Youtube Shorts Scraper

Youtube Shorts Scraper

The Youtube Shorts Scraper is a purpose-built YouTube Shorts scraper tool that discovers Shorts from channels, handles, URLs, or keyword search and extracts structured metadata for each video. It solves the pain of manual research by acting as a YouTube Shorts data extractor and YouTube Shorts analytics scraper so you can analyze titles, views, likes, comments count, channels, hashtags, and more at scale. Ideal for marketers, developers, data analysts, and researchers, this YouTube Shorts scraping bot enables bulk collection for growth, competitive intelligence, and content planning.

What data / output can you get?

Below is a snapshot of the structured fields this YouTube Shorts metadata scraper saves to the Apify dataset for each Short. You can export results from the dataset to JSON or CSV in the Apify platform.

Data field	Description	Example
title	Video title	“Insane ice cream art in 30 seconds”
id	YouTube video ID	“R7MkZL5i3FQ”
url	Canonical Shorts URL	“https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R7MkZL5i3FQ”
thumbnailUrl	Best-available video thumbnail URL	“https://i.ytimg.com/vi/R7MkZL5i3FQ/hqdefault.jpg”
viewCount	Views (parsed from UI)	64493572
likes	Likes (parsed from UI)	909841
date	Publish date (ISO, if available)	“2026-03-01T00:00:00.000Z”
duration	Length in H:MM:SS or 00:MM:SS	“00:27”
commentsCount	Number of comments (if visible)	7171
commentsTurnedOff	Whether comments are disabled	false
channelName	Channel display name	“MrBeast”
channelUrl	Canonical channel URL	“https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast”
numberOfSubscribers	Channel subscriber count (best-effort)	450000000
hashtags	Hashtags detected in title/description	[“shorts”, “icecream”]
descriptionLinks	Links detected in description/title	[“https://store.example.com”]
subtitles	Available caption tracks (if present)	[{"url":"…","languageCode":"en","name":"English"}]
aboutChannelInfo	Nested channel profile metadata	{...}

Bonus outputs include channel visuals (channelAvatarUrl, channelBannerUrl) and monetization marker (isMonetized) when available.

Key features

• ⚡️ Robust Shorts discovery & enrichment
  Resolves Shorts from channel handles, channel URLs, or keyword queries, then enriches each video with channel metadata and engagement signals.

• 🧭 Flexible input handling
  Accepts channel handles (e.g., @MrBeast or mrbeast), full channel URLs, direct video links, or plain keywords for a bulk YouTube Shorts channel scraper or YouTube Shorts hashtag scraper workflow.

• 🧮 Built‑in filtering & sorting
  Use publishedAfter to include only recent videos and sortOrder to rank by Newest, Oldest, or Popular (views). Great for a YouTube Shorts analytics scraper.

• 📦 Dataset-first, ready to export
  Results are pushed item-by-item to the Apify dataset. Export JSON or CSV for downstream analysis, BI dashboards, or data pipelines.

• 🔌 Developer-friendly & automation-ready
  Runs on Apify, accessible via the Apify API for integration with Python YouTube Shorts scraper scripts, data pipelines, or orchestration tools.

• 🌐 Optional proxy support
  Enable Apify Proxy for more resilient scraping in stricter regions. The actor also works without proxy in most regions — a YouTube Shorts scraper without API keys or cookies.

• 🛠️ Production reliability
  Async requests with retries, YouTube internal API usage, and structured parsing ensure stable, repeatable scraping for bulk YouTube Shorts scraper jobs.

How to use Youtube Shorts Scraper - step by step

1. Create or log into your Apify account.
2. Open the “youtube-shorts-scraper” actor in the Apify Console.
3. In the INPUT tab, add one or more entries in startUrls:
   • Channel handle or username (e.g., @MrBeast or mrbeast)
   • Full channel URL (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast)
   • Keyword (e.g., funny shorts, cooking tips)
4. Set maxResults to control how many Shorts are collected per input (1 to 10,000).
5. (Optional) Use publishedAfter to filter by date (YYYY-MM-DD) or relative time (e.g., 7 days).
6. Choose sortOrder: newest, popular, or oldest.
7. (Optional) Configure proxyConfiguration if you need Apify Proxy (recommended in restricted regions).
8. Click Start. The actor discovers Shorts, fetches details, and pushes items to the dataset.
9. Monitor logs for progress — each saved item is logged.
10. Go to the Dataset tab to view results and export to JSON or CSV.

Pro tip: Run the actor via the Apify API and wire the dataset to your analytics or CRM system for automated updates from this YouTube Shorts API scraper workflow.

Use cases

Use case	Description
Marketing trend analysis	Track winning Shorts by keyword or channel and prioritize topics that consistently drive views and likes.
Competitor monitoring	Benchmark rivals’ Shorts output, engagement, and publishing cadence with a YouTube Shorts channel scraper.
Content planning for creators	Identify high-performing formats and hashtags to guide your next Shorts production.
Research & academia	Collect public Shorts metadata for studies on formats, attention patterns, or cultural trends.
Data pipelines & dashboards	Feed a warehouse or BI tool by automating exports from the dataset using the Apify API.
Social analytics	Combine views/likes/commentsCount to build lightweight performance models for Shorts.

Why choose Youtube Shorts Scraper?

This tool is engineered for precision, scale, and automation — a reliable alternative to brittle browser extensions or manual copy-paste.

• ✅ Accurate, structured extraction of Shorts and channel metadata
• 🌍 Works globally with optional proxy support for stricter regions
• 📈 Scales to thousands of videos per run across multiple inputs
• 🧑‍💻 Developer access via Apify API for Python or workflow automation
• 🔒 Public-data only, with transparent field mapping and no login required
• 💸 Cost-effective cloud execution with consistent output structure
• 🔗 Dataset exports to JSON/CSV for easy integration downstream

In short: a production-ready YouTube Shorts data extractor built for consistent, automated analysis — not a flaky YouTube Shorts scraper Chrome extension.

Is it legal / ethical to use Youtube Shorts Scraper?

Yes — when used responsibly. This actor collects publicly available data from YouTube Shorts pages and does not access private or authenticated content.

Guidelines to stay compliant:

• Only collect and use public information.
• Be mindful of YouTube’s Terms of Service and applicable laws (e.g., GDPR/CCPA).
• Avoid spammy use of contact links found in descriptions.
• Validate your organization’s compliance posture with your legal team for edge cases.

Input parameters & output format

Example JSON input

{
  "startUrls": [
    "rainbowicecream9780",
    "@MrBeast",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
    "funny shorts"
  ],
  "maxResults": 25,
  "publishedAfter": "7 days",
  "sortOrder": "newest",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}

Input fields

• startUrls (array, required)
  Description: Where to scrape Shorts from. Add one or more: channel handles (@MrBeast), usernames (mrbeast), full URLs (https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast), or search keywords (e.g. funny shorts).
  Default: ["rainbowicecream9780"]

• maxResults (integer, optional)
  Description: Maximum number of Shorts to scrape per channel or keyword. Ranges from 1 to 10,000. Higher = more data, longer run.
  Default: 10

• publishedAfter (string, optional)
  Description: Filter by publish date. Use a date (YYYY-MM-DD) or relative time (e.g. 7 days, 2 weeks, 1 month, 1 year). Leave empty to include all Shorts.
  Default: none
  Note: The actor’s current logic recognizes relative windows like “7 days”, “30 days”, and “1 year”.

• sortOrder (string, optional)
  Description: Order of results: Newest first, Oldest first, or by Popularity (views).
  Allowed values: newest, popular, oldest
  Default: newest

• proxyConfiguration (object, optional)
  Description: Turn on Apify Proxy for more reliable scraping (useful in EU or restricted regions). Off = direct connection; works in most regions and for Apify QA.
  Default: {"useApifyProxy": false}

Example JSON output item

{
  "title": "Insane ice cream art in 30 seconds",
  "translatedTitle": null,
  "type": "shorts",
  "id": "R7MkZL5i3FQ",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R7MkZL5i3FQ",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/R7MkZL5i3FQ/hqdefault.jpg",
  "viewCount": 64493572,
  "date": "2026-03-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "likes": 909841,
  "location": null,
  "channelName": "MrBeast",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
  "channelUsername": "MrBeast",
  "collaborators": null,
  "channelId": "UCXYZEXAMPLE",
  "channelDescription": "We make videos that change the world.",
  "channelJoinedDate": "2012-02-20",
  "channelDescriptionLinks": [
    "https://shop.example.com"
  ],
  "channelLocation": "USA",
  "channelAvatarUrl": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/ytc/AKedOLExample=s88-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
  "channelBannerUrl": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/Example=w1060-fcrop64=1,00005a57ffffa5a8-nd-c0xffffffff-rj-k-no",
  "channelTotalVideos": 892,
  "channelTotalViews": 39100000000,
  "numberOfSubscribers": 450000000,
  "isChannelVerified": true,
  "inputChannelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
  "isAgeRestricted": false,
  "aboutChannelInfo": {
    "channelDescription": "We make videos that change the world.",
    "channelJoinedDate": "2012-02-20",
    "channelDescriptionLinks": [
      "https://shop.example.com"
    ],
    "channelLocation": "USA",
    "channelUsername": "MrBeast",
    "channelAvatarUrl": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/ytc/AKedOLExample=s88-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
    "channelBannerUrl": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/Example=w1060-fcrop64=1,00005a57ffffa5a8-nd-c0xffffffff-rj-k-no",
    "channelTotalVideos": 892,
    "channelTotalViews": 39100000000,
    "numberOfSubscribers": 450000000,
    "isChannelVerified": true,
    "channelName": "MrBeast",
    "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
    "channelId": "UCXYZEXAMPLE",
    "inputChannelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast",
    "isAgeRestricted": false
  },
  "duration": "00:27",
  "commentsCount": 7171,
  "text": "Watch the full reveal on our main channel!",
  "translatedText": null,
  "descriptionLinks": [
    "https://shop.example.com"
  ],
  "subtitles": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/api/timedtext?v=R7MkZL5i3FQ&lang=en",
      "languageCode": "en",
      "name": "English"
    }
  ],
  "order": 1,
  "commentsTurnedOff": false,
  "fromYTUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast/shorts",
  "isMonetized": true,
  "hashtags": [
    "shorts",
    "icecream"
  ],
  "formats": [
    {
      "quality": "720p",
      "url": "https://r3---sn...mp4..."
    }
  ],
  "isMembersOnly": false,
  "input": "@MrBeast",
  "fromChannelListPage": "shorts",
  "isPaidContent": false
}

Note: Some fields may be null or empty when not present in the public page (e.g., subtitles, location, certain channel fields).

FAQ

Does this tool download videos?

No. The actor is a YouTube Shorts data extractor focused on metadata. It collects fields like title, views, likes, commentsCount, and channel information, but it is not a YouTube Shorts downloader.

Can I run it without the official YouTube API?

Yes. This is a YouTube Shorts scraper without API keys or login. It uses public endpoints and page data to extract Shorts metadata.

Can I use it programmatically with Python?

Yes. You can trigger runs and fetch the dataset via the Apify API from any language, including Python, making it easy to embed in pipelines as a Python YouTube Shorts scraper workflow.

What inputs are supported?

You can provide channel handles (e.g., @MrBeast), usernames (mrbeast), full channel URLs, or keywords (e.g., funny shorts). Add multiple entries in startUrls to run a bulk YouTube Shorts scraper.

How do filtering and sorting work?

Use publishedAfter to include only recent Shorts and sortOrder to order results by newest, oldest, or popularity (views). Relative filters like “7 days” work; the actor currently recognizes windows such as 7 days, 30 days, and 1 year.

Does it scrape comments text?

No. This YouTube Shorts comments scraper tracks commentsCount and whether comments are turned off. It does not extract the full list of comments.

Will it work from any region?

In most regions, it works without a proxy. For stricter regions, enable proxyConfiguration to route through Apify Proxy for more reliable scraping.

What export formats are available?

All results are saved to an Apify dataset. From there, you can export to JSON or CSV and connect to automation tools for downstream processing.

Closing CTA / Final thoughts

The Youtube Shorts Scraper is built to extract clean, structured Shorts and channel metadata at scale. It helps marketers, creators, analysts, and researchers track performance, discover trends, and power downstream analytics with reliable fields. Developers can run it via the Apify API and wire results into Python pipelines or no-code automation. Start extracting smarter YouTube Shorts insights today — from single channels to large-scale keyword monitoring.