# YouTube Comments (`datasaurus/youtube-comments`) Actor
Scrape YouTube Video and YouTube Shorts Comments and Replies without limits. Fast and Reliable. Extract author details, published date, like count, viewer rating reply count, video details, channel details. Link Comments and Replies via cascading id numbers.
- **URL**: https://apify.com/datasaurus/youtube-comments.md
- **Developed by:** [datasaurus](https://apify.com/datasaurus) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Videos, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 70 total users, 17 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 5 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars
## Pricing
$0.50 / 1,000 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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event
## What's an Apify Actor?
Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
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.
In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):
```bash
npm install apify-client
```
In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):
```bash
pip install apify-client
```
In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):
````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash
In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).
If your project is in a different language, use 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 Comments Scraper
A powerful tool for extracting YouTube comments, replies, and engagement metrics.
### 🎯 Data Extraction
- Comment text in (HTML and plain text formats)
- Author information
- Channel information
- Published and lasted updated timestamps
- Engagement metrics (likes, reply counts)
- Comment thread information
### 📊 Purpose
- Content analysis
- Audience engagement tracking
- Social media research
- Community management
- Sentiment analysis
- Market research
### 🚀 Getting Started
1. Create your Apify account
2. Input video URLs or IDs
3. Run and collect your data
### 📥 Input Parameters
```json
{
"video_urls": [
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W001vfAvNvg",
"www.youtube.com/shorts/3VdiAJvpAuA",
"W001vfAvNvg",
"3VdiAJvpAuA"
],
"max_results": 100,
"order": "relevance",
"moderation_status": "published"
}
````
### 📤 Output Fields
```json
{
"id": "Ugx_HZFD2Q-sGU-3CdZ4AaABAg",
"commentHtml": "Hey guys, how do you like the Bonin Islands so far?! 🐋 Download 'SeaPeople App' to stay up to date with our journey in real time (it's FREE!): https://dashboard.seapeopleapp.com/group/8bd5246f-8395-49a4-ba02-94ae5cfa49c8?utm_source=SLV&utm_medium=YT&utm_campaign=Jan+2024+update",
"comment": "Hey guys, how do you like the Bonin Islands so far?! 🐋 Download 'SeaPeople App' to stay up to date with our journey in real time (it's FREE!): https://dashboard.seapeopleapp.com/group/8bd5246f-8395-49a4-ba02-94ae5cfa49c8?utm_source=SLV&utm_medium=YT&utm_campaign=Jan+2024+update",
"author": "@SailingLaVagabonde",
"publishedAt": "2025-04-28T19:40:21Z",
"updatedAt": "2025-04-28T19:40:21Z",
"likeCount": 155,
"canRate": true,
"viewerRating": null,
"canReply": true,
"totalReplyCount": 7,
"isTopLevelComment": "TopLevelComment",
"parentCommentId": null,
"authorChannelId": "UCZdQjaSoLjIzFnWsDQOv4ww",
"authorIsChannelOwner": true,
"authorChannelUrl": "http://www.youtube.com/@SailingLaVagabonde",
"authorProfileImageUrl": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/idehYrFJqFfE-LL6offHIhZJlc28vwSd881LKYH-F9vEgtUWTpmDLbiZ08nD6_w_3a89R7hE=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
"videoId": "W001vfAvNvg",
"videoTitle": "7 days at Sea to find THIS! (Raw, Unfiltered cut)",
"channelId": "UCZdQjaSoLjIzFnWsDQOv4ww",
"channelTitle": "Sailing La Vagabonde"
}
```
### 💡 Key Advantages
- Scrape comments and replies from both YouTube Videos and YouTube Shorts
- No proxies required
- Maintains comment threading structure
- Exports in multiple formats (JSON, CSV, Excel)
- Rate limit compliance
### ✏️ API Access
Access via Apify's API:
- RESTful endpoints
- SDK integration
- Webhook support
- Automated workflows
Full API documentation is available on the Apify platform.
\*Keywords: YouTube comments, data extraction, API integration, social media analytics, engagement metrics, content analysis
# Actor input Schema
## `video_urls` (type: `array`):
YouTube video URLs or IDs
e.g. www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwRjEruEsm4/ or
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3VdiAJvpAuA or
YwRjEruEsm4.
You can add multiple video urls or ids.
## `moderation_status` (type: `string`):
Limit the returned comment threads to a specific moderation status.
## `order` (type: `string`):
Result Order - results appear by relevance (most relvant first) or published date (latest first).
## `max_results` (type: `integer`):
Maximum number of top-level comments to scrape per video. Replies to these comments are also scraped in addition meaning that the total results returned will be greater than this number.
## Actor input object example
```json
{
"video_urls": [
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W001vfAvNvg",
"www.youtube.com/shorts/3VdiAJvpAuA",
"dZujTBh7M7M"
],
"max_results": 25
}
```
# Actor output Schema
## `results` (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 = {
"video_urls": [
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W001vfAvNvg",
"www.youtube.com/shorts/3VdiAJvpAuA",
"dZujTBh7M7M"
]
};
// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("datasaurus/youtube-comments").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 = { "video_urls": [
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W001vfAvNvg",
"www.youtube.com/shorts/3VdiAJvpAuA",
"dZujTBh7M7M",
] }
# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("datasaurus/youtube-comments").call(run_input=run_input)
# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
print(item)
# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start
```
## CLI example
```bash
echo '{
"video_urls": [
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W001vfAvNvg",
"www.youtube.com/shorts/3VdiAJvpAuA",
"dZujTBh7M7M"
]
}' |
apify call datasaurus/youtube-comments --silent --output-dataset
```
## MCP server setup
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=datasaurus/youtube-comments",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer "
]
}
}
}
```
## OpenAPI specification
```json
{
"openapi": "3.0.1",
"info": {
"title": "YouTube Comments",
"description": "Scrape YouTube Video and YouTube Shorts Comments and Replies without limits. Fast and Reliable. Extract author details, published date, like count, viewer rating reply count, video details, channel details. Link Comments and Replies via cascading id numbers.",
"version": "0.1",
"x-build-id": "bhi8bSXRStgaVuaiN"
},
"servers": [
{
"url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
}
],
"paths": {
"/acts/datasaurus~youtube-comments/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-datasaurus-youtube-comments",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
},
"/acts/datasaurus~youtube-comments/runs": {
"post": {
"operationId": "runs-sync-datasaurus-youtube-comments",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK",
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
}
}
}
}
}
}
},
"/acts/datasaurus~youtube-comments/run-sync": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-datasaurus-youtube-comments",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
}
},
"components": {
"schemas": {
"inputSchema": {
"type": "object",
"required": [
"video_urls"
],
"properties": {
"video_urls": {
"title": "Videos - URLs or video IDs",
"uniqueItems": true,
"type": "array",
"description": "YouTube video URLs or IDs\ne.g. www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwRjEruEsm4/ or\nhttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/3VdiAJvpAuA or\nYwRjEruEsm4.\nYou can add multiple video urls or ids.",
"default": [
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W001vfAvNvg"
],
"items": {
"type": "string"
}
},
"moderation_status": {
"title": "Moderation Status",
"enum": [
"published",
"heldForReview",
"likelySpam",
"rejected"
],
"type": "string",
"description": "Limit the returned comment threads to a specific moderation status."
},
"order": {
"title": "Result Order",
"enum": [
"relevance",
"time"
],
"type": "string",
"description": "Result Order - results appear by relevance (most relvant first) or published date (latest first)."
},
"max_results": {
"title": "Max Top-Level Comments per Video - note that replies are also scrapped and so the total results returned can be much greater than this number",
"minimum": 25,
"type": "integer",
"description": "Maximum number of top-level comments to scrape per video. Replies to these comments are also scraped in addition meaning that the total results returned will be greater than this number.",
"default": 25
}
}
},
"runsResponseSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"data": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"id": {
"type": "string"
},
"actId": {
"type": "string"
},
"userId": {
"type": "string"
},
"startedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"finishedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"status": {
"type": "string",
"example": "READY"
},
"meta": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"origin": {
"type": "string",
"example": "API"
},
"userAgent": {
"type": "string"
}
}
},
"stats": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"inputBodyLen": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2000
},
"rebootCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"restartCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"resurrectCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"computeUnits": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"options": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"build": {
"type": "string",
"example": "latest"
},
"timeoutSecs": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 300
},
"memoryMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1024
},
"diskMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2048
}
}
},
"buildId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultDatasetId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultRequestQueueId": {
"type": "string"
},
"buildNumber": {
"type": "string",
"example": "1.0.0"
},
"containerUrl": {
"type": "string"
},
"usage": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"usageTotalUsd": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"usageUsd": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
```