YouTube Video Scraper

What does YouTube Video Scraper do?

YouTube Video Scraper monitors the Videos tab of one or more public YouTube channels and returns clean records for new-upload checks, competitor research, SEO audits, and content planning. It reads the channel feed directly, applies topic, date, and view filters before writing results, and optionally fetches exact watch-page metadata for selected videos.

What data can you extract from YouTube?

• Video identity — video ID, canonical watch URL, title, thumbnail, duration, and source channel URL
• Publishing signals — relative publish text from the feed and exact publish timestamp when details are enabled
• Performance — parsed view count, source view label, and optional like and comment counts
• Topic monitoring — hashtags and the include-topic phrases matched in each returned record
• Channel context — channel ID, name, handle, canonical URL, and subscriber count when exposed
• Detail content — full description and additional hashtags when exact details are enabled

The default feed-only mode is designed for recurring checks. It avoids a watch-page request for every video, so a daily run can look for new uploads without paying for enrichment that the workflow does not need.

How to use YouTube Video Scraper

1. Open YouTube Video Scraper and click Try for free.
2. Add one or more channel handles or URLs, such as @Apify or https://www.youtube.com/@Apify.
3. Set the per-channel and total video limits. Use titleKeywords, excludeKeywords, minViews, or publishedAfter to narrow the run before billing.
4. Leave Fetch exact video details off for the lowest-cost channel monitor, or enable it for descriptions, likes, and exact publish timestamps.
5. Click Run, then download JSON, CSV, or Excel from the Dataset tab or use the Apify API.

How much does it cost?

YouTube Video Scraper uses pay-per-event pricing: one billable event is one video record written to the default dataset. The FREE tier price is $0.0015 per result ($1.50 per 1,000). Filtered-out videos and dry-run previews are not written and are not billed as result events. Keep maxPagesPerChannel and maxVideosPerChannel low for recurring alerts; turn on detail fetching only when the extra fields are needed.

Input

The required channels array accepts handles, usernames, channel IDs, and public channel URLs. sortBy uses YouTube's Latest, Popular, or Oldest feed control when that control is present. The publishedAfter filter accepts an ISO date or a relative period such as 7 days.

{
  "channels": ["@Apify", "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd"],
  "maxVideosPerChannel": 30,
  "maxPagesPerChannel": 1,
  "titleKeywords": ["scraping", "AI"],
  "excludeKeywords": ["shorts"],
  "minViews": 100,
  "includeVideoDetails": false,
  "dryRun": false
}

Output

Each output row represents one video that survived the configured filters.

{
  "videoId": "4UosK7KTOmE",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UosK7KTOmE",
  "title": "Automate Meta Ad Research with Apify & 12Labs",
  "viewCount": 203,
  "viewCountText": "203 views",
  "publishedText": "8 days ago",
  "publishedAt": null,
  "durationText": "15:59",
  "hashtags": [],
  "matchedKeywords": ["scraping"],
  "channelName": "Apify",
  "detailsFetched": false
}

When details are enabled, description, likes, publishedAt, and exact duration and channel fields are populated when YouTube exposes them. Fields unavailable in the source are returned as null, never invented.

Integrations

Use the Apify API to trigger runs and read datasets from Python, Node.js, Make, n8n, Zapier, or scheduled workflows. Webhooks can forward a completed monitoring run into a CRM, Slack, or an internal content dashboard.

Related actors

• YouTube Shorts Scraper — monitor the Shorts tab specifically with view, date, and engagement filters.
• YouTube Transcript Scraper — extract transcript records when you need spoken text rather than channel-feed metadata.
• YouTube Channel Scraper — collect broader channel and video data at scale.

FAQ

How does YouTube Video Scraper work?

It fetches a public channel's Videos page and parses the structured JSON that YouTube embeds in the page. Pagination and the Latest, Popular, and Oldest controls use the same page-initiated continuation requests the site uses. Detail enrichment is a separate, optional watch-page request.

Can I use YouTube Video Scraper as an API?

Yes. Start a run with the Apify API and read the default dataset URL returned by the run. The dataset can also be connected to webhooks and schedules in the Apify Console.

Can I use YouTube Video Scraper in Python or Node.js?

Yes. Use apify-client to run the actor and download dataset items:

const run = await client.actor("YOUR_USERNAME/youtube-video-monitor").call({ channels: ["@Apify"] });
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();

Does it require a YouTube login or API key?

No login, cookies, or YouTube Data API key are required for the public channel and watch-page paths used by this actor. The actor does not download video or audio bytes.

Is it legal to scrape YouTube with YouTube Video Scraper?

The actor reads public YouTube pages. You are responsible for your use of the output and for complying with applicable laws, platform rules, and the terms that apply to your account and workflow.

Can it monitor new videos automatically?

Yes. Schedule recurring runs in Apify, keep the feed page budget small, and use publishedAfter or topic filters to make each run a focused upload check.

Your feedback

If YouTube changes its embedded page structure or you need another filter, open an issue on the actor page with a reproducible input. Suggestions for channel-level fields, output aliases, and monitoring workflows are welcome.