avatar
• channelBannerUrl (string): URL to the channel's banner image
• channelDescriptionLinks (array): Array of links from the channel description

📈 Channel Statistics

• numberOfSubscribers (number): Total subscriber count for the channel
• channelTotalViews (number): Total all-time views across all channel videos
• channelTotalVideos (number): Total number of videos published on the channel
• isChannelVerified (boolean): Whether the channel has YouTube verification badge

🔍 Additional Metadata

• location (string|null): Geographic location tag for the video (if set)
• collaborators (array|null): List of collaborators on the video (if any)
• isAgeRestricted (boolean): Whether the content is age-restricted
• isMonetized (boolean|null): Monetization status of the video
• isMembersOnly (boolean): Whether the content is restricted to channel members
• isPaidContent (boolean): Whether this is paid promotional content
• hashtags (array): Array of hashtags extracted from the video title/description
• text (string|null): Video description text
• translatedText (string|null): Translated description if translation is enabled
• descriptionLinks (array|null): Links extracted from video description
• subtitles (object|null): Transcript data when includeTranscript is enabled and a transcript exists:
  • plainText (string): Full transcript as one string
  • segments (array): Timed segments { text, startMs, endMs, startTimeText }
  • srt (string): Ready-to-save SubRip (.srt) file content
  • vtt (string): Ready-to-save WebVTT (.vtt) file content
  • source (string): Transcript provider used
• formats (array): Available video format information

🔄 Scraper Context

• inputChannelUrl (string): The original input URL used to scrape this short
• fromYTUrl (string): The YouTube URL where this short was found
• input (string): The exact input parameter provided to the scraper
• fromChannelListPage (string): Which channel page type was scraped ("shorts", "videos", etc.)

📦 aboutChannelInfo Object

Contains a complete snapshot of channel metadata at the time of scraping:

• channelName (string): Channel display name
• channelId (string): Unique channel identifier
• channelUrl (string): Full channel URL
• channelUsername (string): Channel username/handle
• numberOfSubscribers (number): Subscriber count
• channelTotalViews (number): All-time channel views
• channelTotalVideos (number): Total videos published
• channelAvatarUrl (string): Profile picture URL
• channelBannerUrl (string): Channel banner URL
• isChannelVerified (boolean): Verification status
• channelDescription (string): Channel description
• channelJoinedDate (string): Channel creation date
• channelLocation (string): Channel location
• isAgeRestricted (boolean): Age restriction status
• inputChannelUrl (string): Input URL used for scraping

---

Error Items

When the scraper cannot retrieve data for a given input — for example a channel does not exist or a hashtag has no Shorts — it pushes an error item to the dataset instead of silently skipping it. Normal output rows never have an error field, so you can tell them apart reliably in integrations (Make, Zapier, n8n, API consumers).

Error item structure

{
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@somechannel/shorts",
    "input": "https://www.youtube.com/@somechannel/shorts",
    "error": "CHANNEL_HAS_NO_SHORTS",
    "note": "The channel has no Shorts."
}

Error codes reference

error	Meaning
CHANNEL_DOES_NOT_EXIST	The channel does not exist (YouTube returned 404). Detected instantly — no retry loop.
CHANNEL_PAGE_FETCH_FAILED	The channel Shorts page could not be fetched (network/other errors after retries).
CHANNEL_PAGE_BLOCKED	YouTube blocked the request (bot check). Try residential proxies.
CHANNEL_PARSE_FAILED	The channel Shorts page could not be parsed.
CHANNEL_HAS_NO_SHORTS	The channel exists but has no Shorts.
SEARCH_PAGE_FETCH_FAILED	The Shorts search results page could not be fetched.
SEARCH_PAGE_BLOCKED	YouTube blocked the search request (bot check).
SEARCH_PARSE_FAILED	The search results page could not be parsed.
SEARCH_HAS_NO_SHORTS	The search query returned no Shorts.
HASHTAG_PAGE_FETCH_FAILED	The hashtag Shorts page could not be fetched.
HASHTAG_PAGE_BLOCKED	YouTube blocked the hashtag page request (bot check).
HASHTAG_PARSE_FAILED	The hashtag Shorts page could not be parsed.
HASHTAG_HAS_NO_SHORTS	The hashtag has no Shorts.
SHORT_DETAIL_FAILED	A Short's detail page could not be scraped after all retries.

Use Cases

This YouTube Shorts scraper is perfect for:

• Content Creators: Analyze competitor shorts performance and engagement metrics
• Marketers: Track trending shorts and identify viral content patterns
• Researchers: Collect data on shorts engagement, channel growth, and content trends
• Data Analysts: Build datasets for YouTube Shorts analytics and performance studies
• Social Media Managers: Monitor channel performance and shorts strategy effectiveness
• SEO Specialists: Analyze hashtag usage and optimize short video discoverability

Notes

• The scraper automatically handles YouTube's dynamic content loading
• Desktop YouTube structure is used to ensure likes and views data is available
• Proxy usage is recommended to avoid rate limiting on large scrapes
• All engagement metrics are captured in real-time at the moment of scraping
• Channel metadata is extracted once per channel and applied to all shorts from that channel

Support

• For issues or feature requests, please use the Issues section of this actor.
• If you need customization or have questions, feel free to contact the author:
  • Author's website: https://muhamed-didovic.github.io/
  • Email: muhamed.didovic@gmail.com

Additional Services

• Request customization or whole dataset: muhamed.didovic@gmail.com
• If you need anything else scraped, or this actor customized, email: muhamed.didovic@gmail.com
• For API services of this scraper (no Apify fee, just usage fee for the API), contact: muhamed.didovic@gmail.com