YouTube Channel Analytics API | Channel Metadata, Uploads & Shorts

After this run

Turn this Actor's output into a capped paid report with YouTube Channel Transcript RAG Intelligence. Use it when AI builders, content teams, and knowledge-base owners need to decide whether a YouTube corpus is clean enough for RAG before building embeddings or a chatbot.

• First report: $9 / corpus_snapshot_report; set maxChargeUsd to $9.
• Deeper report: $29 / rag_readiness_report; use only when the first result needs competitor or action-depth.
• This is an internal Apify flow aid. It is not revenue proof until accounted paid usage appears.

Automate video content research and competitor tracking with a YouTube channel analytics scraper for public channel surfaces. Content strategists, SEO professionals, and digital marketers can use it to collect public metrics without OAuth tokens or YouTube Data API keys.

Skip the manual process of browsing individual YouTube pages to check publishing frequency. You can schedule this tool to pull fresh data from a list of target channel URLs, including public subscriber counts, lifetime views, channel descriptions, and recent long-form uploads or Shorts when YouTube exposes them.

For market research or competitor performance reviews, this tool returns structured public channel data, outbound links exposed on about pages, follower-growth snapshots, and recent upload metadata for downstream dashboards.

Store Quickstart

• Start with 1–3 channel URLs or @handles and keep videoLimit at 8 or below for the first run.
• Leave includeShorts on if you care about creator cadence; turn it off when long-form uploads are enough.
• Use dataset delivery first so you can inspect channel-level warnings and resolved content counts.
• After the first useful run, move to the recurring cadence-watch template, then use the webhook handoff template for new-upload alerts.

What it does

• Accepts YouTube channel URLs (@handle, /channel/, /user/, /c/) and bare @handles
• Normalizes channel metadata: channel ID, title, canonical URL, subscriber text/count when public, avatar/banner, description/about fields, links, and total public views when exposed
• Resolves recent uploads from the public videos tab and optional Shorts from the public shorts tab
• Enriches recent items from watch pages with view text, duration, thumbnail, publish/upload dates, and tags/keywords when public
• Produces channel-level rollups such as total resolved items, cadence hints from recent public labels, and explicit availability warnings

What it cannot do

Because this actor uses public pages only, it cannot provide private YouTube Studio analytics such as watch time, revenue, CTR, impressions, audience demographics, traffic sources, or hidden subscriber counts.

Use Cases

Who	Why
Creator teams	Benchmark publishing cadence, upload mix, and Shorts usage
Brand marketers	Vet partner channels and content fit without API quota setup
Analysts	Track recent uploads, tags, and view text at scale
Ecommerce teams	Pair channel activity with Shopify or app-store signals

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
channelUrls	string[]	required	YouTube channel URLs or bare @handles
videoLimit	integer	8	Max recent uploads and, when enabled, Shorts to resolve per channel
includeShorts	boolean	true	Also collect the public Shorts tab
timeoutMs	integer	20000	HTTP timeout per public page request
delivery	string	"dataset"	dataset or webhook
webhookUrl	string	—	Optional webhook target when delivery=webhook
dryRun	boolean	false	Skip dataset/webhook delivery

Input Examples

Example: Single channel by handle

{
  "channels": [
    "@anthropicai"
  ]
}

Example: Bulk competitor research

{
  "channels": [
    "@channel1",
    "@channel2",
    "@channel3"
  ],
  "includeUploadCadence": true
}

Example: Channel ID lookup

{
  "channels": [
    "UCabc123XYZ"
  ],
  "includeRecentVideos": 10
}

Output shape

{
  "meta": {
    "generatedAt": "2025-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
    "implementationStatus": "live",
    "totalSources": 1,
    "totals": {
      "totalResolvedChannels": 1,
      "totalResolvedUploads": 8,
      "totalResolvedShorts": 4,
      "totalResolvedContent": 12,
      "warningCount": 1
    },
    "limits": {
      "recentItemsPerSection": 8,
      "includeShorts": true,
      "timeoutMs": 20000
    },
    "notes": ["..."]
  },
  "channels": [
    {
      "inputUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@Google",
      "status": "ok",
      "channel": {
        "channelId": "UC...",
        "title": "Google",
        "handle": "@Google",
        "canonicalUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@Google",
        "subscriberCountText": "14.1M subscribers",
        "totalViewCountText": "6,332,598,834 views"
      },
      "recentUploads": [{ "videoId": "...", "title": "...", "viewCountText": "...", "durationText": "...", "keywords": ["..."] }],
      "recentShorts": [{ "videoId": "...", "isShort": true }],
      "rollups": {
        "totalResolvedVideos": 12,
        "recentPostingCadenceHint": "Roughly weekly posting inferred from recent public labels."
      },
      "availability": {
        "videosTab": "ok",
        "shortsTab": "ok",
        "aboutTab": "ok"
      },
      "warnings": []
    }
  ]
}

Status values

• ok: all requested public surfaces resolved cleanly
• partial: some requested surfaces or item enrichments were unavailable, but useful data was collected
• missing: YouTube returned a missing page
• blocked: YouTube returned a challenge or block page
• invalid: the input was not a supported channel URL or handle
• error: no usable public data could be resolved

Local run

npm start
npm test

Use input.json for local runs.

Related Actors

Pair this actor with other flagship intelligence APIs in the same portfolio:

• Google Play Intelligence API — connect app-market performance and review signals to channel activity.
• Apple App Store Intelligence API — mirror the same workflow for iOS apps and public review feeds.
• Shopify Store Intelligence API — pair content cadence with public storefront and catalog changes.
• Trustpilot Review Intelligence API — add brand-reputation context alongside channel output.

Pricing & Cost Control

Apify Store pricing is usage-based, so total cost mainly follows how many channelUrls you analyze and how many recent items you resolve. Check the Store pricing card for the current per-event rates.

• Start with a short channelUrls list.
• Keep videoLimit low while testing downstream workflows.
• Disable includeShorts when you only need long-form uploads.
• Use dryRun: true before larger channel batches or webhook delivery.

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Related report Actors

Use these follow-on Actors when you want a capped, decision-ready report instead of more raw rows. They use public or user-provided inputs, respect maxChargeUsd, and do not promise rankings, revenue, conversion lifts, or sales outcomes.

• YouTube Channel Transcript RAG Intelligence - convert public channel/video inputs into corpus-readiness actions.

Related paid report workflows

If this Actor gave you raw rows or source context, these follow-on report Actors are designed for a small capped paid run. They help make a decision, not just collect more data.

• YouTube Channel Transcript RAG Intelligence - decide whether a YouTube corpus is clean enough for RAG before building embeddings or a chatbot. Entry $9 / corpus_snapshot_report; premium $29 / rag_readiness_report.

Keep maxChargeUsd equal to the selected tier. Internal links are traffic aids only; real proof requires accounted paid usage.