# YouTube Channel Scraper (`santamaria-automations/youtube-channel-scraper`) Actor Scrape videos from any public YouTube channel: title, view count, duration, thumbnail, published date, plus channel name, handle, and subscriber count. Accepts @handle, full URL, or /channel/UCxxx. Detects Shorts. RSS fallback. Pay-per-result. - **URL**: https://apify.com/santamaria-automations/youtube-channel-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [NanoScrape](https://apify.com/santamaria-automations) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, Lead generation, Automation - **Stats:** 4 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $0.80 / 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. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use 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 ## YouTube Channel Scraper Extract videos from any public YouTube channel: titles, view counts, durations, thumbnails, published dates, plus channel metadata (name, handle, subscriber count). No API key required. ### What It Does - Accepts `@handle`, full channel URLs, or `/channel/UCxxx` URLs (legacy `/c/name` and `/user/name` also work) - Extracts channel identity: name, handle, canonical URL, subscriber count, channel ID - Extracts per-video data: title, views, duration, thumbnail, publication date, Shorts flag - Detects YouTube Shorts automatically (flagged with `is_short: true`) - RSS feed fallback if the channel page is temporarily unavailable - HTTP-only Go actor, runs on 128 MB RAM ### Input | Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |-----------|------|---------|-------------| | `channelUrls` | array | required | YouTube channel URLs or @handles to scrape | | `maxVideos` | integer | 200 | Maximum videos per channel (0 = unlimited) | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | Apify proxy | Proxy settings (datacenter works fine) | #### Example Input ```json { "channelUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/@example_channel", "@another_example" ], "maxVideos": 100 } ```` ### Output Each row is one video with channel context embedded: | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `channel_id` | string | YouTube channel ID (UCxxx format) | | `channel_name` | string | Channel display name | | `channel_handle` | string | Channel @handle | | `channel_url` | string | Canonical channel URL | | `channel_subscribers` | string | Subscriber count as YouTube displays it | | `video_id` | string | YouTube video ID | | `title` | string | Video title | | `published_at` | string | Publication time (relative, e.g. "2 years ago") | | `duration` | string | MM:SS or H:MM:SS | | `view_count` | integer | View count (null if unavailable) | | `thumbnail_url` | string | Thumbnail URL (highest resolution) | | `video_url` | string | Full video URL (uses `/shorts/` for Shorts) | | `is_short` | boolean | Whether this is a YouTube Short | | `scraped_at` | string | ISO 8601 scrape timestamp | #### Example Output ```json { "channel_id": "UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx", "channel_name": "Example Channel", "channel_handle": "@example_channel", "channel_url": "https://www.youtube.com/@example_channel", "channel_subscribers": "1.2M subscribers", "video_id": "abcDEF12345", "title": "Example Video Title", "published_at": "3 months ago", "duration": "12:34", "view_count": 154000, "thumbnail_url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/abcDEF12345/hqdefault.jpg", "video_url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abcDEF12345", "is_short": false, "scraped_at": "2026-07-18T09:00:00Z" } ``` ### Pricing Pay-per-result: you only pay for videos actually returned. | Event | Suggested price | |-------|-----------------| | Actor start | $0.001 (one-time per run) | | Per video result | $0.0008 | Final prices are set in the Apify Console before publish. ### Notes - The scraper reads the `/videos` tab of each channel. Shorts appearing in that tab are flagged with `is_short: true`; the `/shorts/` and `/live/` tabs are not scraped separately. - Pagination is handled automatically via YouTube's internal InnerTube API for channels with hundreds of videos. - `published_at` is the relative time string YouTube displays (e.g. "2 years ago"), not an absolute timestamp. - `view_count` is parsed to an integer where possible; live streams and some Shorts may return null. - Age-restricted or region-blocked channels may return partial results. ### Related Actors - [Instagram Scraper](https://apify.com/santamaria-automations/instagram-scraper) - profiles and recent posts - [Twitter Profile Scraper](https://apify.com/santamaria-automations/twitter-profile-scraper) - profile stats and recent tweets - [TikTok Profile Scraper](https://apify.com/santamaria-automations/tiktok-profile-scraper) - profile stats and recent videos - [Social Media Email Scraper](https://apify.com/santamaria-automations/social-media-email-scraper) - discover social URLs from a company website For bug reports or feature requests, open an issue on the actor's Issues tab. # Actor input Schema ## `channelUrls` (type: `array`): YouTube channel URLs or handles to scrape. Accepts @handle format (e.g. @example\_channel), full channel URLs (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/@example\_channel), or /channel/UCxxx URLs. Legacy /c/name and /user/name URLs are supported. ## `maxVideos` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of videos to scrape per channel. Set to 0 for no limit. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Proxy settings for scraping. Datacenter proxies work well for YouTube. ## Actor input object example ```json { "channelUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/@example_channel" ], "maxVideos": 200, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `defaultDataset` (type: `string`): Dataset containing scraped YouTube channel video records # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "channelUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/@example_channel" ], "maxVideos": 200 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("santamaria-automations/youtube-channel-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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "channelUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/@example_channel"], "maxVideos": 200, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("santamaria-automations/youtube-channel-scraper").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 '{ "channelUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/@example_channel" ], "maxVideos": 200 }' | apify call santamaria-automations/youtube-channel-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=santamaria-automations/youtube-channel-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "YouTube Channel Scraper", "description": "Scrape videos from any public YouTube channel: title, view count, duration, thumbnail, published date, plus channel name, handle, and subscriber count. Accepts @handle, full URL, or /channel/UCxxx. Detects Shorts. RSS fallback. Pay-per-result.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "N4KXF07adv5FwbZXo" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/santamaria-automations~youtube-channel-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-santamaria-automations-youtube-channel-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/santamaria-automations~youtube-channel-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-santamaria-automations-youtube-channel-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/santamaria-automations~youtube-channel-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-santamaria-automations-youtube-channel-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "channelUrls" ], "properties": { "channelUrls": { "title": "Channel URLs", "type": "array", "description": "YouTube channel URLs or handles to scrape. Accepts @handle format (e.g. @example_channel), full channel URLs (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/@example_channel), or /channel/UCxxx URLs. Legacy /c/name and /user/name URLs are supported.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "maxVideos": { "title": "Max Videos Per Channel", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 5000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of videos to scrape per channel. Set to 0 for no limit.", "default": 200 }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy Configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Proxy settings for scraping. Datacenter proxies work well for YouTube.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": true } } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```