YouTube Shorts Scraper

YouTube Shorts Scraper 🚀

Copying YouTube Shorts details from creators one by one is slow—and it breaks your workflow when you need batch metadata fast. YouTube Shorts Scraper pulls Shorts URLs and structured video + channel data from YouTube Shorts at scale. This YouTube shorts scraper is perfect when you’re building a creator list, researching engagement, or preparing inputs for a YouTube Shorts video downloader–style pipeline. It’s built for marketers, data analysts, and researchers who need clean results without manual copy-paste. In one run, you can collect up to a configurable limit per channel in minutes.

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See the Data: Sample Output

Here's a real record from a single run:

{
  "title": "How I Edit Shorts in 30 Minutes",
  "type": "shorts",
  "id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/hqdefault.jpg",
  "viewCount": 1283400,
  "date": "2025-02-14",
  "likes": 21450,
  "channelName": "Creator Studio Lab",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1234567890ABCDEF",
  "channelUsername": "@creatorstudiolab",
  "channelDescription": "Weekly tips on making better Shorts. Follow for edits, templates, and experiments.",
  "channelAvatarUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/default.jpg",
  "channelTotalVideos": 312,
  "channelTotalViews": 48291000,
  "numberOfSubscribers": 256000,
  "isChannelVerified": false,
  "inputChannelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@creatorstudiolab/shorts",
  "isAgeRestricted": false,
  "duration": "00:00:45",
  "commentsCount": 1820,
  "order": 1,
  "commentsTurnedOff": false,
  "hashtags": [
    "#shorts",
    "#editing",
    "#creator"
  ],
  "isPaidContent": false,
  "status": "success"
}

Field	Type	What It Tells You
title	string	The Shorts title—useful for filtering and reporting themes.
type	string	Identifies the record type as "shorts" for consistent downstream processing.
id	string	The Shorts video ID for linking, deduping, or building URLs.
url	string	Direct link to the Shorts page for manual review or sharing.
thumbnailUrl	string	A ready-to-use thumbnail image URL for dashboards and creative reviews.
viewCount	number	Views at scrape time to quickly gauge reach and performance.
date	string	Upload/publish date so you can analyze trends over time.
likes	number	Like count for engagement scoring and creator comparison.
channelName	string	Creator name to label your dataset and summarize findings.
channelUrl	string	Channel link for verification and quick navigation.
channelUsername	string	The channel handle (when available) for cleaner display and matching.
channelDescription	string	Bio/description text for context, segmentation, and research notes.
numberOfSubscribers	number	Audience size indicator for ranking creators and lead tiers.
duration	string	Shorts length (when available) to group performance by format.
commentsCount	number	Conversation volume for engagement depth analysis.
hashtags	array	Hashtag extraction from the description/title for topical clustering.
order	number	The Shorts position within the processed set for that start URL.
status	string	Indicates whether the record was scraped successfully (or if you need to handle errors).

Export your full dataset as JSON, CSV, or Excel from the Apify dashboard.

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Setting It Up

Drop this into your input.json and you're ready to go:

{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/@AIDIGICHAOS/shorts"
  ],
  "limit": 30
}

Parameter	Required	What It Does
startUrls	✅	List of YouTube channel Shorts URLs (a single short URL is also accepted).
limit	⬜	Maximum number of shorts to scrape per channel (minimum 1, default 30).

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What It Does

YouTube Shorts Scraper collects Shorts URLs from the provided channel pages, then pulls structured metadata for each Shorts entry.

Shorts metadata extracted into structured records

For each Shorts URL, it returns fields like title, url, thumbnailUrl, viewCount, date, likes, duration, and commentsCount so you can analyze performance without re-scraping manually.

Channel context included with each record

Alongside the video fields, the actor includes channel-level info such as channelName, channelUrl, channelUsername, channelDescription, numberOfSubscribers, and other channel metrics when available—helpful for segmentation and reporting.

Hashtags are derived from Shorts text content

It extracts hashtags into the hashtags array from the combined description/title content, making it easier to build a topical map for your viral YouTube Shorts scraper workflow.

Built-in batch controls for YouTube Shorts scraping tool runs

Using your startUrls list and limit, you can control how many Shorts get processed per channel, which is ideal for a YouTube Shorts data scraper pipeline feeding analytics, outreach lists, or content research.

Output is ready to plug into your workflow

Every processed Shorts generates a consistent JSON object that you can export directly from the Apify dataset—use it as input for a YouTube Shorts video downloader workflow, reporting dashboards, or research exports.

Overall, this YouTube shorts scraper turns scattered publicly available Shorts pages into clean, integration-friendly data.

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Why YouTube Shorts Scraper?

There are plenty of ways to pull data from YouTube Shorts—here’s why YouTube Shorts Scraper stands out.

Designed for quick batch results per channel

Instead of scraping one Short at a time, the actor works from your startUrls and pulls up to limit Shorts per channel, so you can move from discovery to analysis faster.

Structured output with clear linkage fields

Each record includes both the Shorts url and the id, plus channel fields like channelUrl and channelUsername, so it’s straightforward to dedupe, enrich, or join with other datasets later.

Uses your provided inputs to control scope

By supplying channel Shorts URLs (or a single short URL) and setting limit, you define exactly what to scrape, which makes the YouTube Shorts API scraper approach practical even for smaller research batches.

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Real-World Use Cases

Here's how different teams put YouTube Shorts Scraper to work:

Marketing teams use it to build a creator research list by pulling Shorts performance signals like viewCount, likes, and commentsCount and then enriching the same dataset with channel context such as numberOfSubscribers and channelDescription.

Sales and lead researchers run YouTube Shorts scraping tool batches to compare creator audiences and engagement depth, then export the dataset to CSV/Excel for segmentation and outreach prioritization.

Content analysts use the date, duration, and extracted hashtags to study what formats and topics correlate with higher views—without manually collecting metadata across many Shorts.

Automation specialists integrate the results into their pipelines by triggering runs, then consuming the dataset output programmatically through Apify so the extracted Shorts metadata becomes a reliable upstream feed for their dashboards.

Freelance researchers use the consistent fields (title, url, thumbnailUrl, channelUrl) to produce repeatable research deliverables for clients, even when the creator roster changes week to week.

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How to Run It

No code required. Here's how to get your first results in under 5 minutes:

1. Open the actor on Apify — go to the actor page at console.apify.com.
2. Enter your inputs — add your channel Shorts URL(s) in startUrls and set limit (default is 30, minimum is 1).
3. Configure proxy settings (if needed) — enable proxy support for reliability on larger batches.
4. Start the run — monitor progress in the live logs.
5. Open the Dataset tab — you’ll see Shorts records saved as the run processes videos.
6. Export your data — download JSON/CSV/Excel from the dataset tab when the run finishes.

The whole setup takes under 5 minutes — results start appearing within seconds of launch.

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Export & Integration Options

Once your data is collected, YouTube Shorts Scraper fits directly into your existing workflow.

You can export results from the Apify dashboard as JSON, CSV, or Excel. If you’re building a YouTube Shorts downloader–style pipeline, the dataset already contains direct url links plus id values for easy downstream use.

For automation and system integration, you can connect runs to your workflow using Apify’s API and automation options such as webhooks, Zapier, or Make (depending on your preferred stack). You can also schedule runs for ongoing research and periodic refreshes.

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Pricing

YouTube Shorts Scraper runs on Apify, which includes a free tier — no credit card needed to start. Free usage typically covers several real test runs, which is great for validating your limit and start URL list before scaling up. For larger workloads, you’ll pay as you go based on Apify compute units (CU), and Apify offers plans for heavier ongoing usage. Start free at apify.com — scale up when you need to.

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Reliability & Limitations

What We Handle	How
Retries & fallbacks	Retries are built in for network fetches to improve resilience.
Proxy support	Includes built-in proxy support for more reliable scraping runs.
Partial progress	Results are pushed to the dataset as videos are processed.
Missing data	If a field can’t be found, it may be missing or set to null in the returned record.

Limitations: The actor works on data available from publicly accessible YouTube content. If a Shorts page or channel page is not accessible as expected, some fields may be unavailable for that specific record. Private or login-gated content is out of scope.

For enterprise-scale needs or custom configurations, reach out and we’ll help.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a free plan?

Yes. Apify provides a free tier with usage credits so you can run YouTube Shorts Scraper and test your inputs before committing to paid usage.

Do I need to log in or create an account on YouTube?

No. The actor is designed to scrape publicly available YouTube Shorts data from the URLs you provide in startUrls.

How accurate is the extracted data?

Accuracy depends on what’s publicly visible on each Shorts and channel page at the time of the run. The actor extracts the metadata fields it can detect and stores them in the dataset output.

How many results can I get per run?

You control the number of Shorts per channel using the limit input. The actor targets up to limit shorts for each provided channel start URL.

How fresh is the data?

Data is as fresh as the scrape time. If you need updated view/like counts or recent Shorts, schedule recurring runs and re-export the dataset.

Is this legal? Does it comply with GDPR / CCPA?

The actor works with publicly available data from YouTube Shorts pages. It’s your responsibility to comply with GDPR, CCPA, YouTube’s Terms of Service, and any local regulations when collecting, storing, or using the dataset.

Can I export to Google Sheets or Excel?

Yes. You can export from the Apify dataset tab as JSON, CSV, or Excel, then import into Google Sheets or other tools that accept those formats.

Can I schedule this to run automatically?

Yes. Use Apify scheduling (via the platform) to run YouTube Shorts Scraper automatically on a recurring schedule.

Can I access results via the API?

Yes. Results are saved to the Apify dataset, and you can retrieve them programmatically using the Apify API.

What happens when the actor encounters an error?

The run continues to the extent possible and pushes successful results to the dataset. For Shorts where data can’t be fetched or parsed, fields may be missing or the record may not be produced.

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Get Help & Use Responsibly

Got a question about YouTube Shorts Scraper or a feature you'd like added? Reach out at dataforleads@gmail.com. We’re actively maintaining the actor and can help with ideas like better filtering for batch YouTube Shorts metadata scraper runs or adding more structured fields for your research outputs.

** public available data** on YouTube Shorts pages. It does not access private accounts, login-gated pages, or password-protected content. You’re responsible for GDPR, CCPA, and YouTube’s Terms of Service when using the results. For data removal requests, contact dataforleads@gmail.com. Use responsibly, ethically, and only for lawful purposes.