YouTube Playlist Details – Metadata, Owner & Counts

Describe a YouTube playlist before collecting or reviewing its videos. YouTube Playlist Details Scraper returns the title, description, owner, thumbnail images, displayed counts, and available visibility information from a playlist link.

Each submitted playlist produces one result row with its original input and status. No YouTube account or cookies are required.

At a glance	Details
📥 Input	Full YouTube URLs containing list
📤 Output	Playlist title, description, owner, counts, thumbnails, and available visibility metadata
🔐 Login required	No
📄 Collection	One metadata lookup per input
💾 Delivery	One row per playlist result, in one table

What the YouTube playlist details scraper collects 🔎

The Actor reads the metadata attached to a known playlist rather than expanding its video entries.

• Playlist ID, URL, canonical URL, title, and description
• Video and view counts with YouTube's displayed labels
• Update text, thumbnail URL, and available thumbnail sizes
• Owner channel identity and available avatar details
• Exposed unlisted, family-safety, and country-availability metadata
• Links and hashtags found in the description

Use the Playlist Videos Actor when you need one row for each item inside the playlist.

How to scrape YouTube playlist details 🚀

1. Prepare the full playlist links you want to collect.
2. Add them to inputList, one value per item.
3. Start the Actor.
4. Check status and export the fields needed for your workflow.

{
  "inputList": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2aBZuCeDwlRxnw-jDj51gmtBuCVZbsaZ"
  ]
}

YouTube playlist details data fields and output 📦

Field group	Included data
Playlist	ID, URLs, title, and description
Counts and updates	Video and view counts, original labels, and update text
Owner and images	Channel identity, avatar references, and playlist thumbnails
Visibility	Public/unlisted classification and exposed availability flags
Description references	Extracted links and hashtags

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

{
  "input": "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtrailjournalroutes2026",
  "status": "success",
  "id": "PLtrailjournalroutes2026",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtrailjournalroutes2026",
  "canonical_url": "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtrailjournalroutes2026",
  "title": "Weekend Trail Guides",
  "description": "#hiking Route guides: https://example.com/trail",
  "thumbnail_url": "https://example.com/trail-large.jpg",
  "thumbnails.url": [
    "https://example.com/trail-small.jpg",
    "https://example.com/trail-large.jpg"
  ],
  "thumbnails.width": [
    160,
    1280
  ],
  "thumbnails.height": [
    90,
    720
  ],
  "videos_count": 25,
  "videos_count_text": "25 videos",
  "views": 500000,
  "views_text": "500K views",
  "updated_text": "Last updated yesterday",
  "privacy": "public",
  "is_unlisted": false,
  "is_family_safe": true,
  "available_countries": [
    "US",
    "GB"
  ],
  "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,
  "description_links": [
    "https://example.com/trail"
  ],
  "hashtags": [
    "#hiking"
  ]
}

The table and JSON use the same flat field names, including literal dotted keys. Thumbnail and author-avatar fields keep URL, width, and height values aligned by position. Description links, hashtags, and available countries remain lists in the playlist's row.

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.

Input requirements and coverage ⚙️

Parameter	Type	Default	Rules
inputList	array of strings	Required	One or more full YouTube URLs containing a valid list parameter. Raw playlist IDs are not accepted. No fixed batch-size maximum.

Playlist, watch, and youtu.be links are accepted when they include list. The playlist ID must contain at least eight letters, digits, underscores, or hyphens. Output uses a canonical youtube.com/playlist URL.

There is no pagination parameter. Each input starts its own lookup, so repeating an input can produce another row.

YouTube playlist details use cases 🎯

Playlist catalogues

Build a searchable directory of known playlists with titles, descriptions, owner links, and thumbnail references.

Curation review

Compare descriptions, displayed video counts, and update labels before selecting playlists for a learning or editorial collection.

Owner attribution

Keep playlist ownership and canonical links beside records in a content catalogue.

Playlist snapshots

Compare repeated exports to identify changes in a known playlist's title, description, or displayed counts.

Pricing and billable playlist 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. A successful lookup saves one metadata row for its input. Invalid or unavailable inputs save failed rows, and repeated input entries can each produce a result.

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

YouTube Playlist Details 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":["https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2aBZuCeDwlRxnw-jDj51gmtBuCVZbsaZ"]}'

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.

A supplied unlisted playlist may be readable when YouTube makes it accessible by link. Private or removed playlists may fail. The privacy field uses public when the source does not signal unlisted, so retain is_unlisted as well when interpreting visibility. Updated dates remain source text and public count labels may be rounded.

Frequently asked questions ❓

Do I need a playlist URL or its raw ID?

Use a full YouTube URL containing the list parameter. Raw playlist IDs are not accepted.

Can I use a watch link that includes a playlist?

Yes. A supported YouTube watch or youtu.be link with a valid list parameter is resolved to the playlist.

Will the result include every video?

No. The row describes the playlist. Use YouTube Playlist Videos Scraper to collect its entries.

Can it read an unlisted playlist?

It can read a supplied unlisted link when YouTube exposes the playlist without authentication. It does not discover unlisted playlists.

Is updated_text an exact timestamp?

No. It preserves YouTube's displayed update wording, which can be relative or absent.

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.