YouTube Shorts Scraper - Extract Video Data & Analytics

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🎯 What is YouTube Shorts Scraper?

The YouTube Shorts Scraper is a powerful, automated tool designed to extract comprehensive video data from YouTube Shorts. Built with Apify's Actor platform, it provides detailed analytics including view counts, engagement metrics, channel information, and more.

This scraper is perfect for:

• Content Creators analyzing Shorts performance
• Digital Marketers researching trending content
• Data Analysts studying social media trends
• Researchers analyzing YouTube Shorts engagement patterns
• SEO Specialists understanding viral content factors

🚀 Key Features

📊 Comprehensive Data Extraction

• Video Details: Title, ID, URL, publish time
• Engagement Metrics: View count, like count, comment count
• Channel Information: Name, URL, subscriber count
• Performance Analytics: Real-time data from YouTube

🔄 Flexible Scraping Options

• Individual Shorts: Scrape specific YouTube Shorts URLs
• Channel Discovery: Automatically find and scrape all Shorts from a channel
• Batch Processing: Handle multiple URLs simultaneously
• Configurable Limits: Set maximum videos to scrape

⚡ High Performance

• Parallel Processing: Configurable concurrency for faster scraping
• Error Handling: Robust retry mechanism with configurable attempts
• Rate Limiting: Respectful scraping with built-in delays
• Scalable: Built on Apify's infrastructure for enterprise use

📈 Why Use YouTube Shorts Scraper?

Content Analysis & Research

• Analyze trending Shorts patterns and viral content
• Study engagement metrics across different niches
• Research competitor content strategies
• Identify high-performing video characteristics

Marketing Intelligence

• Track Shorts performance in your niche
• Monitor competitor channel growth
• Analyze viral content factors
• Generate content strategy insights

Data-Driven Decisions

• Identify trending topics and hashtags
• Understand audience engagement patterns
• Optimize content based on successful Shorts
• Track channel growth and subscriber metrics

🛠️ How to Use YouTube Shorts Scraper

Method 1: Individual Shorts Scraping

1. Prepare URLs: Collect YouTube Shorts URLs you want to analyze
2. Configure Settings: Set retry attempts and concurrency
3. Run Scraper: Execute the actor with your URLs
4. Download Results: Get structured JSON data with all metrics

Example Input:

{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iBOb2YTiU1Q",
    "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID_2"
  ],
  "maxRequestRetries": 3,
  "maxConcurrency": 10
}

Method 2: Channel Discovery Mode

1. Enable Channel Mode: Set toggleAllVideos to true
2. Provide Channel URL: Use format https://www.youtube.com/@channel/shorts
3. Set Limits: Configure maxVideos (default: 100)
4. Run Discovery: Automatically finds and scrapes all Shorts

Example Input:

{
  "toggleAllVideos": true,
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@channel/shorts",
  "maxVideos": 50,
  "maxRequestRetries": 3,
  "maxConcurrency": 10
}

📋 Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
startUrls	Array	Yes	[]	List of YouTube Shorts URLs to scrape
toggleAllVideos	Boolean	No	false	Enable channel discovery mode
channelUrl	String	No	""	Channel URL for discovery mode
maxVideos	Integer	No	100	Maximum Shorts to scrape from channel
maxRequestRetries	Integer	No	3	Retry attempts for failed requests
maxConcurrency	Integer	No	10	Parallel processing limit

📊 Output Data Structure

Each scraped Short returns comprehensive data:

{
  "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iBOb2YTiU1Q",
  "videoId": "iBOb2YTiU1Q",
  "videoTitle": "Aheey💃🏽💃🏽",
  "viewCount": "55,555",
  "likeCount": "2.3K",
  "commentCount": "33",
  "publishTime": "2 weeks ago",
  "channelName": "Lovie🧚‍♀️",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC69Ts8AVMew5oyph-x6PjDg",
  "channelNumberOfSubscribers": "112K"
}

Data Fields Explained

• videoUrl: Complete YouTube Shorts URL
• videoId: Unique YouTube video identifier
• videoTitle: Video title and description
• viewCount: Number of views (formatted)
• likeCount: Number of likes (formatted)
• commentCount: Number of comments
• publishTime: Time since publication
• channelName: Creator's channel name
• channelUrl: Channel's YouTube URL
• channelNumberOfSubscribers: Subscriber count (when available)

🔧 Technical Details

Built With

• Node.js: Modern JavaScript runtime
• Apify SDK: Professional web scraping framework
• Crawlee: Advanced web scraping library
• Axios: HTTP client for reliable requests

Architecture

• Modular Design: Clean, maintainable code structure
• Error Handling: Comprehensive error management
• Rate Limiting: Respectful scraping practices
• Data Validation: Ensures data quality and consistency

Performance Features

• Parallel Processing: Configurable concurrency for speed
• Retry Logic: Automatic retry for failed requests
• Memory Efficient: Optimized for large-scale scraping
• Scalable: Built for enterprise-level operations

📈 Use Cases & Applications

Content Creator Analytics

• Track your Shorts performance over time
• Analyze which content types perform best
• Monitor engagement trends and patterns
• Optimize posting times and content strategy

Competitive Analysis

• Research competitor Shorts strategies
• Identify trending content in your niche
• Analyze viral content characteristics
• Track competitor channel growth

Market Research

• Identify trending topics and hashtags
• Analyze audience engagement patterns
• Study content performance across niches
• Generate insights for content strategy

Data Science Projects

• Build machine learning models for content prediction
• Analyze social media trends and patterns
• Create engagement prediction algorithms
• Generate content optimization recommendations

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Apify account (free tier available)
• Node.js 18+ (for local development)
• Basic understanding of JSON data

Quick Start

1. Deploy Actor: Upload to Apify platform
2. Configure Input: Set your scraping parameters
3. Run Scraper: Execute the actor
4. Download Results: Get structured data in JSON format

📞 Support

• Documentation: Check this README for usage instructions
• Issues: Report bugs or feature requests issues tab

🔗 Related Projects

• YouTube Transcript Scraper PPR
• YouTube Transcript Scraper RENTAL
• YouTube Comments Scraper

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