### Frequently asked questions
#### Is it legal to scrape YouTube?
Scraping public data is generally allowed in the US and most of the EU, as long as you don't collect personal data that falls under GDPR or CCPA without a lawful basis. This actor touches public watch pages and YouTube's public InnerTube endpoints, the same ones a signed-out browser hits. You're responsible for how you use the output.
Apify published a detailed breakdown: [Is web scraping legal?](https://blog.apify.com/is-web-scraping-legal/).
#### Does YouTube Video Scraper replace the YouTube Data API?
For most scraping use cases, yes. The official YouTube Data API v3 does not return transcripts, caps comments at 100 per call, and applies a 10,000-unit daily quota that runs out fast. YouTube Video Scraper returns transcripts with millisecond timestamps, unlimited comments with nested replies, and channel metadata in one call, with no quota and no Google OAuth.
#### Can I scrape YouTube transcripts without an API key?
Yes. You do not need a YouTube API key or a Google account. Pass one or more video URLs with `includeTranscript: true` and the scraper returns the transcript text plus per-segment `startMs`, `durationMs`, and `text`. Around 10 to 15% of videos have captions disabled by the creator, in which case `transcript: null` is returned at no charge.
#### How do I bulk-extract YouTube channel data?
Pass a list of video URLs from the channel (or videos that reference the channel) with `includeChannel: true`. Each record attaches subscriber count, video count, country, join date, total views, and external links. For pulling every video from a channel by handle or channel ID, use a dedicated YouTube channel scraper or feed the output of YouTube search into this actor.
#### What is the YouTube comments limit per video?
There is no hard comments limit. `maxCommentsPerVideo` defaults to 100 and accepts any positive integer. The scraper paginates YouTube's internal comments endpoint and returns top-level comments plus nested replies in the same response. Pulling 10,000 comments per video is supported if your Apify memory and run time allow it.
#### How much does YouTube Video Scraper cost?
Pay-per-event at $0.005 per video (metadata), $0.005 per transcript, $0.003 per channel, and $0.0005 per comment or reply. The Apify Free plan's $5 monthly credit covers about 1,000 metadata-only scrapes or 79 full bundles with 100 comments each. No subscription required.
#### Can I integrate YouTube Video Scraper with other tools?
Results push to Make, Zapier, Slack, Airbyte, GitHub, Google Sheets, and Google Drive. The Apify platform treats every actor as a webhook source, so any webhook or API consumer can read the output.
See [Apify integrations](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations) for the full list.
#### Can I use YouTube Video Scraper with the Apify API?
Yes. Every run is available via the Apify REST API. A minimal start-run call looks like this:
```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/tubelens~youtube-video-scraper/runs?token=APIFY_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"]}'
```
Full docs: [Apify API reference](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2).
#### Can I use YouTube Video Scraper through an MCP Server?
Yes. Apify ships an MCP server that exposes every actor as a tool, so Claude Desktop, Cursor, and any other MCP-capable client can call YouTube Video Scraper directly. Setup: [Apify MCP docs](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp).
#### Why does my video sometimes come back with no transcript?
Roughly 10 to 15% of videos have captions disabled by the creator or no captions in any language. When that happens, `transcript` returns `null` and no transcript charge is applied. The scraper first tries your preferred language (via `transcriptLanguage`), then auto-generated English, then the first available track. Live streams and unaired premieres also return no transcript, since captions appear only after the stream ends.
#### Can I scrape Shorts, live streams, and premieres?
Yes for Shorts. A Shorts URL works the same as a normal watch URL and returns the same fields. Live streams return metadata fine but usually have no transcript until the broadcast ends. Scheduled premieres that haven't aired yet return partial metadata with the `isLive` flag set so you can filter them out.
#### How many videos can I scrape per run?
No hard cap. Throughput is around 60 videos per minute on default memory, so a 3,000-URL run finishes in roughly 50 to 60 minutes. Videos process in parallel with built-in rate-limit backoff. If a run times out, restart with the remaining URLs.
### Your feedback
Ran into a bug or want a new field? Drop a note in the [Issues tab](https://console.apify.com/actors/gjIgee5mp98ukI5JM/issues). Reports are triaged within 7 days.
*Last updated: April 2026*
# Actor input Schema
## `videoUrls` (type: `array`):
YouTube video URLs or IDs. Accepts any format: watch URL, youtu.be, shorts, embed, or bare 11-char video ID.
## `includeMetadata` (type: `boolean`):
Title, description, views, likes, publish date, duration, category, thumbnails, tags. Always charged.
## `includeChannel` (type: `boolean`):
Channel name, handle, subscribers, video count, country, joined date, total views, external links.
## `includeTranscript` (type: `boolean`):
Full transcript with timestamps. Returns null if the video has no captions.
## `transcriptLanguage` (type: `string`):
Preferred transcript language (ISO 639-1). Falls back to auto-generated English, then first available.
## `includeComments` (type: `boolean`):
Scrape comments with replies. Disable for faster runs when comments aren't needed.
## `maxCommentsPerVideo` (type: `integer`):
Cap on comments per video. Includes reply threads. Set 0 to disable comments entirely.
## `commentSort` (type: `string`):
Top = most-liked first (default). Newest = most recent first.
## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):
Proxy settings. Apify Proxy (auto) is recommended. Paid plans can select DATACENTER or RESIDENTIAL for higher success rate at scale.
## Actor input object example
```json
{
"videoUrls": [
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
],
"includeMetadata": true,
"includeChannel": true,
"includeTranscript": true,
"transcriptLanguage": "en",
"includeComments": true,
"maxCommentsPerVideo": 100,
"commentSort": "top",
"proxyConfiguration": {
"useApifyProxy": true
}
}
```
# Actor output Schema
## `results` (type: `string`):
Scraped videos with full intelligence bundle.
# 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 '