# YouTube Channel Info Scraper (`vakitek/youtube-channel-info`) Actor

Get subscribers, total views, join date, country, links and About page data for any YouTube channel, from a URL, handle, id or video link. 0.80 USD per 1,000 channels, free on duplicates and errors.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/vakitek/youtube-channel-info.md
- **Developed by:** [Brahim Sliti](https://apify.com/vakitek) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, Social media
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.80 / 1,000 channel info results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

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

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## YouTube Channel Info Scraper

Give it YouTube channel URLs, handles or ids, get back one row per channel with subscribers, total views, join date, country, links and About page data. You only pay for the channels that are actually found.

A channel that does not exist, or the same channel entered twice, still comes back in the dataset, for free.

### What people use it for

- **Market research.** Paste a list of competitor channels and get subscriber counts, total views and countries in one table.
- **Influencer vetting.** Check a creator's subscriber count, join date and whether they are verified before reaching out.
- **CRM enrichment.** You have channel URLs in a sheet and want the stats next to them.
- **Monitoring.** Track a channel's subscriber and view counts over time by running this on a schedule.

### How to use it

1. Add your channels in **Channel URLs / handles / ids**, one per line. Any of these works:
   - a handle: `@mkbhd` or `mkbhd`
   - a channel URL: `https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium`, `/channel/UC...`, `/c/...` or `/user/...`
   - a channel id: `UCBJycsmduvYEL83R_U4JriQ`
   - a video URL (we return the channel that posted it)
2. Click **Start**. Export as JSON, CSV or Excel, or pull the results through the API.

```json
{
  "startUrls": ["@veritasium", "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBJycsmduvYEL83R_U4JriQ"]
}
```

### What you get

```json
{
  "channelName": "Veritasium",
  "channelId": "UCHnyfMqiRRG1u-2MsSQLbXA",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@veritasium",
  "channelUsername": "veritasium",
  "channelHandle": "@veritasium",
  "numberOfSubscribers": 21300000,
  "channelTotalVideos": 536,
  "channelTotalViews": 4591074590,
  "channelJoinedDate": "2010-07-21T00:00:00.000Z",
  "channelLocation": "United States",
  "channelDescription": "An element of truth.",
  "channelDescriptionLinks": [{ "text": "Patreon", "url": "https://patreon.com/veritasium" }],
  "channelKeywords": ["science videos", "science", "veritasium"],
  "isFamilySafe": true,
  "hasHiddenBusinessEmail": true,
  "isChannelVerified": true,
  "isAgeRestricted": false,
  "input": "@veritasium"
}
```

- `numberOfSubscribers`, `channelTotalVideos`, `channelTotalViews`: the channel's own stats, as plain numbers.
- `channelLocation`: the country set on the channel's About page, or `null` when the creator did not set one.
- `channelDescriptionLinks`: every custom link on the About page, with its label and URL.
- `hasHiddenBusinessEmail`: `true` when the channel has a business email that YouTube keeps behind a sign-in + captcha button we never click. `null` when we could not tell.
- `channelKeywords`: the tags the creator set for search, often empty.

### Pricing

**0.80 USD per 1,000 channels found.** No monthly fee, no charge for the Apify platform usage on top. A channel that does not exist, or that resolves to one you already got in the same run, is free.

Example: 1,000 distinct channel URLs costs 0.80 USD.

### Good to know

- You don't need a proxy, a YouTube account or an API key.
- Want the channel's videos and Shorts too? See our YouTube Channel Scraper.
- Want the channel's business email? See our YouTube Channel Email Finder.

### Use it from n8n, Make or an API

- **Small inputs**: call `run-sync-get-dataset-items` and read the items back directly. Set **Time budget (seconds)** (default 240) to how long you are willing to wait: the actor stops starting new lookups before that point and returns what it already has, so you never hit Apify's 300 second run-sync limit. Any channel left unfinished comes back as a `TIME_BUDGET_EXCEEDED` row instead of being silently dropped.
- **Big inputs**: start the run with `POST /v2/acts/vakitek~youtube-channel-info/runs`, poll `GET /v2/actor-runs/<runId>` (or add `waitForFinish=60`) until the status is `SUCCEEDED`, then read `GET /v2/datasets/<datasetId>/items`. Set **Time budget (seconds)** to `0` (no limit) for this pattern.

### Errors

A bad input never crashes the run. It becomes a row with an `error` code, and you are not charged for it.

| `error` | What happened | Retry? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `NOT_FOUND` | The handle, URL or id doesn't match a real channel | No |
| `INVALID_URL` | The input isn't a channel handle, id, URL, or a video URL we can resolve to a channel | No |
| `INVALID_INPUT` | An option value is invalid | No |
| `DUPLICATE` | Two different inputs resolved to the same channel; the second one is free | No |
| `BLOCKED` | YouTube refused us for now, even after trying every proxy tier | Yes |
| `UPSTREAM_ERROR` | Something went wrong on YouTube's side or ours | Yes |
| `UPSTREAM_UNAVAILABLE` | Our API was unreachable | Yes |
| `TIME_BUDGET_EXCEEDED` | The time budget ran out before this channel finished | Yes |

Some rows also carry a `legacyError` field with the old, pre-unification code name (for example `CHANNEL_NOT_FOUND`) so a pipeline still matching on it keeps working while it migrates to `error`.

### FAQ

**I already use another YouTube channel info actor. Do I have to change my code?**
No. The output field names match the most used channel info actor on the Store, so switching needs no pipeline changes.

**Can I call it from my code or from an AI agent?**
Yes, like any Apify actor: REST API, the Python and JavaScript clients, or the Apify MCP server. The examples are in the API tab.

**Something broke?**
Open an issue on this page. We read every one and usually answer within a day.

# Changelog

This Actor's version history is a separate document: https://apify.com/vakitek/youtube-channel-info/changelog.md

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

YouTube channel URLs (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd), bare handles (@mkbhd), channel ids (UC...), or a video URL (we return the channel that posted it).

## `timeBudgetSecs` (type: `integer`):

Stop and return what is ready after this many seconds, so n8n/Make run-sync calls never time out. 0 = no limit.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd"
  ],
  "timeBudgetSecs": 240
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

One row per channel: subscribers, views, join date, country, links and About page data. Error items carry an `error` code and the `input` that failed.

# 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 = {
    "startUrls": [
        "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("vakitek/youtube-channel-info").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 = { "startUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("vakitek/youtube-channel-info").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd"
  ]
}' |
apify call vakitek/youtube-channel-info --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,vakitek/youtube-channel-info"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/tmZbZhTgiehfintO0/builds/gj1caSm4d63KDPU45/openapi.json