# YouTube Metadata Scraper – Full Video Info & Formats (`scrapepilot/youtube34`) Actor Extract complete YouTube video metadata: title, description, views, likes, comments, all formats (URLs), subtitles, chapters, heatmap, thumbnails, channel stats, Open Graph data. No API key. Pay per result. Perfect for analytics and archiving. - **URL**: https://apify.com/scrapepilot/youtube34.md - **Developed by:** [Scrape Pilot](https://apify.com/scrapepilot) (community) - **Categories:** Videos, Developer tools, SEO tools - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $7.00 / 1,000 successful video scrapes This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage. 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.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.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/platform/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 Metadata Scraper – Full Video Info, Formats, Subtitles & More **Extract complete YouTube video metadata – including all available formats, thumbnails, subtitles, chapters, heatmap, likes/comments, channel info, and Open Graph data.** Powered by `yt‑dlp` with browser impersonation via `curl_cffi`. Perfect for video archiving, analytics, content research, and AI training datasets. --- ### 💡 What is the YouTube Metadata Scraper? The **YouTube Metadata Scraper** is a professional Apify actor that retrieves **every piece of public information** from any YouTube video. It combines: - **yt‑dlp** (the most advanced video extraction tool) to fetch all metadata fields, including: - Video title, description, uploader, channel, upload date - View count, like count, comment count - All available video/audio formats (resolution, codec, bitrate, file size) - Thumbnails (all sizes, including `maxresdefault`) - Chapters, heatmap (engagement over time), subtitles (manual and auto‑generated) - Live status, age restriction, language, availability - **curl_cffi** + **BeautifulSoup** to extract additional HTML meta tags: - Open Graph (`og:title`, `og:image`, etc.) - Twitter Card data - JSON‑LD structured data (including first comment) - Canonical URL and page title The output is a single, rich JSON object per video, pushed directly to the Apify dataset. **No API key required** – everything is public. --- ### 🚀 Key Features | Feature | Description | |-----------------------------|-------------| | **Complete metadata** | Title, description, uploader, channel, upload date, duration, language, age limit, live status. | | **Engagement stats** | View count, like count, comment count (as reported by YouTube). | | **All formats** | Every available resolution and codec (including audio‑only) with file size, bitrate, URL. | | **Thumbnails** | All thumbnail sizes (from default to maxresdefault) with resolution and preference. | | **Subtitles & captions** | Manual and auto‑generated subtitles for all languages (URLs to .vtt, .srt, .json3). | | **Chapters & heatmap** | Video chapters (if any) and engagement heatmap (segmented viewer activity). | | **Rich HTML metadata** | Open Graph, Twitter Card, JSON‑LD structured data, canonical URL. | | **No login required** | Uses only public YouTube pages and APIs. | | **Residential proxy ready** | Bypasses rate limits (optional; most runs work without proxy). | | **Clean JSON output** | Every field is properly typed; missing fields are omitted. | | **Apify native integration** | Seamless dataset storage, scheduling, and API access. | --- ### 📥 Input Parameters The actor accepts a JSON object with the following fields: | Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | |----------------------|---------------------|----------|---------|-------------| | `startUrls` | array of objects | **Yes** | – | List of YouTube video URLs (e.g., `[{"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=..."}]`). | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | No | – | Apify proxy configuration (residential recommended for large volumes). | #### Example Input ```json { "startUrls": [ {"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"} ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"] } } ```` *** ### 📤 Output Fields The actor pushes **one dataset item per video URL**. The output is a superset of yt‑dlp’s `info` dict plus an extra `__html_meta__` field containing HTML‑parsed data. Below are the most important fields (the actual output is extremely comprehensive – see [example output](#example-output) for a taste). | Field | Type | Description | |----------------------|---------|-------------| | `id` | string | YouTube video ID (e.g., `dQw4w9WgXcQ`). | | `title` | string | Full video title. | | `fulltitle` | string | Same as title (alias). | | `description` | string | Video description (plain text). | | `duration` | integer | Duration in seconds. | | `duration_string` | string | Human‑readable duration (e.g., `3:33`). | | `view_count` | integer | Number of views. | | `like_count` | integer | Number of likes. | | `comment_count` | integer | Number of comments. | | `upload_date` | string | YYYYMMDD. | | `timestamp` | integer | Unix timestamp of upload. | | `channel` | string | Channel name. | | `channel_id` | string | YouTube channel ID. | | `channel_url` | string | URL of the channel page. | | `channel_follower_count` | integer | Number of subscribers. | | `channel_is_verified`| boolean | Verified badge. | | `uploader` | string | Uploader name (same as channel). | | `uploader_id` | string | Channel handle (e.g., `@RickAstleyYT`). | | `uploader_url` | string | Channel URL. | | `availability` | string | `public`, `unlisted`, `private`, etc. | | `age_limit` | integer | Age restriction (0 if none). | | `categories` | array | Video categories (e.g., `["Music"]`). | | `tags` | array | Video tags. | | `is_live` | boolean | Currently live. | | `was_live` | boolean | Previously live. | | `live_status` | string | `not_live`, `is_live`, `was_live`. | | `thumbnails` | array | List of thumbnail objects (each with `url`, `width`, `height`, `preference`, `id`). | | `thumbnail` | string | Best‑quality thumbnail URL (usually `maxresdefault`). | | `formats` | array | All available video/audio formats. Each has `format_id`, `ext`, `width`, `height`, `fps`, `vcodec`, `acodec`, `filesize`, `tbr`, `url`, etc. | | `chapters` | array | If present: `start_time`, `end_time`, `title`. | | `heatmap` | array | Engagement over time (each segment: `start_time`, `end_time`, `value` 0–1). | | `subtitles` | object | Manual subtitles: language → list of formats (url, ext). | | `automatic_captions` | object | Auto‑generated captions (same structure). | | `webpage_url` | string | Canonical YouTube URL. | | `extractor` | string | Always `"youtube"`. | | `extractor_key` | string | Always `"Youtube"`. | | `__html_meta__` | object | Extra HTML metadata: Open Graph, Twitter Card, JSON‑LD, `canonical_url`, `page_title`. | #### Example Output (truncated) ```json [ { "id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video) (4K Remaster)", "view_count": 1781039352, "like_count": 19147046, "comment_count": 2400000, "upload_date": "20091025", "duration": 213, "channel": "Rick Astley", "channel_follower_count": 4510000, "channel_is_verified": true, "thumbnails": [ {"url": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg", "width": 1920, "height": 1080} ], "formats": [ { "format_id": "18", "ext": "mp4", "width": 640, "height": 360, "fps": 25, "vcodec": "avc1.42001E", "acodec": "mp4a.40.2", "filesize_approx": 11832459, "url": "https://rr1---sn-p5qs7nd7.googlevideo.com/..." } ], "subtitles": { "en": [ {"ext": "vtt", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/api/timedtext?..."} ] }, "__html_meta__": { "og:title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video) (4K Remaster)", "og:image": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg", "twitter:card": "player", "page_title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video) (4K Remaster) - YouTube", "__ld_json__": [ { "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video) (4K Remaster)", "comment": [ {"text": "scanned a damn qr code", "author": {"name": "@vinsbdfs"}, "upvoteCount": 1578} ] } ] } } ] ``` *** ### 🛠 How to Use on Apify 1. **Create a task** with this actor. 2. **Provide one or more YouTube video URLs** in the `startUrls` field. 3. **(Optional) Enable residential proxies** – recommended for bulk scraping (100+ videos) to avoid rate limiting. 4. **Run** – the actor will fetch metadata for each URL and push one item per video to the Dataset. 5. **Export** – download results as JSON, CSV, or Excel. #### Running via API ```bash curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/your-username~youtube-metadata-scraper/runs" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN" \ -d '{ "startUrls": [{"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"}] }' ``` *** ### 💰 Pricing | Model | Price | |----------------------|----------------| | **Pay‑per‑result** | $0.007 per video (example – adjust as needed) | > *Actual pricing may vary based on Apify’s consumption model. This actor respects the pay‑per‑event system; you are charged only for successfully scraped videos.* *** ### 🎯 Use Cases - **Video analytics** – Track engagement (views, likes, comments) over time. - **Content archiving** – Store complete metadata and format URLs for backup. - **Subtitle extraction** – Get subtitle files for language learning or transcription. - **Research & AI training** – Build datasets of video titles, descriptions, tags, and engagement. - **Competitive monitoring** – Watch competitor channels’ uploads and performance. - **Media forensics** – Retrieve heatmaps and chapter data for detailed analysis. *** ### ❓ Frequently Asked Questions **1. Do I need a YouTube API key?**\ No. The actor uses `yt-dlp` and public web pages – no API key required. **2. Can I download the actual video file?**\ This actor only returns **metadata** and **format URLs**. To download the video, you can use the `url` from any format entry with your own HTTP client (e.g., `wget`). The URLs are temporary (expire after a few hours). **3. How fresh is the data?**\ The actor fetches the latest available information at the time of the run. View and like counts are real‑time. **4. Why do I need residential proxies?**\ YouTube may throttle datacenter IPs after many requests. For bulk scraping (>100 videos), residential proxies reduce the chance of `429` errors. **5. What does the `heatmap` field represent?**\ It indicates relative viewer engagement across the video timeline. Higher values mean more rewatching or activity in that segment. Values are normalized between 0 and 1. **6. Are subtitles always available?**\ Only if the video has manual subtitles or auto‑captions enabled. The actor returns whatever YouTube provides. **7. Does it work for age‑restricted videos?**\ Yes, for most public age‑restricted videos. However, some may require a logged‑in session (not supported). **8. Can I scrape playlists or channels?**\ This version is designed for **single videos** only. For playlists or channels, see our [YouTube Playlist & Channel Scraper](link). *** *** ### 🔍 SEO Keywords `YouTube metadata scraper`, `YouTube video info extractor`, `yt-dlp Apify`, `YouTube subtitles downloader`, `YouTube format URLs`, `YouTube engagement analytics`, `video metadata API`, `YouTube chapters heatmap`, `YouTube comment count`, `Apify YouTube actor` *** ### 🔗 Related Actors - **[YouTube Playlist & Channel Scraper](https://apify.com/your-username/youtube-playlist-scraper)** – Extract videos from playlists or channels. - **[YouTube Comments Scraper](https://apify.com/your-username/youtube-comments-scraper)** – Scrape comments and replies. - **[Universal Video Downloader](https://apify.com/your-username/universal-video-downloader)** – Download videos from 1000+ sites including YouTube. *** *** **Start extracting complete YouTube metadata today – pay only for successful results.** ```` # Actor input Schema ## `startUrls` (type: `array`): List of YouTube video URLs to extract metadata from. ## Actor input object example ```json { "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" } ] } ```` # 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 = { "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" } ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("scrapepilot/youtube34").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 = { "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" }] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("scrapepilot/youtube34").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 '{ "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" } ] }' | apify call scrapepilot/youtube34 --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=scrapepilot/youtube34", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "YouTube Metadata Scraper – Full Video Info & Formats", "description": "Extract complete YouTube video metadata: title, description, views, likes, comments, all formats (URLs), subtitles, chapters, heatmap, thumbnails, channel stats, Open Graph data. No API key. Pay per result. Perfect for analytics and archiving.", "version": "0.0", "x-build-id": "mXzUnPGZgD6Q4BjYQ" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/scrapepilot~youtube34/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-scrapepilot-youtube34", "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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/scrapepilot~youtube34/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-scrapepilot-youtube34", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/scrapepilot~youtube34/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-scrapepilot-youtube34", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": [ "startUrls" ], "properties": { "startUrls": { "title": "Youtube video link", "type": "array", "description": "List of YouTube video URLs to extract metadata from.", "items": { "type": "object", "required": [ "url" ], "properties": { "url": { "type": "string", "title": "URL of a web page", "format": "uri" } } } } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```