# YouTube Shorts Scraper 💰$0.50/1K – Search, Channels, Views (`rt-solutions/youtube-shorts-scraper`) Actor

Scrape YouTube Shorts without API key or quota: Shorts search results, the Shorts tab of any channel and Short links, with views, title, thumbnail and optional likes, comments and exact date. $0.50 per 1,000 Shorts.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/rt-solutions/youtube-shorts-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [RT SOLUTIONS](https://apify.com/rt-solutions) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Videos
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.35 / 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.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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 Shorts Scraper – search, channels, views · $0.50 per 1,000 Shorts

Scrape **YouTube Shorts** without an API key, quota or login: **Shorts search results**, the **Shorts tab of any channel** and **Short links**. Every Short comes with its **title, views, thumbnail and URL**; turn on *Full video details* (or paste Short links) for **likes, comment count, exact publish date, description and hashtags**.

### What you get

`title`, `url`, `id`, `viewCount`, `viewCountText`, `thumbnailUrl`, `searchQuery` / `channelTab` — and with details: `likeCount`, `commentCount`, `publishedAt`, `description`, `hashtags`, `channelName`, `channelUrl`, `durationSeconds`. Optional channel row: subscribers, total views, country, links.

### Real runs — 3 November 2026

| Job | Result | Run time | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shorts search "cooking hacks", 50 results | 50 Shorts | 11 s | $0.025 |
| Shorts tab of @mkbhd, 100 Shorts | 100 Shorts | 1 min 49 s (same run as 100 videos) | $0.05 |

Top result: *10 Genius Kitchen Hacks That Will Change How You Cook!* — `https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yD6oDeZ3n5g`, 2.5 M views.

### Pricing

**$0.50 per 1,000 Shorts**, cheaper on paid Apify plans; details included. Compared on 3 November 2026: streamers/youtube-shorts-scraper $4.00 per 1,000.

### Input examples

Shorts about a topic:

```json
{ "searchQueries": ["cooking hacks", "gym tips"], "maxResults": 100 }
```

Latest Shorts of channels:

```json
{ "channelUrls": ["@mkbhd", "@mrbeast"], "maxShortsPerChannel": 50 }
```

Short links with full details:

```json
{ "shortUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Rlt6FhsUkEA"] }
```

Shorts with likes and dates:

```json
{ "searchQueries": ["skincare routine"], "maxResults": 50, "includeVideoDetails": true }
```

### Use cases

- **Short-form trend research**: which Shorts take off on a topic.
- **Creator analysis**: Shorts output and views of a channel.
- **Brand monitoring**: Shorts that mention your brand or product.
- **Content ideas**: formats and hooks that work in your niche.

### Who this is not for

- You need long-form videos or whole channels → [YouTube Channel Scraper](https://apify.com/rt-solutions/youtube-channel-scraper) / [YouTube Scraper](https://apify.com/rt-solutions/youtube-scraper).
- You need TikTok or Instagram Reels (not supported).
- You need to download the video files (not supported).

### For AI agents (MCP)

Use `rt-solutions/youtube-shorts-scraper` through the Apify MCP server (https://mcp.apify.com). Example: *"Find 30 popular YouTube Shorts about cooking hacks and list their views."*

### FAQ

**How do I scrape YouTube Shorts without the API?** Enter search terms, channels or Short links and run.

**How much does it cost to scrape 10,000 Shorts?** $5, details included.

**Why are likes missing?** Turn on *Full video details*; pasted Short links always get details.

**Can I monitor a channel's new Shorts?** Yes — schedule the Actor on the channel.

### Limits

- Comment counts are rounded the way YouTube shows them (e.g. 11K).
- When YouTube limits its video player for a while, details still include views, likes, comments, date and description, but `category` and `keywords` may be empty.
- Business emails of channels are hidden by YouTube behind a login and are not collected.

### Your feedback

Missing a field or found a wrong value? Open an issue in the **Issues** tab — we answer fast and ship fixes. If the Actor saved you time, a short review helps others find it.

### Related scrapers

- [YouTube Scraper (all-in-one)](https://apify.com/rt-solutions/youtube-scraper)
- [YouTube Channel Scraper](https://apify.com/rt-solutions/youtube-channel-scraper)
- [YouTube Comments Scraper](https://apify.com/rt-solutions/youtube-comments-scraper)

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Shorts search, e.g. 'cooking hacks'. One search per line.

## `channelUrls` (type: `array`):

Channel URLs or @handles: their Shorts tab is scraped (newest first).

## `shortUrls` (type: `array`):

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ID links — returned with full details.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

For search terms.

## `maxShortsPerChannel` (type: `integer`):

For channels.

## `includeChannelInfo` (type: `boolean`):

For channels: one row with subscribers, views, country and links.

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

Open every video to add exact publish date, likes, comment count, full description, tags and category. Slower, same price.

## `language` (type: `string`):

Interface language for texts like '2 days ago' (e.g. en, fr, de, es).

## `country` (type: `string`):

Two-letter country code YouTube uses for search results (e.g. US, GB, FR, DE, IN).

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

Pages processed in parallel.

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

Apify Proxy is recommended.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQueries": [
    "cooking hacks"
  ],
  "maxResults": 50,
  "maxShortsPerChannel": 50,
  "includeChannelInfo": false,
  "includeVideoDetails": false,
  "language": "en",
  "country": "US",
  "maxConcurrency": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

All results.

# 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 = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "cooking hacks"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("rt-solutions/youtube-shorts-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 = { "searchQueries": ["cooking hacks"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("rt-solutions/youtube-shorts-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 '{
  "searchQueries": [
    "cooking hacks"
  ]
}' |
apify call rt-solutions/youtube-shorts-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,rt-solutions/youtube-shorts-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/CAihf7QyhKO5WPuNV/builds/X6tYLlYvhgo7lzwGd/openapi.json