# YouTube Shorts - The Format That Actually Pops (`reapx/youtube-shorts`) Actor

Know which Shorts actually pop before you film the next one. What is getting views, what is getting ignored, and what the ones that worked had in common.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/reapx/youtube-shorts.md
- **Developed by:** [Tarek Etman](https://apify.com/reapx) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, Social media, For creators
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.85 / 1,000 youtube short record delivereds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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

![reapX - the record of what changed](https://reapx.dev/reapx.gif)

## YouTube Shorts - Find The Format That Pops

> *"Shorts are carrying the channel and I have no idea which ones or why."*

Shorts data is buried in long-form video statistics, so creators and agencies guess which formats actually drive engagement.

Pull views, sounds, titles, engagement rates and channel medians per Short, and rank the formats that earn attention.

***

### ⬇️ Input

Filter by search query topic or target YouTube channel handle:

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "viral tech shorts",
  "maxShorts": 20
}
```

***

### ⬆️ Output

Outputs structured dataset rows containing raw video fields and computed performance metrics:

- `videoId`: Unique 11-character YouTube video identifier (stable per-row key).
- `title`: Full title of the YouTube Short video.
- `viewsVsChannelMedian`: Ratio of this Short's views compared to creator's channel median.
- `engagementRateVsPeers`: Engagement rate relative to size-band and category peer median.

***

### How it works

1. Connects directly to public YouTube endpoints using standard HTTP requests.
2. Extracts video metadata, view counts, audio track IDs, and channel details.
3. Computes relative format benchmarks including `viewsVsChannelMedian` and `engagementRateVsPeers`.
4. Emits validated dataset items.

***

### ❓ FAQ

**How are format rankings calculated?**
Every Short is measured against the others in your search - how fast it picked up views, how hard people engaged, and how it did against that channel's own normal.

**Does this require YouTube API credentials or browser sessions?**
No API keys or browser sessions are required. All records are extracted from publicly accessible web endpoints.

***

### 💬 Your feedback

Need additional computed metrics or custom integrations? Contact reapxdev@proton.me or visit reapx.dev.

***

*Unofficial - not affiliated with YouTube or Google. Collects only data visible without logging in.*
reapx · reapx.dev · reapxdev@proton.me

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

The kind of Shorts you want to learn from - a topic, a niche or a hashtag. Specific beats broad, because a niche you can actually win tells you more than a viral one you cannot.

## `channelUrl` (type: `string`):

A channel handle or link, to study one creator's Shorts rather than a whole topic. Leave it empty to search across everyone.

## `maxShorts` (type: `integer`):

How many come back. Ask for more when you want the pattern across a whole niche rather than a handful of examples.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

How the run reaches the platform. The default is already the route that works for this source, so leave it alone unless you have a reason to change it.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "viral tech shorts",
  "maxShorts": 20,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `items` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchQuery": "viral tech shorts",
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ]
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("reapx/youtube-shorts").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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "searchQuery": "viral tech shorts",
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("reapx/youtube-shorts").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 '{
  "searchQuery": "viral tech shorts",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}' |
apify call reapx/youtube-shorts --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=reapx/youtube-shorts",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/1YVeg0kdsuX5wcgZm/builds/Coevx5T2iESvVxxzw/openapi.json