# YouTube Channel Scraper — Latest Videos via RSS (No API Key) (`yadroo/youtube-channel-feed`) Actor

Latest videos of any YouTube channel or playlist without API key or quota: official RSS (15 latest, exact dates/views) or the public Videos/Shorts tab (~30/48 latest). Keyword, date and view filters, channel stats (subscribers, total views), per-video details (duration, likes, category).

- **URL**: https://apify.com/yadroo/youtube-channel-feed.md
- **Developed by:** [Samat Makatov](https://apify.com/yadroo) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, Social media, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.70 / 1,000 result items

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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 Scraper — latest videos, channel stats, no API key

Monitor any YouTube channel or playlist without the Data API, quota, browser or proxy. Reads the official RSS feed (15 latest videos with exact timestamps, view counts and descriptions) or the public Videos / Shorts tab (~30 / ~48 latest), optionally enriched with channel stats (subscribers, total views, country, links) and per-video details (duration, likes, category, keywords). Give a `@handle`, any channel URL, a `UC…` id or a `PL…` playlist id.

### Use cases

- **Competitor / creator monitoring** — daily run with `maxAgeDays: 1` over 50 channels; alert on new uploads that match `includeKeywords`.
- **Influencer lead-gen** — `includeChannelStats: true` to collect subscribers, total views, country and external links (site, Instagram, TikTok) for outreach lists.
- **Content research** — `source: "videos"`, `sort: "mostViewed"` to see which recent topics perform for each channel.
- **Shorts trend tracking** — `source: "shorts"` for the latest 48 Shorts with view counts.
- **Sponsorship due diligence** — `includeVideoDetails` for exact duration, likes and category of the last N videos.
- **Playlist sync** — feed a course or podcast playlist (`PL…`) into your CMS / vector DB whenever a new episode appears.

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `channels` | string\[] | — | `@handle`, `youtube.com/@x`, `/channel/UC…`, `/c/Name`, `/user/Name`, `UC…` id, `PL…`/`UU…` playlist id or playlist URL. |
| `source` | select | `rss` | `rss` (15 latest, exact data), `videos` (~30 latest uploads, approx. dates & rounded views, durations), `shorts` (~48 latest Shorts). Playlists always use RSS. |
| `limitPerChannel` | int | `15` | Max videos kept per entry (1–100; the source caps apply). |
| `includeKeywords` | string\[] | — | Keep videos whose title/description contains any (case-insensitive). |
| `excludeKeywords` | string\[] | — | Drop videos containing any. |
| `sinceDate` | date | — | Keep videos published on/after this date. |
| `maxAgeDays` | int | — | Keep videos newer than N days (good for scheduled runs). |
| `minViews` | int | — | Drop videos below this view count. |
| `sort` | select | `newest` | `newest`, `mostViewed`, `feed`. Applied before `limitPerChannel`. |
| `includeChannelStats` | bool | `false` | Fetch the About page: subscribers, video count, total views, country, joined, description, links, avatar. Emits one `type: "channel"` row per channel + `channel*` columns on videos. |
| `includeVideoDetails` | bool | `false` | Fetch each video page: `durationSec`, `likeCount`, `category`, `keywords`, exact `views`, `isLive`. |
| `maxDetailsPerChannel` | int | `5` | Budget for `includeVideoDetails` (0–50). |
| `descriptionLength` | int | `1000` | Truncate RSS descriptions (0 = drop). |
| `maxItems` | int | `1000` | Hard cap across all channels. |
| `dedupe` | bool | `true` | Skip a `videoId` already emitted by an earlier entry. |

### Reference

#### What each source gives you

| Field | `rss` | `videos` tab | `shorts` tab | + `includeVideoDetails` |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| items | ≤ 15 | ≈ 30 | ≈ 48 | — |
| `publishedAt` (exact ISO) | yes | no (`publishedAtApprox` from "3 days ago") | no | yes (`publishDate`) |
| `views` | exact | rounded ("572K") | rounded | exact |
| `description` | yes (truncated) | no | no | no |
| `durationSec` | no | yes | no | yes |
| `rating` / `ratingCount` | yes | no | no | `likeCount` |
| `category`, `keywords`, `isLive` | no | no | no | yes |

#### Accepted channel references

| Input | Example |
|---|---|
| Handle | `@Fireship`, `Fireship` |
| Channel URL | `https://www.youtube.com/@Fireship/videos`, `/channel/UCsBjURrPoezykLs9EqgamOA`, `/c/Fireship`, `/user/GoogleDevelopers` |
| Channel id | `UCsBjURrPoezykLs9EqgamOA` |
| Playlist | `PLrAXtmErZgOeiKm4sgNOknGvNjby9efdf`, `https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL…`, uploads playlist `UU…` |

### Examples

**Daily "what's new" across a watchlist**

```json
{ "channels": ["@Fireship", "@aiDotEngineer", "@lexfridman"], "maxAgeDays": 1 }
```

**Influencer outreach list with stats and links**

```json
{ "channels": ["@Fireship", "@ThePrimeagen", "@t3dotgg"], "includeChannelStats": true, "limitPerChannel": 3 }
```

**Top-performing recent videos per channel**

```json
{ "channels": ["@Fireship"], "source": "videos", "sort": "mostViewed", "limitPerChannel": 10, "includeVideoDetails": true, "maxDetailsPerChannel": 10 }
```

**Keyword watch: reviews mentioning a product**

```json
{ "channels": ["@mkbhd", "@UnboxTherapy"], "includeKeywords": ["iPhone", "Pixel"], "excludeKeywords": ["#shorts"], "maxAgeDays": 30 }
```

**Latest Shorts**

```json
{ "channels": ["@Fireship"], "source": "shorts", "limitPerChannel": 20 }
```

### Output

Video row (RSS + details):

```json
{
  "type": "video",
  "input": "https://www.youtube.com/@Fireship",
  "kind": "channel",
  "source": "rss",
  "playlistId": null,
  "channelId": "UCsBjURrPoezykLs9EqgamOA",
  "channelTitle": "Fireship",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsBjURrPoezykLs9EqgamOA",
  "channelHandle": "@Fireship",
  "channelSubscribers": 4270000,
  "channelVideoCount": 841,
  "channelTotalViews": 744056340,
  "videoId": "FluKUJyeYD8",
  "title": "Did OpenAI actually build AGI? GPT-6 Astra first look",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FluKUJyeYD8",
  "publishedAt": "2026-09-04T20:14:12+00:00",
  "updatedAt": "2026-09-11T22:17:40+00:00",
  "description": "CodeRabbit Security protects your code…",
  "thumbnail": "https://i3.ytimg.com/vi/FluKUJyeYD8/hqdefault.jpg",
  "views": 3999521,
  "rating": 5,
  "ratingCount": 45194,
  "durationSec": 446,
  "likeCount": 45194,
  "category": "Science & Technology",
  "keywords": ["webdev", "app development"],
  "isLive": false,
  "isShort": false,
  "detailsFetched": true,
  "fetchedAt": "2026-09-12T23:41:12.086Z"
}
```

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `type` | `video` or `channel` (stats row, only with `includeChannelStats`). |
| `input`, `kind`, `source` | What you passed, `channel`/`playlist`, and which source produced the row. |
| `channelId`, `channelTitle`, `channelUrl`, `channelHandle` | Resolved channel identity. |
| `channelSubscribers`, `channelVideoCount`, `channelTotalViews`, `channelCountry` | From About page (`includeChannelStats`), else `null`. `channelCountry` is `null` when the channel does not publish a country (common). |
| `videoId`, `title`, `url`, `thumbnail` | Video identity. |
| `publishedAt` / `publishedAtApprox` / `publishedText` | Exact ISO (RSS/details) or approximate from relative text (tabs). |
| `views`, `viewsText`, `rating`, `ratingCount`, `likeCount` | Engagement. |
| `durationSec`, `durationText`, `isShort`, `isLive`, `category`, `keywords` | From tab / details. |
| `description` | RSS description, truncated to `descriptionLength`. |

Channel row (`type: "channel"`) adds `channelDescription`, `channelJoined`, `channelAvatar`, `channelKeywords`, `channelLinks[]`, `channelIsFamilySafe` and the raw `subscribersText` / `videoCountText` / `totalViewsText`. Key-value record `SUMMARY`: `{ videos, channels, source, errors[] }`.

### Use it from code / agents

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/yadroo~youtube-channel-feed/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"channels":["@Fireship"],"maxAgeDays":7}'
```

```js
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('yadroo/youtube-channel-feed').call({ channels: ['@aiDotEngineer'], includeChannelStats: true });
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
```

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient(os.environ["APIFY_TOKEN"])
run = client.actor("yadroo/youtube-channel-feed").call(run_input={"channels": ["@Fireship"], "source": "videos", "sort": "mostViewed"})
items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items
```

MCP: connect `https://mcp.apify.com` and call the `yadroo/youtube-channel-feed` tool with the same JSON.

### Pricing

Pay per event: **$0.001 per run start + $0.001 per video**. Channel-stats rows are billed like videos. Typical: 10 channels × 15 videos = 150 rows ≈ $0.15; a daily `maxAgeDays: 1` watchlist usually yields a handful of rows, under $0.01.

### Limits & FAQ

- **Only 15 videos?** That is YouTube's RSS cap. Use `source: "videos"` (~30) or `"shorts"` (~48); for full back-catalogues use a full YouTube scraper.
- **Approximate dates on tabs.** The Videos/Shorts tabs only show "3 days ago"; `publishedAtApprox` is computed from that. Turn on `includeVideoDetails` for exact dates on the videos you care about.
- **Rate limits / blocks.** 0.5–0.6 s pauses between page fetches, 3 retries with backoff on 429/5xx. Heavy `includeVideoDetails` budgets on many channels are the only way to get throttled — keep them ≤ 10.
- **Private / deleted / renamed.** 404 → clear error for that entry in `SUMMARY.errors`; the run continues with the others and fails only if nothing at all was fetched.
- **Members-only / age-restricted videos** may miss details.
- **Roadmap.** Comments count, transcript availability flag, uploads-playlist paging for older videos.

***

Made by **Yadroo** · Sibling actors: [google-news-search](https://apify.com/yadroo/google-news-search) · [rss-to-json](https://apify.com/yadroo/rss-to-json) · [hackernews-search](https://apify.com/yadroo/hackernews-search) · [crypto-news](https://apify.com/yadroo/crypto-news)

# Actor input Schema

## `channels` (type: `array`):

Any of: `@handle`, channel URL (`youtube.com/@x`, `/channel/UC…`, `/c/Name`, `/user/Name`), channel id `UC…`, playlist id `PL…`/`UU…` or a playlist URL. One feed per entry.

## `source` (type: `string`):

Where to read videos from. RSS is the official feed (exact timestamps, exact views, description). The Videos/Shorts tabs are parsed from the public channel page and give more items but only relative dates ("3 days ago") and rounded views. Playlists always use RSS.

## `limitPerChannel` (type: `integer`):

RSS exposes at most 15 per feed; `videos` ≈30; `shorts` ≈48.

## `includeKeywords` (type: `array`):

Case-insensitive filter, e.g. `["review", "unboxing"]`.

## `excludeKeywords` (type: `array`):

Case-insensitive, e.g. `["#shorts", "trailer"]`.

## `sinceDate` (type: `string`):

Keep videos published on/after this date (YYYY-MM-DD or ISO-8601).

## `maxAgeDays` (type: `integer`):

Alternative to sinceDate: keep only videos newer than N days. Great for scheduled "what's new" runs.

## `minViews` (type: `integer`):

Drop videos below this view count.

## `sort` (type: `string`):

Order applied before the per-channel limit.

## `includeChannelStats` (type: `boolean`):

Fetch the channel's public About page: subscribers, total videos, total views, country, joined date, description, links, avatar. Adds one `type: "channel"` row per channel and `channel*` columns on every video. +1 request per channel.

## `includeVideoDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Fetch each video's watch page for exact `durationSec`, `likeCount`, `category`, `keywords`, exact `views`, `isLive`. +1 request per video (see budget below).

## `maxDetailsPerChannel` (type: `integer`):

How many videos per channel get the detail fetch (the newest / top-sorted ones).

## `descriptionLength` (type: `integer`):

Truncate RSS descriptions to N characters (0 = drop).

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap across all channels.

## `dedupe` (type: `boolean`):

Skip a video already emitted by an earlier entry (e.g. channel + its own playlist).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "channels": [
    "@aiDotEngineer",
    "UCsBjURrPoezykLs9EqgamOA"
  ],
  "source": "rss",
  "limitPerChannel": 15,
  "sort": "newest",
  "includeChannelStats": false,
  "includeVideoDetails": false,
  "maxDetailsPerChannel": 5,
  "descriptionLength": 1000,
  "maxItems": 1000,
  "dedupe": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

## `summary` (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 = {
    "channels": [
        "@aiDotEngineer",
        "UCsBjURrPoezykLs9EqgamOA"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("yadroo/youtube-channel-feed").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 = { "channels": [
        "@aiDotEngineer",
        "UCsBjURrPoezykLs9EqgamOA",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("yadroo/youtube-channel-feed").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 '{
  "channels": [
    "@aiDotEngineer",
    "UCsBjURrPoezykLs9EqgamOA"
  ]
}' |
apify call yadroo/youtube-channel-feed --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/9jggRARRNgj5fSaD9/builds/Vos8QGOyWE7hQdSu1/openapi.json