YouTube Shorts Scraper

Introduction

YouTube Shorts Scraper is a powerful and user-friendly tool designed to extract valuable data from selected YouTube channels. With this actor, you can effortlessly scrape YouTube Shorts data, including video URLs, captions, view counts, comments counts, and the number of likes and dislikes. Additionally, you can retrieve basic channel details such as the channel name, channel URL, and the number of subscribers.

Key Features

• Extract YouTube Shorts data with ease.
• Retrieve essential channel information.
• Configure the maximum number of shorts to scrape.
• Control the rate of requests with an optional setting.

Typical Use Cases

• Content Analysis: Analyze the performance of YouTube Shorts content from specific channels.
• Competitive Research: Monitor your competitors' Shorts content and engagement.
• Content Aggregation: Collect YouTube Shorts data for research or reporting purposes.

Inputs

Data Input

The actor takes the following inputs:

• YouTube Channel Name/URL: The name or URL of the YouTube channel you want to scrape data from.
• Maximum Number of Shorts: The maximum number of YouTube Shorts to scrape from the specified channel.

Optional Inputs

• Maximum Number of Requests per Time: An optional setting to control the rate of requests to YouTube's servers. Use this to prevent overloading the server with too many requests in a short time.

Input Examples

Channel Name/URL:

• Example 1: "Apify"
• Example 2: "https://www.youtube.com/@Apify"

Maximum Number of Shorts:

• Example 1: 50
• Example 2: 100

Maximum Number of Requests per Time (optional):

• Example 1: 5 requests per second
• Example 2: No limit (default)

Outputs

The actor produces the following outputs:

• YouTube Shorts Data: A JSON array containing details of each scraped YouTube Short, including video URLs, captions, view counts, comments counts, and the number of likes and dislikes.
• Channel Details: A JSON object with basic channel information, including channel name, channel URL, and the number of subscribers.

Output Examples

YouTube Shorts Data:

1[
2    {
3        "title": "I ACTUALLY WANT ALL OF THESE FOR MY CAR @julianna_claire_finds #shorts",
4        "videoId": "O8pbvkQTwwQ",
5        "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/O8pbvkQTwwQ",
6        "channelId": "UCysVG_DvoO0Wm4Iw-I3KoXA",
7        "author": "Richard Sales Official",
8        "description": "",
9        "views": "29K views",
10        "videoLikesCount": "4.7K",
11        "commentCount": "50",
12        "duration": "60",
13        "videoThumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O8pbvkQTwwQ/oar2.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEdCJUDENAFSFWQAgHyq4qpAwwIARUAAIhCcAHAAQY=&rs=AOn4CLDBIwDL82D0j_Xp8vIyNtXEjJ3JcA"
14    },
15    {
16        "title": "THE DAD AND MUMS SISTER IS CRAZY 😂😂😂😂 #shorts",
17        "videoId": "S3rpxaquUQQ",
18        "url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/S3rpxaquUQQ",
19        "channelId": "UCysVG_DvoO0Wm4Iw-I3KoXA",
20        "author": "Richard Sales Official",
21        "description": "",
22        "views": "208K views",
23        "videoLikesCount": "25K",
24        "commentCount": "220",
25        "duration": "60",
26        "videoThumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/S3rpxaquUQQ/oar2.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEdCJUDENAFSFWQAgHyq4qpAwwIARUAAIhCcAHAAQY=&rs=AOn4CLAyqBxN0evz8tGPhylXpMAt0eB0TA"
27    }
28]

Channel Details:

1{
2    "author": "Richard Sales Official",
3    "channelId": "UCysVG_DvoO0Wm4Iw-I3KoXA"
4}

Usage

How to Run the Actor

1. Go to Apify and log in or create an account if you don't have one.
2. Create a new task and select the "YouTube Shorts Scraper" actor.
3. Configure the actor's input settings by providing the YouTube channel name or URL and specifying the maximum number of shorts to scrape.
4. (Optional) Adjust the maximum number of requests per time if needed.
5. Start the task and wait for it to complete.
6. Once the task is finished, you can access the scraped data in the task's dataset.

How to Interpret the Actor's Results

The actor will provide you with a JSON dataset containing the scraped YouTube Shorts data and channel details. Each YouTube Short will have its own set of properties, as described in the "Outputs" section.

Examples

Example 1: Scraping YouTube Shorts from Apify's Channel

In this example, we will scrape YouTube Shorts data from Apify's channel with a limit of 50 Shorts.

1{
2    "channelName/URL": "Apify",
3    "maximumNumberOfShorts": 50
4}

Example 2: Scraping YouTube Shorts with Rate Limit

In this example, we will scrape YouTube Shorts data from a channel with a rate limit of 5 requests per second to avoid overloading the server.

1{
2    "all_videos": false,
3    "numberOfVideos": 100,
4    "startUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/@RichardSalesOfficial/shorts"]
5}

Troubleshooting

Common Problems and Solutions

• Problem: The actor is not returning any data.

  • Solution: Check if the YouTube channel name or URL is correct. Ensure that the channel has YouTube Shorts available.

• Problem: Rate limiting issues.

  • Solution: If you encounter rate limiting issues, try adjusting the "Maximum Number of Requests per Time" input to a lower value or contact Apify support for assistance.

Additional Information

Links to Related Resources

• Apify
• Apify Documentation

Acknowledgements

This actor is powered by Apify, a leading web scraping and automation platform. Special thanks to the Apify team for their contributions.