# Youtube Channel Finder (`solid-scraper/youtube-channel-finder`) Actor

🔎 Explore the best YouTube channels with Channel Finder! Find niche creators, trending topics, and the right audience fit faster 🚀—ideal for marketers, creators, and growth teams. Save time, discover more, and subscribe smart

- **URL**: https://apify.com/solid-scraper/youtube-channel-finder.md
- **Developed by:** [SolidScraper](https://apify.com/solid-scraper) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Lead generation, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.99 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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 Channel Finder 🔍

**YouTube Channel Finder** is a fast way to discover YouTube channels by keyword—without requiring a login. This YouTube channel lookup tool helps marketers, researchers, and data enthusiasts build prospect lists by finding relevant channels, filtered by a target country and saved in a structured dataset for easy analysis. Whether you’re using a YouTube channel search engine for lead generation, a channel finder for YouTube for outreach research, or a YouTube creator search for mapping a niche, it’s built to scale—saving you hours of manual work.

***

### Why choose YouTube Channel Finder?

| Feature | Benefit |
| --- | --- |
| ✅ **Keyword-based channel discovery** | Find YouTube channels using your keywords and save them to a dataset |
| ✅ **Country targeting** | Focus results on a specific target country using `country` |
| ✅ **Built-in reliability logic** | Includes retries and page-to-page delays to improve run stability |
| ✅ **Structured dataset output** | Produces consistent dataset records with fields like `keyword`, `url`, `description_snippet`, and `source` |
| ✅ **Scales across many keywords** | Processes each keyword in your input until the global channel limit is reached |
| ✅ **Export-ready results** | Dataset can be exported as JSON/CSV for downstream workflows |

***

### Key features

- 🔍 **YouTube channel lookup by keyword:** Search for channels using the `keywords` array you provide
- 🌍 **Target country selection:** Use the `country` input to guide where your leads come from
- 🧠 **Channel validation:** Only accepts URLs that match recognized YouTube channel formats (handles, custom URLs, or channel IDs)
- 📌 **Clean channel URL normalization:** Returns a normalized base channel URL (e.g., not “watch” or unrelated paths)
- 📄 **Snippet capture for context:** Saves a readable `description_snippet` for each discovered channel
- 🛡️ **Reliability through retries & fallbacks:** Uses retry logic for page fetching and controls pacing between requests
- 💾 **Real-time dataset saving:** Pushes found channel records to the dataset as it discovers them
- 🎯 **Run-level limit control:** Enforces a global maximum for free runs, with different behavior on paid plans

***

### Input

Provide input via an `input.json` file. Example structure:

```json
{
  "keywords": ["fitness", "tech reviewer"],
  "country": "United States"
}
```

#### Input Fields

| Key | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `keywords` | Yes | A list of keywords to search for YouTube channels (for example: `tech reviewer`, `fitness`, `gaming`). Use multiple keywords to find more variety across a niche. |
| `country` | No | Select the target country for leads. This helps the YouTube channel finder tool focus results geographically. Default is `United States`. |

***

### Output

The actor saves each discovered channel record into the Apify **dataset** as JSON objects.

Example output structure (dataset rows):

```json
[
  {
    "keyword": "fitness",
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@fitnesschannel",
    "description_snippet": "A short snippet describing the channel (from the search result).",
    "source": "Search Engine"
  }
]
```

#### Output Fields

| Field | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `keyword` | string | The keyword that produced this YouTube channel result |
| `url` | string | The normalized Channel URL |
| `description_snippet` | string | The snippet text captured for context |
| `source` | string | The origin of the record (this actor sets it to `Search Engine`) |

After execution, you can export your dataset (e.g., JSON/CSV) directly from the Apify Console for analysis or outreach workflows.

***

### How to use YouTube Channel Finder (via Apify Console)

1. **Open Apify Console**: Log in at https://console.apify.com and go to the **Actors** tab.
2. **Find YouTube Channel Finder**: Search for the actor and open its details page.
3. **Go to the INPUT tab**: Paste or enter your input JSON.
   - Add your channel search terms in `keywords` (required).
   - Optionally set `country` to focus your results.
4. **Choose run settings (if prompted)**: Keep defaults unless you have special needs for your workspace. The actor also adapts limits depending on whether the run is on a paid plan.
5. **Click Run**: Start the actor.
6. **Monitor progress in logs**: You’ll see messages about processing each keyword, empty-page detection, and the total channel count collected.
7. **Open the OUTPUT tab**: When the run completes, open the dataset titled **YouTube Channels** (Channels).
8. **Export results**: Export the dataset to JSON/CSV and use it in your pipeline, CRM import, or analytics tooling.

No coding required—get accurate results in minutes with this YouTube channel finder extension–style workflow for lead discovery.

***

### Advanced features & SEO optimization

- 🧰 **Engineered for YouTube channel search online:** The actor is designed specifically for finding YouTube channels by name/keyword and capturing contextual snippets for each result—ideal for a YouTube channel finder tool workflow.
- 🧭 **Channel finder for YouTube with built-in validation:** It only keeps URLs that match recognized channel URL formats, avoiding unrelated video-style links.
- ⏳ **Paced execution for resilience:** Uses delays between pages and retry logic to help the run complete reliably.
- 📊 **Results are saved as they’re discovered:** Better for long keyword batches because you don’t have to wait to get partial results.

***

### Best use cases

- 📈 **Growth marketers building YouTube lead lists:** Quickly assemble channel candidates for outreach and campaign planning
- 🔎 **Researchers doing creator mapping:** Find channels by category-like keywords and capture snippets for easier screening
- 🧑‍💼 **Sales teams running influencer sourcing:** Build a prospect list of YouTube creator channels tied to a specific target country
- 🗂️ **Data analysts creating niche datasets:** Use structured output (`keyword`, `url`, `description_snippet`, `source`) for downstream enrichment
- 🤝 **Agencies scaling prospecting workflows:** Run multiple keywords in one go to expand coverage without manual searching
- 🧪 **Product teams validating competitive landscapes:** Identify relevant channels to benchmark messaging and audience focus

***

### Technical specifications

- **Supported Input Formats**
  - ✅ `keywords` as an array (required)
  - ✅ `country` as a string from the provided enum (optional, default: `United States`)

- **Proxy Support**
  - ✅ Built-in proxy support for reliable scraping runs (configured internally)

- **Retry Mechanism**
  - ✅ Retries are enabled for fetching pages (the actor uses `max_retries` internally)

- **Dataset Structure**
  - ✅ Apify **dataset**: **YouTube Channels** (table view uses `keyword`, `url`, `description_snippet`, `source`)

- **Rate Limits & Performance**
  - ⚠️ Performance varies by network conditions and scraping responses; the actor controls pacing with an internal request delay.

- **Limitations**
  - ❌ This actor is focused on channel discovery and saves search-based channel records; it does not provide full channel analytics in the dataset output described above.

***

### FAQ

#### Is a login required to run YouTube Channel Finder?

✅ No login is required. The actor is designed for fast and efficient channel discovery using publicly available web data.

#### What does YouTube Channel Finder actually return?

✅ It returns discovered YouTube channels saved to the Apify dataset with `keyword`, `url`, `description_snippet`, and `source` (set to `Search Engine`).

#### Can I search for channels in a specific country?

✅ Yes. Use the `country` input to target results geographically. If you don’t set it, the default is `United States`.

#### Do I need to provide multiple keywords?

❌ You don’t have to, but you can. `keywords` is required and can include one or many terms to broaden your channel discovery.

#### What are the dataset fields I should use for downstream work?

✅ Use `keyword` to track which search term produced each record, `url` as the canonical channel link, `description_snippet` for quick context, and `source` to understand the record origin.

#### Does it support exporting results to CSV or JSON?

✅ Yes. In Apify Console, you can export the resulting dataset after the run completes (the output is structured as dataset records suitable for JSON/CSV export).

#### Is it safe to use for lead generation?

✅ Yes, as long as you use it responsibly. The actor collects information only from publicly accessible sources; you’re responsible for compliance with applicable laws and platform policies.

***

### Support & feature requests

If you’re using YouTube Channel Finder and want improvements (for example, better filtering controls, additional dataset fields, or export enhancements), we’d love to hear your ideas.

- 💡 **Feature Requests:** Share examples like “CSV export improvements” or “additional output fields for screening,” and we’ll consider them for future updates.
- 📧 **Contact:** Email us at <dataforleads@gmail.com>.

Your feedback helps shape the roadmap for this YouTube channel finder tool.

***

**Built for fast, structured YouTube channel discovery—so your YouTube Channel Finder run turns into usable data at scale.**\
**If you’re looking for a comprehensive, SEO-optimized way to find any YouTube channel, this is the quickest path from keywords to a clean dataset.**

***

### Disclaimer

**This tool accesses publicly accessible sources only** and does not access private profiles, authenticated data, or password-protected content. It’s your responsibility to comply with applicable laws (including GDPR/CCPA where relevant), spam regulations, and platform terms of service when using the collected data.

If you need data removal for any reason, contact us at <dataforleads@gmail.com>. Please use this YouTube Channel Finder responsibly, ethically, and for legitimate purposes only.

# Actor input Schema

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

List of keywords to search for YouTube channels (e.g., 'tech reviewer', 'fitness', 'gaming').

## `country` (type: `string`):

Select the target country for leads.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "fitness"
  ],
  "country": "United States"
}
```

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "keywords": [
        "fitness"
    ],
    "country": "United States"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("solid-scraper/youtube-channel-finder").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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "keywords": ["fitness"],
    "country": "United States",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("solid-scraper/youtube-channel-finder").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 '{
  "keywords": [
    "fitness"
  ],
  "country": "United States"
}' |
apify call solid-scraper/youtube-channel-finder --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=solid-scraper/youtube-channel-finder",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/MNxCNhGBrIXmpQZjS/builds/OEJpNWnxTwvujNQ77/openapi.json