YouTube Channel Shorts – Links, Titles & Views

Collect the Shorts listed by a known YouTube channel. YouTube Channel Shorts Scraper reads the Shorts tab and returns short-form video links, titles, available view labels, thumbnails, and channel context.

Set a result-page limit for each channel and keep one row per Short. No YouTube account or cookies are required.

At a glance	Details
📥 Input	Channel handles or UC IDs
📤 Output	Shorts links, titles, view labels, thumbnails, available card fields, and source-channel context
🔐 Login required	No
📄 Collection	Configurable result pages per input
💾 Delivery	One row per Short result, in one table

What the YouTube channel Shorts scraper collects 🔎

The Actor selects Shorts entries from the channel's Shorts tab and keeps the information exposed on their cards.

• Short ID, /shorts/ URL, title, and listing position
• Available view count and the original displayed label
• Thumbnail URL and size variants
• Duration, publication wording, description snippet, or badges when the card provides them
• Available creator identity and source-channel profile context

Shorts cards often expose fewer fields than ordinary video cards. The Actor does not infer duration from the content type or fetch every Short's watch page.

How to scrape YouTube channel Shorts 🚀

1. Prepare the channel handles or IDs you want to collect.
2. Add them to inputList, one value per item.
3. Set pagesPerInput and start the Actor.
4. Check status and export the fields needed for your workflow.

{
  "inputList": [
    "NASA"
  ],
  "pagesPerInput": 1
}

YouTube channel Shorts data fields and output 📦

Field group	Included data
Short	ID, /shorts/ URL, type, title, and listing position
Public card fields	Available views, duration, publication text, snippet, and flags
Images and author	Thumbnail variants and available creator details
Source channel	The channel being browsed and exposed profile context

Complete illustrative success item. The fictional values below demonstrate the output and are not a live result:

{
  "input": "TrailJournal",
  "status": "success",
  "id": "TrailWalk01",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TrailWalk01",
  "type": "short",
  "title": "A forest viewpoint in 45 seconds",
  "description": null,
  "thumbnail_url": "https://example.com/trail-large.jpg",
  "thumbnails.url": [
    "https://example.com/trail-small.jpg",
    "https://example.com/trail-large.jpg"
  ],
  "thumbnails.width": [
    405,
    1080
  ],
  "thumbnails.height": [
    720,
    1920
  ],
  "duration_seconds": 45,
  "duration_text": "0:45",
  "views": 18300,
  "views_text": "18.3K views",
  "published_text": "2 days ago",
  "badges": [],
  "is_live": false,
  "is_upcoming": false,
  "is_premiere": false,
  "is_members_only": false,
  "stream_status": null,
  "scheduled_start_time": null,
  "accessibility_text": "A forest viewpoint in 45 seconds by Trail Journal",
  "author.id": "UCabcdefghijklmnopqrstuv",
  "author.name": "Trail Journal",
  "author.handle": "@TrailJournal",
  "author.url": "https://www.youtube.com/@TrailJournal",
  "author.avatar_url": "https://example.com/trail-large.jpg",
  "author.avatar_thumbnails.url": [
    "https://example.com/trail-small.jpg",
    "https://example.com/trail-large.jpg"
  ],
  "author.avatar_thumbnails.width": [
    160,
    800
  ],
  "author.avatar_thumbnails.height": [
    160,
    800
  ],
  "author.is_verified": false,
  "source_channel.id": "UCabcdefghijklmnopqrstuv",
  "source_channel.handle": "@TrailJournal",
  "source_channel.name": "Trail Journal",
  "source_channel.url": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCabcdefghijklmnopqrstuv",
  "source_channel.canonical_url": "https://www.youtube.com/@TrailJournal",
  "source_channel.vanity_url": "https://www.youtube.com/@TrailJournal",
  "source_channel.description": "Weekend walks, route guides, and quiet places.",
  "source_channel.avatar_url": "https://example.com/trail-large.jpg",
  "source_channel.avatar_thumbnails.url": [
    "https://example.com/trail-small.jpg",
    "https://example.com/trail-large.jpg"
  ],
  "source_channel.avatar_thumbnails.width": [
    160,
    800
  ],
  "source_channel.avatar_thumbnails.height": [
    160,
    800
  ],
  "source_channel.banner_url": "https://example.com/trail-large.jpg",
  "source_channel.banner_thumbnails.url": [
    "https://example.com/trail-small.jpg",
    "https://example.com/trail-large.jpg"
  ],
  "source_channel.banner_thumbnails.width": [
    1060,
    2120
  ],
  "source_channel.banner_thumbnails.height": [
    175,
    350
  ],
  "source_channel.subscribers": 12000,
  "source_channel.subscribers_text": "12K subscribers",
  "source_channel.videos_count": 25,
  "source_channel.videos_count_text": "25 videos",
  "source_channel.views": 500000,
  "source_channel.views_text": "500K views",
  "source_channel.country": "United States",
  "source_channel.joined_date": "Joined Jan 1, 2020",
  "source_channel.keywords": [
    "hiking",
    "trail guides"
  ],
  "source_channel.keywords_raw": "hiking \"trail guides\"",
  "source_channel.external_links.title": [
    "Website"
  ],
  "source_channel.external_links.url": [
    "https://example.com"
  ],
  "source_channel.external_links.display_url": [
    "example.com"
  ],
  "source_channel.external_links.icon_url": [
    "https://example.com/trail-large.jpg"
  ],
  "source_channel.rss_url": "https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UCabcdefghijklmnopqrstuv",
  "source_channel.available_countries": [
    "US",
    "GB"
  ],
  "source_channel.is_verified": false,
  "source_channel.is_family_safe": true,
  "source_channel.is_subscriber_count_hidden": false,
  "position": 1
}

The table and JSON use the same flat field names, including literal dotted keys. Thumbnail and avatar variants use aligned lists. The first thumbnail URL corresponds to the first width and height. Source-channel link and image fields stay in the same Short's row. A missing duration or publication label remains null rather than being guessed.

Optional values can be null, empty strings, false, or empty lists. Missing counts are normally null; numeric values parsed from abbreviated labels remain approximate. Failed rows preserve input and status and set the result-data fields to null. position is the running order of saved results for that input, not a global ranking.

Input requirements and coverage ⚙️

Parameter	Type	Default	Rules
inputList	array of strings	Required	One or more channel handles, with or without @, or UC channel IDs. Full channel URLs are not accepted. No fixed batch-size maximum.
pagesPerInput	integer	1	At least 1; no fixed upper bound. Limits result pages for each input.

Handles allow 1–100 Unicode word characters, periods, hyphens, or middle dots after an optional @. A channel ID must be UC followed by 22 letters, digits, underscores, or hyphens. Other valid values are treated as handles. Leading and trailing spaces are removed.

YouTube controls page size. Collection stops at the requested page limit or when the list ends, whichever comes first. The initial result page counts as page 1; each continuation uses another page. Repeated items within an input are skipped, but repeating the input itself starts a separate collection.

YouTube channel Shorts use cases 🎯

Short-form content inventories

Build a catalogue of Shorts from known channels without mixing in the channel's ordinary video or Live tabs.

Creative research

Compare titles, thumbnails, and available view labels across a selected group of creators.

Shorts enrichment

Collect Short URLs for a second step with the Short Details, Video Comments, or Transcript Actor where supported.

New-content reports

Compare scheduled exports to identify newly listed Shorts and changes in the public view labels.

Pricing and billable Short rows 💰

Check the Actor's Pricing tab for the current pricing model and rate.

Under dataset-item pricing, each saved success or failed row can be billable. Automatic retry attempts do not independently add rows. The number of billable items follows saved results, not requested pages. A collection that ends without results or a failed request can produce a failed row; if a later page fails, earlier saved results remain.

Image variants and other list fields remain in their parent row and do not create separate dataset items.

YouTube Channel Shorts Scraper API and integrations 🔌

Use the Actor ID from the API tab as $ACTOR_ID and your Apify token as $APIFY_TOKEN.

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/$ACTOR_ID/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"inputList":["NASA"],"pagesPerInput":1}'

The request starts a run. Retrieve the dataset when it finishes, or use a completion webhook to send results to your application. Apify schedules can repeat collection; exports and integrations support JSON, CSV, Excel, Google Sheets, Make, and Zapier workflows.

Reliability and limits ⚠️

Up to five requests run concurrently, with automatic retries for temporary failures. Invalid, unavailable, or unresolved inputs are visible as failed rows. YouTube can restrict public access or omit fields.

Coverage follows the Shorts tab and the page limit. YouTube frequently omits duration, publication time, description, or author details from Shorts cards. Missing card fields are not evidence that the Short lacks them. The Actor does not promise a complete historical Shorts archive or download video files.

Pagination preserves results already saved, but a page limit, inaccessible continuation, or changing source list can leave a partial collection. A completed run does not prove that every historical item was available.

Frequently asked questions ❓

Will ordinary videos appear in the result?

This Actor selects entries identified as Shorts from the Shorts tab. Use Channel Videos for the Videos tab.

Why is duration_seconds null?

A Shorts card may not expose its duration. The Actor leaves that value absent instead of estimating it.

Can I submit a single Short URL?

The input is a channel handle or UC ID. Use YouTube Short Details Scraper for a known Short URL.

Can I set an exact number of Shorts?

No. pagesPerInput limits result pages, and YouTube controls the number of Shorts on each page.

Does it include a playable video URL?

It returns the public Short page URL and thumbnail references, not a downloaded file or direct playback stream.

Support, responsible use, and related actors 🛟

For support, share the run ID and a safe public example input through the Actor's support channel. Keep tokens and credentials out of messages.

Use public data and media within the privacy, copyright, and other obligations that apply to your project.