# YouTube Hashtag Generator (`w3crawler/youtube-hashtag-generator`) Actor

Collect currently observed YouTube hashtag signals from autocomplete and YouTube search pages. Evidence is retained with every result; ranks are evidence ranks, not popularity claims.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/w3crawler/youtube-hashtag-generator.md
- **Developed by:** [w3crawler](https://apify.com/w3crawler) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.99 / 1,000 hashtags

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

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

## Evidence-backed Public YouTube Hashtag Signals

Collect hashtags currently observed in YouTube's public autocomplete response or public search-page HTML. The actor keeps the exact observation behind each result and ranks by the number of distinct public signal types and observations. It does not estimate search volume, invent tags, or claim popularity/trending status.

### Input

| Field | Default | Description |
|---|---:|---|
| `topics` | — | Required; 1–20 distinct topics, 2–120 characters. |
| `locale` | `en-US` | Public page locale, such as `en-US`, `hi-IN`, or `fr`. |
| `limit` | `20` | Maximum evidence-backed hashtags per topic, 1–50. |
| `includeDiagnostics` | `true` | Emit exact four-field diagnostics for failed requests. |
| `enableProxyFallback` | `true` | Try account-authorized Apify Proxy after direct access fails. |
| `maxRetries` | `2` | Bounded retry attempts per public request. |
| `requestDelayMs` | `250` | Delay between requests, 0–5000 ms. |
| `requestTimeoutSecs` | `60` | Public request timeout, 15–180 seconds. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | — | Optional standard Apify Proxy configuration; proxy URLs must be credential-free. |

Example:

```json
{
  "topics": ["travel vlog", "solo travel"],
  "locale": "en-US",
  "limit": 20,
  "includeDiagnostics": true,
  "enableProxyFallback": true
}
```

Each dataset row includes the topic, normalized hashtag, evidence rank/details, distinct signal sources, observation counts split between autocomplete and search HTML, public evidence URLs and timestamps, locale, and extraction/source metadata. The `OUTPUT` key-value record contains request, item, proxy, failure, and timing counts. Diagnostics contain only `url`, `error`, `errorCode`, and `scrapedAt`.

Run locally with `apify run --purge --input-file qa-inputs/youtube-hashtag-generator/local-validation.json`, inspect `storage/datasets/default/`, and run `npm test` and `npm run validate-dataset`. Deploy with `apify push`, then verify direct and proxy cloud calls.

# Changelog

This Actor's version history is a separate document: https://apify.com/w3crawler/youtube-hashtag-generator/changelog.md

# Actor input Schema

## `topics` (type: `array`):

One to 20 distinct topics.

## `locale` (type: `string`):

Public page locale such as en-US, hi-IN, or fr.

## `limit` (type: `integer`):

Maximum evidence-backed hashtags per topic, 1–50.

## `includeDiagnostics` (type: `boolean`):

Store exact four-field diagnostics for failed public requests.

## `enableProxyFallback` (type: `boolean`):

Try the configured account-authorized Apify Proxy route after direct access fails.

## `maxRetries` (type: `integer`):

Bounded retries after a failed public request.

## `requestDelayMs` (type: `integer`):

Bounded delay between public requests.

## `requestTimeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

Timeout for one public request.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional standard Apify Proxy configuration. Proxy URLs must be credential-free.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "topics": [
    "travel vlog"
  ],
  "locale": "en-US",
  "limit": 20,
  "includeDiagnostics": true,
  "enableProxyFallback": true,
  "maxRetries": 2,
  "requestDelayMs": 250,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 60,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

No description

## `keyValueStore` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 = {
    "topics": [
        "travel vlog"
    ],
    "locale": "en-US",
    "limit": 20,
    "includeDiagnostics": true,
    "enableProxyFallback": true,
    "maxRetries": 2,
    "requestDelayMs": 250,
    "requestTimeoutSecs": 60,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": false
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("w3crawler/youtube-hashtag-generator").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 = {
    "topics": ["travel vlog"],
    "locale": "en-US",
    "limit": 20,
    "includeDiagnostics": True,
    "enableProxyFallback": True,
    "maxRetries": 2,
    "requestDelayMs": 250,
    "requestTimeoutSecs": 60,
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("w3crawler/youtube-hashtag-generator").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 '{
  "topics": [
    "travel vlog"
  ],
  "locale": "en-US",
  "limit": 20,
  "includeDiagnostics": true,
  "enableProxyFallback": true,
  "maxRetries": 2,
  "requestDelayMs": 250,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 60,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}' |
apify call w3crawler/youtube-hashtag-generator --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,w3crawler/youtube-hashtag-generator"
        }
    }
}
```

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/wocnrLW86K5O5em2A/builds/30VhXVG4fG4lPkFHs/openapi.json