# YouTube Video Scraper (`oneary/youtube-video-scraper`) Actor 🎬 Extract YouTube video metadata, comments, captions, and channel info at scale. Pull titles, views, likes, durations, and thumbnails for any search query. Perfect for content research, competitor benchmarking, and NLP pipelines. Optional comment and subtitle extraction for deep analysis. - **URL**: https://apify.com/oneary/youtube-video-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Luan M.](https://apify.com/oneary) (community) - **Categories:** Videos - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing $18.00 / 1,000 results 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 Video Scraper — Apify Actor Scrapes YouTube video metadata, comments, transcripts, and channel information using **Crawlee** + **Playwright**. ### Features - ✅ Extract video title, description, views, likes, duration, publish date - ✅ Channel name and URL - ✅ Video tags and thumbnail URL - ✅ Comments — author, text, date (optional) - ✅ Transcripts / captions (optional) - ✅ Search by query - ✅ Scrape all videos from a channel - ✅ Start from any list of video or channel URLs - ✅ Proxy support via Apify proxy - ✅ Configurable limits (max videos, max comments) ### Input | Field | Type | Default | Description | |-------|------|---------|-------------| | `startUrls` | array | `[]` | YouTube video or channel URLs | | `searchQuery` | string | — | YouTube search query | | `channelUrl` | string | — | YouTube channel URL (e.g. `https://www.youtube.com/@channel`) | | `maxVideos` | integer | `10` | Max videos to scrape (1–500) | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | Apify proxy | Proxy config | | `includeComments` | boolean | `false` | Scrape comments? | | `maxComments` | integer | `50` | Max comments per video (0–500) | | `includeTranscripts` | boolean | `false` | Scrape transcripts? | | `language` | string | `en` | Language code for UI / captions | At least one of `startUrls`, `searchQuery`, or `channelUrl` must be provided. ### Output Each result is a JSON object with: ```json { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...", "title": "Video Title", "channelName": "Channel Name", "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@channel", "views": 123456, "likes": 7890, "publishDate": "Apr 15, 2025", "description": "Full video description...", "tags": ["tag1", "tag2"], "duration": "12:34", "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/.../hqdefault.jpg", "comments": [ { "author": "User Name", "text": "Great video!", "date": "2 days ago" } ], "transcript": "Full transcript text..." } ```` If a video fails to scrape, the result contains `url` and an `error` field. ### Local Development ```bash ## Install dependencies npm install ## Syntax check npm run check ## Run (requires Apify API token in env) npm start ``` ### Deployment Deploy to Apify Console: ```bash npx apify push ``` Or use the Apify CLI: ```bash npm install -g apify-cli apify push ``` ### License Apache 2.0 # Actor input Schema ## `startUrls` (type: `array`): List of YouTube video URLs or channel URLs to start scraping from. ## `searchQuery` (type: `string`): YouTube search query to find videos. Example: 'node.js tutorial'. ## `channelUrl` (type: `string`): YouTube channel URL to scrape all videos from (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/@channelname). ## `maxVideos` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of videos to scrape. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Apify proxy configuration for avoiding IP blocks. ## `includeComments` (type: `boolean`): Whether to scrape comments from each video. ## `maxComments` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of comments to scrape per video. ## `includeTranscripts` (type: `boolean`): Whether to scrape video transcripts/captions. ## `language` (type: `string`): Language code for transcripts and UI (e.g. 'en', 'ja', 'es'). Default: 'en'. ## Actor input object example ```json { "startUrls": [], "maxVideos": 10, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true }, "includeComments": false, "maxComments": 50, "includeTranscripts": false, "language": "en" } ``` # 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 = {}; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("oneary/youtube-video-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 = {} # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("oneary/youtube-video-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 '{}' | apify call oneary/youtube-video-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=oneary/youtube-video-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "YouTube Video Scraper", "description": "🎬 Extract YouTube video metadata, comments, captions, and channel info at scale. Pull titles, views, likes, durations, and thumbnails for any search query. Perfect for content research, competitor benchmarking, and NLP pipelines. Optional comment and subtitle extraction for deep analysis. ", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "Le7Zvw5384zUdNggf" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/oneary~youtube-video-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-oneary-youtube-video-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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/oneary~youtube-video-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-oneary-youtube-video-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/oneary~youtube-video-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-oneary-youtube-video-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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", "properties": { "startUrls": { "title": "Start URLs", "type": "array", "description": "List of YouTube video URLs or channel URLs to start scraping from.", "default": [], "items": { "type": "object", "required": [ "url" ], "properties": { "url": { "type": "string", "title": "URL of a web page", "format": "uri" } } } }, "searchQuery": { "title": "Search Query", "type": "string", "description": "YouTube search query to find videos. Example: 'node.js tutorial'." }, "channelUrl": { "title": "Channel URL", "type": "string", "description": "YouTube channel URL to scrape all videos from (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/@channelname)." }, "maxVideos": { "title": "Max Videos", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 500, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of videos to scrape.", "default": 10 }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy Configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Apify proxy configuration for avoiding IP blocks.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": true } }, "includeComments": { "title": "Include Comments", "type": "boolean", "description": "Whether to scrape comments from each video.", "default": false }, "maxComments": { "title": "Max Comments per Video", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 500, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of comments to scrape per video.", "default": 50 }, "includeTranscripts": { "title": "Include Transcripts", "type": "boolean", "description": "Whether to scrape video transcripts/captions.", "default": false }, "language": { "title": "Language", "type": "string", "description": "Language code for transcripts and UI (e.g. 'en', 'ja', 'es'). Default: 'en'.", "default": "en" } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```