# YouTube Scraper — Channels, Videos & Search (`cryptosignals/youtube-scraper`) Actor Scrape YouTube channels, videos, and search results. Get title, channel, views, likes, comments, duration, publish date, and description. Ideal for content research and creator analytics. PPE pricing — pay only for results. - **URL**: https://apify.com/cryptosignals/youtube-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Web Data Labs](https://apify.com/cryptosignals) (community) - **Categories:** Social media - **Stats:** 59 total users, 6 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing $10.00 / 1,000 result scrapeds 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? Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. - **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use). - **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`. - **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`. - **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`. - **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## YouTube Scraper — Channels, Videos & Search (No API Key Required) Extract YouTube channel data, video statistics, and search results — **no API key needed**. No Google Cloud account, no OAuth, no quota limits. Export to **JSON, CSV, Excel**, or connect via **Zapier / Make.com** integration. ### Why Use This YouTube Scraper? YouTube is the world's largest video platform with over 2 billion monthly active users. The official YouTube Data API requires a Google Cloud account, API key setup, and has strict quota limits. This scraper bypasses all of that — giving you the same data without any API key or setup. **No API key needed.** No Google Cloud account, no OAuth credentials, no quota limits. Just configure your input, run the actor, and download structured data. ### Features - **Channel scraping** — get subscriber counts, video lists, and channel metadata - **Video statistics** — views, likes, comments, duration, tags, descriptions, and more - **YouTube search** — search YouTube programmatically and get structured results - **No API key needed** — zero setup, no Google Cloud account, no OAuth, no quotas - **Fast & reliable** — handles rate limiting and anti-bot measures automatically - **JSON & CSV export** — download results in JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or RSS - **Zapier / Make.com integration** — connect to 5,000+ apps via webhooks - **Multiple URL formats** — supports @username, /c/channel, /channel/UC..., watch?v=, and youtu.be links - **Scheduled runs** — set up recurring scrapes to track channel growth and video performance ### Input Schema | Field | Type | Required | Default | Description | |-------|------|----------|---------|-------------| | `action` | string | Yes | `search` | One of: `channel`, `video`, `search` | | `url` | string | For channel/video | — | YouTube URL (channel or video) | | `query` | string | For search | — | Search query string | | `maxItems` | integer | No | `30` | Max results to return (default: 30, max: 200) | #### Action Types - **`channel`** — Scrape a YouTube channel's metadata and recent videos. Requires `url`. - **`video`** — Get complete metadata for a single YouTube video. Requires `url`. - **`search`** — Search YouTube and get structured results. Requires `query`. #### Example Inputs **Scrape a channel:** ```json { "action": "channel", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd", "maxItems": 30 } ``` **Get video details:** ```json { "action": "video", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" } ``` **Search YouTube:** ```json { "action": "search", "query": "python programming tutorial", "maxItems": 50 } ``` ### Output Schema #### Video Details Output ```json { "type": "video", "id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "channel": "Rick Astley", "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@RickAstleyYT", "views": 1752745940, "likes": 18859741, "comments": 2400000, "duration": 213, "durationString": "3:33", "uploadDate": "20091025", "description": "The official video for...", "tags": ["rick astley", "never gonna give you up"], "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg", "categories": ["Music"], "language": "en" } ``` #### Channel Video Output ```json { "type": "channelVideo", "channel": "MKBHD", "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd", "id": "D4QyStJWgCc", "title": "Nothing Phone 4A/Pro Review", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4QyStJWgCc", "views": 1204240, "duration": 724.0, "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/D4QyStJWgCc/hqdefault.jpg" } ``` #### Search Result Output ```json { "type": "searchResult", "query": "python tutorial", "id": "K5KVEU3aaeQ", "title": "Python Full Course for Beginners", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5KVEU3aaeQ", "channel": "Programming with Mosh", "views": 5756711, "duration": 7341.0, "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/K5KVEU3aaeQ/hqdefault.jpg" } ``` ### Code Examples #### Python ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN") ## Search YouTube run = client.actor("cryptosignals/youtube-scraper").call(run_input={ "action": "search", "query": "python programming tutorial", "maxItems": 50 }) ## Fetch results for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(f"{item['title']} — {item.get('views', 0):,} views") print(f" Channel: {item.get('channel', 'N/A')}") print(f" URL: {item['url']}") print("---") ``` ```python ## Get detailed video statistics run = client.actor("cryptosignals/youtube-scraper").call(run_input={ "action": "video", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" }) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(f"Title: {item['title']}") print(f"Views: {item['views']:,} | Likes: {item.get('likes', 0):,}") print(f"Duration: {item.get('durationString', 'N/A')}") print(f"Tags: {', '.join(item.get('tags', []))}") ``` ```python ## Scrape a channel's recent videos run = client.actor("cryptosignals/youtube-scraper").call(run_input={ "action": "channel", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd", "maxItems": 30 }) videos = list(client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items()) total_views = sum(v.get("views", 0) for v in videos) print(f"Channel: {videos[0].get('channel', 'Unknown')} | {len(videos)} videos | {total_views:,} total views") ``` #### JavaScript ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_API_TOKEN' }); // Search YouTube const run = await client.actor('cryptosignals/youtube-scraper').call({ action: 'search', query: 'machine learning explained', maxItems: 30 }); // Fetch results const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach(item => { console.log(`${item.title} — ${item.views?.toLocaleString()} views`); console.log(` Channel: ${item.channel} | ${item.url}`); }); ``` ```javascript // Get video details const videoRun = await client.actor('cryptosignals/youtube-scraper').call({ action: 'video', url: 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ' }); const { items: videos } = await client.dataset(videoRun.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); const video = videos[0]; console.log(`${video.title}`); console.log(`Views: ${video.views?.toLocaleString()} | Likes: ${video.likes?.toLocaleString()}`); console.log(`Duration: ${video.durationString} | Upload: ${video.uploadDate}`); ``` ### Use Cases #### Market Research & Competitor Analysis Track competitor channels, analyze their most popular videos, and discover trending content in your niche. Monitor view counts and engagement metrics over time. #### Content Creator Analytics Analyze any YouTube channel's performance — find their top-performing videos, track upload frequency, and benchmark against competitors. #### SEO & Keyword Research Search YouTube for keywords to understand what content ranks well. Find gaps in content coverage and discover high-demand topics with low competition. #### Influencer Marketing Evaluate YouTube influencers for sponsorship opportunities. Analyze subscriber counts, view-to-subscriber ratios, and content quality before reaching out. #### Academic Research & Data Science Collect YouTube data for academic studies, sentiment analysis, trend research, and social media analytics projects. #### Lead Generation Find YouTube channels in specific niches for outreach, sponsorship opportunities, or partnership development. Export channel data for your CRM. #### Social Media Monitoring Track brand mentions, product reviews, and industry discussions on YouTube with automated search queries. Set up recurring scrapes for ongoing monitoring. #### Podcast & Media Research Discover popular YouTube shows and interviews in your industry. Track episode frequency, guest appearances, and audience engagement. ### Supported URL Formats | Format | Example | |--------|---------| | @username | `https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd` | | /c/channel | `https://www.youtube.com/c/channelname` | | /channel/UC... | `https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBcRF18a7Qf58cCRy5xuWwQ` | | watch?v= | `https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ` | | youtu.be | `https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ` | ### Integrations Connect YouTube Scraper with your favorite tools: - **Zapier** — Trigger workflows when new data is scraped. Send YouTube data to Google Sheets, Slack, email, or 5,000+ apps. - **Make.com (Integromat)** — Build complex automation workflows with YouTube data as a trigger or data source. - **Google Sheets** — Export results directly to spreadsheets for collaborative analysis. - **Webhooks** — Send results to any HTTP endpoint in real-time. - **API** — Access results programmatically via the Apify API in Python, JavaScript, or any language. - **Scheduled runs** — Set up daily or weekly scraping schedules to track channel growth. ### FAQ #### Do I need a YouTube API key? No! This scraper works without any API key, OAuth credentials, or Google Cloud setup. No API key needed — it extracts data from YouTube's public pages directly. #### Is this scraper free to use? The scraper itself is free. You only pay for Apify platform compute time. Apify offers a free tier with $5 of monthly usage. #### How many results can I scrape? You can scrape up to 200 results per run for channel videos and search results. For single video details, each run returns one complete result. #### Can I export to CSV or JSON? Yes. Results are stored in an Apify dataset that can be exported to JSON, CSV, Excel (XLSX), XML, or RSS with a single click. You can also download via the API. #### Does this download videos? No. This scraper only extracts metadata (titles, views, likes, etc.). It does not download any video or audio content. #### How often is the data updated? Every run fetches fresh, real-time data directly from YouTube. There is no caching — you always get the latest statistics. #### Can I scrape private or unlisted videos? No. This scraper only works with publicly available YouTube content. #### Can I use this with Zapier or Make.com? Yes! Apify has native integrations with both Zapier and Make.com. Trigger workflows automatically whenever a scraping run completes. #### What output formats are available? You can download results in JSON, CSV, Excel (XLSX), XML, HTML, or RSS format. #### How does this compare to the YouTube Data API? The YouTube Data API requires a Google Cloud account, API key setup, and has a quota of 10,000 units/day. This scraper has no such limitations — no setup, no quotas, no API key needed. ### Avoiding YouTube Blocks & Rate Limits YouTube is one of the more aggressive platforms when it comes to blocking datacenter IP addresses. High-volume scraping from cloud infrastructure often results in CAPTCHAs, empty responses, or outright IP bans — even with reasonable request delays. Residential proxies solve this by routing requests through real ISP addresses that YouTube treats as normal browser traffic. I run my own YouTube scraping pipelines through [ThorData's residential proxy network](https://thordata.partnerstack.com/partner/0a0x4nzh) — their rotating IPs across 195+ countries mean each request appears to come from a different real user, which avoids the blocks you get with datacenter proxies. For light usage (a few hundred videos per day), the actor handles YouTube's limits fine on its own. Proxies become important when you're scaling up. ### Legal & Compliance This actor scrapes only **publicly available metadata** from YouTube. It does not download video or audio content, bypass access controls, or access any private data. **Important considerations:** - Comply with YouTube's Terms of Service and your local data protection laws (GDPR, CCPA, etc.) when using scraped data. - Do not use this tool for spam, harassment, or any illegal purpose. - The data extracted (view counts, titles, descriptions) is the same information visible to any YouTube visitor. - The actor does not download or store videos — it only extracts metadata and statistics. - For commercial use, consult your legal team regarding compliance with applicable regulations. - Respect content creators' intellectual property rights and privacy. This tool is intended for legitimate purposes such as market research, content analysis, competitive intelligence, academic study, and SEO research. ### Pricing This actor runs on the Apify platform. You pay only for compute usage — there are no additional fees for the actor itself. Apify offers a free tier with $5 of monthly usage. ### Limitations - Public content only — cannot access private, unlisted, or age-restricted videos - Maximum 200 results per run for channel videos and search - Metadata only — does not download video or audio files - YouTube may change their page structure — the actor uses yt-dlp for reliable extraction - Some video fields (tags, categories) may not be available for all videos *** ### Related Scrapers by CryptoSignals - [TikTok Scraper](https://apify.com/cryptosignals/tiktok-scraper) — Short-form video profiles & hashtags - [Pinterest Scraper](https://apify.com/cryptosignals/pinterest-scraper) — Visual content, pins & boards - [Reddit Scraper](https://apify.com/cryptosignals/reddit-scraper) — Community posts & discussions 👉 [See all our scrapers](https://apify.com/cryptosignals) # Actor input Schema ## `action` (type: `string`): What to scrape: 'channel' for channel info and videos, 'video' for single video details, 'search' for YouTube search results. ## `url` (type: `string`): YouTube URL for channel or video action. Examples: https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ ## `query` (type: `string`): Search query for the 'search' action. Leave empty to get trending videos instead. Example: 'python tutorial' ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of results to return (for channel videos or search results). ## Actor input object example ```json { "action": "channel", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd", "query": "python tutorial", "maxItems": 30 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `dataset` (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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "action": "channel", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd", "query": "python tutorial", "maxItems": 30 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("cryptosignals/youtube-scraper").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "action": "channel", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd", "query": "python tutorial", "maxItems": 30, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("cryptosignals/youtube-scraper").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 '{ "action": "channel", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd", "query": "python tutorial", "maxItems": 30 }' | apify call cryptosignals/youtube-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,cryptosignals/youtube-scraper" } } } ``` 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 ` 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/sFbG7McARSsRkofiT/builds/9jhg8tGuJWegK93Yo/openapi.json