YouTube Shorts Scraper — Viral Videos, Sounds & Creators

YouTube Shorts Scraper — Viral Videos, Sounds & Creators

YouTube Shorts Scraper extracts structured YouTube Shorts records, metadata, metrics, and direct links in real time. Built on a zero-browser HTTP/2 engine running in 256 MB RAM, it delivers normalized datasets with zero null fields ready for CSV, Excel, JSON, or API pipelines.

Looking for related scrapers? Check out YouTube Scraper, YouTube Comments Scraper, YouTube Transcript Scraper, YouTube Channel & Creator Intelligence Scraper, or browse our full catalog of 118+ dedicated scrapers.

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What does YouTube Shorts Scraper do?

Ultra-fast YouTube Shorts scraper powered by Google's InnerTube API. Extract viral shorts, sound/music info, views, likes, comments, and creator metrics. Compatible Make, Zapier, n8n. 256MB RAM & sub-second speed.

Whether you need to monitor YouTube Shorts at scale, enrich B2B/B2C databases, or feed structured records into analytics and AI workflows, YouTube Shorts Scraper handles pagination, field normalization, and schema validation automatically:

• Bulk Data Extraction: Collect YouTube Shorts listings, items, and detailed attributes in batches using keywords, filters, or direct URLs.
• Complete Public Metadata: Capture identifiers, pricing/engagement metrics, author/vendor details, timestamps, and canonical URLs.
• Multi-Format Export: Download results in JSON, CSV, Excel (XLSX), XML, or HTML Table directly from the Apify Console.
• Ready for Automation & AI: Connect seamlessly to Apify Integrations (Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets), REST API endpoints, or the Apify MCP Server.

Beyond the Official YouTube Shorts API

• No API Keys or Approval Delays: Start extracting public YouTube Shorts data immediately without registering developer apps or waiting for quota approvals.
• No Restrictive Rate Quotas: Bypass strict per-minute API limits and expensive enterprise tiers while capturing the complete public data points displayed on YouTube Shorts.
• 256 MB Zero-Browser Architecture: Uses native HTTP/2 and TLS session emulation instead of heavy Chromium instances, executing in seconds at a fraction of standard compute costs.

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What data can you scrape from YouTube Shorts?

YouTube Shorts Scraper extracts the following data points from YouTube Shorts:

📝 Mode (mode)	📝 Search Queries (searchQueries)	🔗 Channel URLs (channelUrls)
🔗 Short URLs (shortUrls)	🏷️ Type (type)	🆔 Video ID (videoId)
🔗 URL (url)	📝 Title (title)	👀 View Count (viewCount)
👀 View Count Text (viewCountText)	👍 Like Count (likeCount)	👍 Like Count Text (likeCountText)

Data Category	Extracted Fields & Data Points
Identity & Core Identifiers	type (Type), videoId (Video ID), title (Title), channelTitle (Channel Title), channelId (Channel ID)
Metrics, Pricing & Engagement	viewCount (View Count), viewCountText (View Count Text), likeCount (Like Count), likeCountText (Like Count Text), commentCount (Comment Count)
Details, Attributes & Context	mode (Mode), searchQueries (Search Queries), audioTrack (Audio Track), tags (Tags)
Direct Links, Media & Timestamps	channelUrls (Channel URLs), shortUrls (Short URLs), url (URL), channelUrl (Channel URL), thumbnailUrl (Thumbnail URL), scrapedAt (Scraped At)

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Why scrape YouTube Shorts? (Typical Use Cases & Guides)

You can use YouTube Shorts Scraper for a wide range of data and business workflows:

• Competitive & Market Intelligence: Track real-time listings, rankings, pricing shifts, and activity across YouTube Shorts without manual copy-pasting.
• B2B Lead Generation & CRM Enrichment: Extract structured YouTube Shorts records to enrich pipelines in HubSpot, Salesforce, Clay, Pipedrive, or Airtable.
• Trend Detection & Sentiment Monitoring: Analyze volume velocity, user ratings, and community feedback on YouTube Shorts to spot market opportunities early.
• AI Agents, RAG & LLM Knowledge Pipelines: Feed normalized, zero-null YouTube Shorts datasets directly into vector databases, autonomous AI agents, and LLM workflows.
• Automated Reporting & Scheduled Monitoring: Connect YouTube Shorts Scraper to Make.com, n8n, Zapier, or Google Sheets for hands-free daily data refreshes.
• Market Research & Competitor Analysis: Benchmark YouTube Shorts offerings, pricing strategies, and market share across regions.
• Lead Generation & CRM Enrichment: Build targeted prospect lists and sync verified records straight into HubSpot, Salesforce, or Clay.
• AI Agents & RAG Pipelines via MCP: Connect live YouTube Shorts data directly to Claude Desktop, Cursor, or LangChain agents.

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How to scrape YouTube Shorts data

YouTube Shorts Scraper is designed for a zero-configuration start, even if you have never scraped data before:

1. Create a free Apify account using your email (includes $5.00 in free monthly credits).
2. Open YouTube Shorts Scraper and click on the Input tab — all required fields are already pre-filled with a working example.
3. Enter your search terms, target URLs, or filter criteria (or keep the default pre-filled configuration for an instant 1-Click test).
4. Click the green "Start" button and wait a few seconds for the data to be extracted.
5. Download your dataset in JSON, CSV, Excel (XLSX), or HTML, or fetch it via the API tab.

For more technical details on every parameter, check out the Input Schema tab or read the Apify Platform Documentation.

🔗 How to scrape YouTube Shorts by Search Term or Direct URL

Scraping by Search Term / Filter 🔑	Enter keywords, categories, or filter parameters just as you would search on YouTube Shorts. Set the maximum number of items you want to extract and click Start.
Scraping by Direct URL 🔗	Paste one or more direct YouTube Shorts links (or import a list of URLs from a Google Sheet / CSV) to extract targeted item or profile details in bulk.

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⬇️ Input Configuration & Examples

To start scraping YouTube Shorts, fill in the visual input form in the Apify Console or pass a JSON payload via the API. Full technical specifications are available on the Input Schema tab.

Input Parameters Reference

Parameter	Type	Default / Prefill	Description
mode	string	search	Choose whether to search Shorts by hashtags/keywords, scrape a channel's Shorts feed, or fetch direct Short details. Options: search, channel_shorts, direct_urls.
searchQueries	array	["#shorts ai technology"]	Keywords or hashtags to find viral shorts (e.g. ['#shorts', 'ai tools', '#fitness']). Used in 'Search Shorts' mode.
channelUrls	array	["@MrBeast"]	List of YouTube channel handles or URLs (e.g. ['@MrBeast', 'https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd']). Used in 'Channel Shorts' mode.
shortUrls	array	["https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nI...	List of YouTube Shorts URLs (e.g. 'https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5kcaHAuGxmY') or IDs. Used in 'Direct Shorts' mode.
maxShortsPerQuery	integer	30	Maximum number of Shorts to collect for each query or channel.
minViews	integer	0	Filter out Shorts with fewer views than this threshold (0 = no filter).
proxyConfiguration	object	{"useApifyProxy":false}	Apify Proxy or custom residential proxies to bypass geographic or rate-limiting restrictions.

Example 1: Standard Extraction (1-Click Default)

{
  "mode": "search",
  "searchQueries": [
    "#shorts ai technology"
  ],
  "channelUrls": [
    "@MrBeast"
  ],
  "shortUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nI2u9Xf99y0"
  ]
}

Example 2: Filtered & Batch Extraction

{
  "mode": "channel_shorts",
  "searchQueries": [
    "#shorts ai technology"
  ],
  "channelUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd"
  ],
  "shortUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5kcaHAuGxmY"
  ],
  "maxShortsPerQuery": 60,
  "minViews": 0
}

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⬆️ Output Example (Table View, JSON & Fields Reference)

The scraped results are stored in a structured Apify Dataset available in the Storage tab. Below is a preview of the dataset in both Table View (CSV/Excel format) and JSON format.

Table View (CSV / Excel Dataset Preview)

Mode	Search Queries	Channel URLs	Short URLs
search	#shorts ai technology	@MrBeast	https://www.youtube.com/short...
search	#shorts ai technology	@MrBeast	https://www.youtube.com/short...
search	#shorts ai technology	@MrBeast	https://www.youtube.com/short...

JSON Output Example

{
  "mode": "search",
  "searchQueries": [
    "#shorts ai technology"
  ],
  "channelUrls": [
    "@MrBeast"
  ],
  "shortUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nI2u9Xf99y0"
  ]
}

Output Fields Reference

Field Name	Type	Description
mode	string	Extracted mode value.
searchQueries	array	Extracted search queries value.
channelUrls	array	Extracted channel urls value.
shortUrls	array	Extracted short urls value.
type	string	Extracted type value.
videoId	string	Extracted video id value.
url	string	Extracted url value.
title	string	Extracted title value.
viewCount	integer	Extracted view count value.
viewCountText	string	Extracted view count text value.
likeCount	integer	Extracted like count value.
likeCountText	string	Extracted like count text value.
commentCount	integer	Extracted comment count value.
channelTitle	string	Extracted channel title value.
channelId	string	Extracted channel id value.
channelUrl	string	Extracted channel url value.
audioTrack	object	Extracted audio track value.
tags	array	Extracted tags value.
thumbnailUrl	string	Extracted thumbnail url value.
scrapedAt	string	Extracted scraped at value.

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🔗 Scrape any data you need with dedicated scrapers

Combine YouTube Shorts Scraper with our other dedicated scrapers from @RBBscrap if you want to extract specialized data across platforms:

🔹 YouTube Scraper	🔹 YouTube Comments Scraper	🔹 YouTube Transcript Scraper
🔹 YouTube Channel & Creator Intelligence Scraper	🔹 YouTube Playlist & Course Scraper	🔹 YouTube Trending & Viral Charts Scraper

Scraper	Extracted Data & Primary Use Case
YouTube Scraper	Videos, Shorts & Channels
YouTube Comments Scraper	Comments & Sentiment
YouTube Transcript Scraper	Subtitles for AI
YouTube Channel & Creator Intelligence Scraper	Extract structured YouTube Channel & Creator Intelligence datasets and metrics
YouTube Playlist & Course Scraper	Extract structured YouTube Playlist & Course datasets and metrics
YouTube Trending & Viral Charts Scraper	Extract structured YouTube Trending & Viral Charts datasets and metrics

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⚠️ Error Items & Resilience Reference

YouTube Shorts Scraper is engineered to process multi-query and batch runs resiliently without crashing if a single query or URL fails:

Status / Code	Meaning & Automatic Handling
OK	Record successfully extracted, validated, and normalized with zero null fields.
DEFAULT_PREFILL_APPLIED	When an empty input payload {} is submitted, the Actor automatically applies its built-in default query so 1-Click runs always succeed.
RATE_LIMIT_RETRY	Transient HTTP 429 / 503 responses trigger automatic retry with exponential backoff and session rotation.
INVALID_TARGET_SKIPPED	Unreachable or malformed target items in a batch are logged with [WARN] and skipped without interrupting the run.

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How much does scraping YouTube Shorts cost?

YouTube Shorts Scraper uses transparent Pay-Per-Event (PAY_PER_EVENT) pricing set 10x cheaper than the market leader ($\div 10$):

• Event Rate: $0.0003 per Scraped YouTube Shorts Scraper Record ($0.3 per 1,000 items).
• 🎁 1st Run 100% FREE: Your very first execution is 100% free ($0.00 event charges are applied on your initial run).
• Apify Free Plan ($5.00/month included): Every Apify account receives $5.00 in free monthly credits, which is enough to extract up to ~16,666 items per month for free.
• View full details on the Pricing tab and the Apify Pricing page.

Can I integrate YouTube Shorts Scraper with Make, Zapier, n8n, or Google Sheets?

Yes. YouTube Shorts Scraper can be connected with almost any cloud service or web app thanks to integrations on the Apify platform, including Make, Zapier, n8n, Slack, Airbyte, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and webhooks.

Can I use YouTube Shorts Scraper with the Apify API (Python & Node.js)?

Yes. The Apify API gives you programmatic access to run YouTube Shorts Scraper, schedule jobs, and fetch datasets. Use the apify-client PyPI package for Python or the apify-client NPM package for Node.js, or check the Apify API Reference:

Python (apify-client)

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_API_TOKEN")

run = client.actor("rbbscrap/youtube-shorts-scraper").call(run_input={
    "mode": "search",
    "searchQueries": ["#shorts ai technology"],
    "channelUrls": ["@MrBeast"],
    "shortUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nI2u9Xf99y0"]
})

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

Node.js (apify-client)

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_API_TOKEN' });

const run = await client.actor('rbbscrap/youtube-shorts-scraper').call({
    mode: "search",
    searchQueries: ["#shorts ai technology"],
    channelUrls: ["@MrBeast"],
    shortUrls: ["https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nI2u9Xf99y0"]
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Can I use YouTube Shorts Scraper through an MCP Server (Claude Desktop, Cursor, AI Agents)?

Yes. With the Apify API, you can use YouTube Shorts Scraper in conjunction with an MCP server to connect directly to Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, or LibreChat. Read the official guide on how to set up Apify Actors with MCP, or go to the MCP tab:

1. Start a Server-Sent Events (SSE) session to receive a sessionId.
2. Send API messages using that sessionId to trigger YouTube Shorts Scraper with your input parameters.
3. Receive structured YouTube Shorts dataset records directly inside your AI agent conversation.

Do I need residential proxies or login cookies to scrape YouTube Shorts?

No. YouTube Shorts Scraper operates on a zero-browser HTTP/2 protocol engine (256 MB RAM) and works out-of-the-box without requiring login cookies or external proxies for standard workloads. For high-volume enterprise runs, you can optionally use Apify Proxy in the input configuration.

Is it legal to scrape data from YouTube Shorts?

Our scrapers are ethical and do not extract any private user data behind login walls. They only extract what is shared publicly on the web. However, please keep in mind that personal data is protected by GDPR (EU Regulation 2016/679) and other regulations worldwide. You should not scrape personal data unless you have a legitimate legal basis. Read more in Apify's guide on the legality of web scraping.

Your feedback & support

We are continuously improving the performance of our Actors. If you have any technical feedback for YouTube Shorts Scraper, need a custom feature, or found a bug, please create an issue on the Actor's Issues tab in the Apify Console.