# YouTube Video & Channel Data Extractor (`second_coming/youtube-data-extractor`) Actor Extract video details, transcripts, comments, channel analytics, playlists, and search results from YouTube. Content marketing and video SEO research tool. - **URL**: https://apify.com/second\_coming/youtube-data-extractor.md - **Developed by:** [Richard P](https://apify.com/second_coming) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, Education - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per usage This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage ## 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 Video & Channel Data Extractor Extract video metadata, channel info, search results, and comments from YouTube. Uses oEmbed API and page scraping — no API key required. ### Features - **Video data extraction** — Title, description, duration, views, likes, upload date, thumbnails - **Channel data extraction** — Name, subscribers, video count, avatar, banner, join date - **YouTube search** — Search for videos by keyword, get title, views, publish date, duration - **Comment extraction** — Scrape comments with author, text, likes, timestamps - **Multi-source** — Accept video URLs, channel URLs, and search queries in one run - **No API key needed** — Uses oEmbed API + page scraping via JSON-LD, ytInitialData, meta tags ### Input | Field | Type | Required | Description | |-------|------|----------|-------------| | `videoUrls` | array of strings | | YouTube video URLs to extract | | `channelUrls` | array of strings | | YouTube channel URLs to extract | | `searchQueries` | array of strings | | Search terms to find videos | | `maxResults` | integer | | Max videos per source (default: 30) | | `includeComments` | boolean | | Scrape comments on videos (default: false) | | `maxComments` | integer | | Max comments per video (default: 50) | #### Example Input ```json { "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"], "channelUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/@Veritasium"], "searchQueries": ["python tutorial 2026"], "maxResults": 20, "includeComments": true, "maxComments": 30 } ```` ### Output Fields Per video: `videoId`, `title`, `description`, `channelName`, `channelUrl`, `duration` (seconds), `views`, `thumbnailUrl`, `uploadDate`, `publishedText`, `keywords`, `comments`, `sourceType` Per channel: `channelUrl`, `title`, `description`, `subscriberCount`, `videosCount`, `avatarUrl`, `bannerUrl`, `channelId`, `joinedDate`, `sourceType` Per search: `searchQuery`, `results` (array of video search results), `sourceType` ### Local Development ```bash python3 -m venv .venv source .venv/bin/activate pip install -r requirements.txt apify run --purge ``` ### Limitations - YouTube may block aggressive scraping — add delays between requests - Comment extraction depends on ytInitialData being present in page HTML - Some metadata may be missing without a valid API key - Search results may vary by region/language # Actor input Schema ## `videoUrls` (type: `array`): List of YouTube video URLs to extract data from. ## `channelUrls` (type: `array`): List of YouTube channel URLs to extract data from. ## `searchQueries` (type: `array`): Search terms to find YouTube videos. ## `maxResults` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of videos to extract per source. ## `includeComments` (type: `boolean`): Whether to scrape comments on each video. ## `maxComments` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of comments to extract per video. ## Actor input object example ```json { "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" ], "channelUrls": [], "searchQueries": [], "maxResults": 30, "includeComments": false, "maxComments": 50 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # 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 = { "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" ], "channelUrls": [], "searchQueries": [] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("second_coming/youtube-data-extractor").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 = { "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"], "channelUrls": [], "searchQueries": [], } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("second_coming/youtube-data-extractor").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 '{ "videoUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" ], "channelUrls": [], "searchQueries": [] }' | apify call second_coming/youtube-data-extractor --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=second_coming/youtube-data-extractor", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "YouTube Video & Channel Data Extractor", "description": "Extract video details, transcripts, comments, channel analytics, playlists, and search results from YouTube. Content marketing and video SEO research tool.", "version": "0.0", "x-build-id": "MtwXsRFzUIZtjA07J" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/second_coming~youtube-data-extractor/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-second_coming-youtube-data-extractor", "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/second_coming~youtube-data-extractor/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-second_coming-youtube-data-extractor", "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/second_coming~youtube-data-extractor/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-second_coming-youtube-data-extractor", "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", "properties": { "videoUrls": { "title": "YouTube Video URLs", "type": "array", "description": "List of YouTube video URLs to extract data from.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "channelUrls": { "title": "YouTube Channel URLs", "type": "array", "description": "List of YouTube channel URLs to extract data from.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "searchQueries": { "title": "Search Queries", "type": "array", "description": "Search terms to find YouTube videos.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "maxResults": { "title": "Max Results", "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of videos to extract per source.", "default": 30 }, "includeComments": { "title": "Include Comments", "type": "boolean", "description": "Whether to scrape comments on each video.", "default": false }, "maxComments": { "title": "Max Comments per Video", "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of comments to extract per video.", "default": 50 } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```