# YouTube Playlist Scraper (`reportable_broth/youtube-playlist-scraper`) Actor

YouTube playlist scraper with no API key. Every video in a playlist, in order: title, channel, views, duration, thumbnail, position. Optional details add exact publish date, likes, description and tags. Bulk, JSON/CSV/Excel. $1.99 per 1,000 videos.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/reportable\_broth/youtube-playlist-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Quiet Harvest](https://apify.com/reportable_broth) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, Social media, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$1.99 / 1,000 videos

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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## YouTube Playlist Scraper

Get every video in a YouTube playlist, in playlist order — title, channel, views, duration, thumbnail and position. No API key, no login, no quota. Turn on video details for the exact publish date, likes, full description and tags.

**$1.99 per 1,000 videos.**

***

### Quick start

```json
{
  "playlistUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRqwX-V7Uu6ZiZxtDDRCi6uhfTH4FilpH"],
  "maxVideosPerPlaylist": 500
}
```

Playlist links, bare playlist IDs, and watch links that contain `&list=` all work. Playlists longer than 100 videos are paged through automatically — tested on a 246-video playlist.

### Output

| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| `playlist_id` | string | |
| `playlist_title` | string | |
| `playlist_index` | integer | Position in the playlist, starting at 1 |
| `video_id` | string | |
| `url` | string | |
| `title` | string | |
| `channel` | string | |
| `channel_url` | string or null | |
| `duration_text` | string | e.g. `13:54` |
| `view_count` | integer | Parsed from the playlist page (rounded, e.g. 1.3M → 1300000) |
| `view_count_text` | string | As YouTube shows it |
| `published_text` | string | Relative, e.g. `10y ago` |
| `published_ts_approx` | integer | Unix time estimated from the relative text |
| `thumbnail` | string | |
| `is_short` | boolean | |

With **Include video details** on, each row also gets:

| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| `published_at` | Exact ISO 8601 publish time |
| `duration_seconds` | |
| `like_count` | |
| `description` | Full description |
| `keywords` | The uploader's tags |
| `hashtags` | Hashtags found in the description |
| `channel_id` | |
| `subscriber_count` | |
| `comment_count_approx` | As shown on the video page (e.g. 4.2K → 4200) |
| `is_live` | |

#### Sample row

```json
{
  "playlist_id": "PLRqwX-V7Uu6ZiZxtDDRCi6uhfTH4FilpH",
  "playlist_title": "Coding Challenges",
  "playlist_index": 1,
  "video_id": "17WoOqgXsRM",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17WoOqgXsRM",
  "title": "Coding Challenge 1: Starfield Simulation",
  "channel": "The Coding Train",
  "duration_text": "13:54",
  "view_count": 1300000,
  "published_text": "10y ago"
}
```

### Use it from code

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("reportable_broth/youtube-playlist-scraper").call(run_input={
    "playlistUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRqwX-V7Uu6ZiZxtDDRCi6uhfTH4FilpH"],
    "includeVideoDetails": True,
})
for v in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(v["playlist_index"], v["title"], v.get("published_at"))
```

Works the same from JavaScript, n8n, Make, Zapier, or an AI agent through Apify's MCP server. Export as JSON, CSV or Excel from the dataset tab.

### FAQ

**Do I need a YouTube Data API key?**
No. No Google Cloud project and no quota units.

**Is the order kept?**
Yes. `playlist_index` is the position in the playlist.

**What about private or unlisted playlists?**
Public playlists only. A private or deleted playlist returns nothing and is not charged.

**Can I get the transcripts of a whole playlist?**
Use **[YouTube Transcript Scraper](https://apify.com/reportable_broth/youtube-transcript-scraper)** — it takes playlist links too and returns full text, timed segments, SRT/VTT and translation.

### Our other Actors

- **[Google Ads Transparency Scraper](https://apify.com/reportable_broth/google-ads-transparency-scraper)** — every text, image and video ad a competitor runs on Google, with dates, variations and per-country reach. No API key.
- **[YouTube Transcript Scraper](https://apify.com/reportable_broth/youtube-transcript-scraper)** — transcripts by URL, playlist, channel or keyword; SRT/VTT; 55-language translation.
- **[YouTube Monitor](https://apify.com/reportable_broth/youtube-scraper-monitor)** — new videos only, by keyword or channel, with dedupe across runs.
- **[Threads Scraper](https://apify.com/reportable_broth/threads-scraper-monitor)** — Threads posts by keyword, #hashtag or profile. No login.

### Disclaimer

This Actor collects publicly available data only. You are responsible for how you use it, including compliance with YouTube's terms of service and applicable law.

# Actor input Schema

## `playlistUrls` (type: `array`):

Playlist links (youtube.com/playlist?list=...) or bare playlist IDs. A watch link that contains \&list= also works.

## `maxVideosPerPlaylist` (type: `integer`):

Playlists longer than 100 videos are paged through automatically.

## `includeVideoDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Opens each video for the exact publish date (ISO 8601), like count, full description, tags, subscriber count and comment count. About one extra second per video.

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

Residential proxy is recommended; YouTube serves a stripped page to flagged IPs.

## `concurrency` (type: `integer`):

Parallel requests when video details are on.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "playlistUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRqwX-V7Uu6ZiZxtDDRCi6uhfTH4FilpH"
  ],
  "maxVideosPerPlaylist": 200,
  "includeVideoDetails": false,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  },
  "concurrency": 4
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `videos` (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 = {
    "playlistUrls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRqwX-V7Uu6ZiZxtDDRCi6uhfTH4FilpH"
    ]
};

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

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "playlistUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRqwX-V7Uu6ZiZxtDDRCi6uhfTH4FilpH"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("reportable_broth/youtube-playlist-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "playlistUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRqwX-V7Uu6ZiZxtDDRCi6uhfTH4FilpH"
  ]
}' |
apify call reportable_broth/youtube-playlist-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,reportable_broth/youtube-playlist-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/SnamNhgoKkVVWMhOA/builds/3RaB3f9H50Pi3XGwY/openapi.json