YouTube Channel Scraper - Documentation

Overview

This Apify Actor allows you to extract various types of data from YouTube channels without any coding required. Whether you need channel information, videos, playlists, community posts, or comments, this tool makes it simple to gather YouTube data for analysis, research, or content strategy.

---

🎯 What Can This Actor Do?

The actor supports 10 different operations:

1. Channel Information (info) - Get basic channel details (subscribers, views, etc.)
2. Channel About (about) - Get the "About" section details
3. Channel Videos (videos) - Get all videos from a channel
4. Channel Playlists (playlists) - Get all playlists from a channel
5. Channel Streams (streams) - Get live streams from a channel
6. Channel Podcasts (podcasts) - Get podcasts from a channel
7. Community Posts (posts) - Get community/tab posts
8. Search Channel (search) - Search for specific content within a channel
9. Post Comments (post-comments) - Get comments from a specific community post
10. Playlist Videos (playlist-videos) - Get all videos from any playlist

---

📋 Input Parameters

Required Parameters

Parameter	Description
operation	The type of data you want to extract (see list above)

Channel Identification (Choose One)

IMPORTANT: You need to provide either a channelId OR a channelUrl. The actor prioritizes channelId over channelUrl - meaning if you provide both, it will use the channelId.

Parameter	Priority	Description	Example
channelId	#1 (Highest)	The unique YouTube channel ID	UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA
channelUrl	#2	Channel URL or handle	@MrBeast or https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast

How to Find Channel ID vs Channel URL

Channel URL/Handle (Easier to find):

• Look at the channel's URL in your browser: youtube.com/@ChannelName
• The handle is the part after the @ symbol
• Example: @MrBeast

Channel ID (More reliable):

1. Visit the channel page
2. Click on any video from that channel
3. Right-click the channel name → "Copy link address"
4. The ID is in the URL: youtube.com/channel/UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA
5. Copy the part after /channel/: UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA

Why Two Options?

• Channel ID is more reliable and faster (recommended if you have it)
• Channel URL is easier to find but requires an extra lookup step
• If you can't find the Channel ID, just use the Channel URL - the actor will automatically convert it

Optional Parameters

Parameter	Used For	Description	Default
searchQuery	search operation	What to search for in the channel	-
postId	post-comments operation	Specific community post ID	-
postCommentsSortBy	post-comments operation	Sort comments by TOP_COMMENTS or NEWEST_FIRST	TOP_COMMENTS
playlistId	playlist-videos operation	YouTube playlist ID (starts with PL)	-
page	Pagination	Which page to start from (for paginated results)	1

---

🚀 How to Use

Example 1: Get Channel Information

Goal: Get basic stats about MrBeast's channel

{
  "operation": "info",
  "channelUrl": "@MrBeast"
}

Example 2: Get All Videos from a Channel

Goal: Extract all videos from a specific channel

{
  "operation": "videos",
  "channelId": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
  "page": 1
}

Example 3: Search Within a Channel

Goal: Find all "challenge" videos in a channel

{
  "operation": "search",
  "channelUrl": "@MrBeast",
  "searchQuery": "challenge"
}

Example 4: Get Comments from a Community Post

Goal: Extract comments from a specific post

{
  "operation": "post-comments",
  "channelId": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
  "postId": "Ugxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
  "postCommentsSortBy": "TOP_COMMENTS"
}

Example 5: Get Videos from Any Playlist

Goal: Extract all videos from a playlist (doesn't require channel info)

{
  "operation": "playlist-videos",
  "playlistId": "PLrAXtmErZgOeiKm4sgNOknGvNjby9efdf"
}

---

📄 Output Format

The actor returns data in JSON format. Each operation returns different fields, but here's what to expect:

Common Fields in All Responses:

{
  "operation": "videos",
  "channelId": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
  "success": true,
  "data": { /* specific data based on operation */ }
}

If There's an Error:

{
  "operation": "videos",
  "channelId": "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
  "success": false,
  "error": "Error message here"
}

---

⚙️ Pagination

For operations that return many results (videos, playlists, posts, etc.), use the page parameter:

• Start with page: 1
• If there are more results, increment to page: 2, then page: 3, etc.
• The response will indicate if there are more pages available

---

💡 Tips & Best Practices

1. Use Channel ID when possible - It's faster and more reliable than Channel URL
2. Start with small requests - Test with page: 1 before extracting everything
3. Handle errors gracefully - Check the success field in the response
4. Respect rate limits - The actor has built-in retry logic, but don't hammer the API
5. For large channels - Consider running multiple actor instances with different page numbers

---

❓ Common Questions

Q: Which should I use - channelId or channelUrl?
A: Use channelId if you have it. Otherwise, channelUrl works fine - the actor will automatically look up the ID.

Q: What happens if I provide both channelId and channelUrl?
A: The actor prioritizes channelId and ignores channelUrl.

Q: How do I get all videos from a channel with 1000+ videos?
A: Use pagination. Start with page: 1, then run again with page: 2, etc., until you get all results.

Q: Can I extract from private channels?
A: No, only publicly available YouTube data can be extracted.

---

🛠️ Technical Notes

• The actor uses a smart retry system with proxy fallback
• Circuit breaker prevents overwhelming the API
• Automatic error handling returns meaningful error messages
• Built-in random delays to appear more human-like

---

📞 Need Help?

If you encounter issues:

1. Check that your channelId or channelUrl is correct
2. Verify the operation name matches exactly (case-sensitive)
3. For playlist-videos, ensure you're using a playlist ID (starts with PL)
4. Check the error message in the output for specific guidance
5. Contact us via Telegram: @pintoflow