# YouTube Channel & Contact Scraper (`jasondev/youtube-channel-contact`) Actor

Scrapes YouTube channels for public metadata and contact details (emails in description, social links, website).

- **URL**: https://apify.com/jasondev/youtube-channel-contact.md
- **Developed by:** [Jason Giang](https://apify.com/jasondev) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Agents, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 3 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 results

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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#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 Channel & Contact Scraper

Apify actor that scrapes a YouTube channel's public **About** page and returns:

- Channel metadata (handle, channel ID, country, join date, subscriber/view/video counts, avatar, banner, RSS feed)
- All public links the creator has listed (auto-classified by platform: twitter, instagram, tiktok, website, etc.)
- Email addresses found in the description and link list
- A best-effort guess at whether the channel is **managed by an MCN, talent agency, or network**, with confidence level and the signal that triggered the match

No YouTube Data API key required. Scrapes the public `/@handle/about` page and parses YouTube's embedded `ytInitialData` JSON.

***

### Input

| Field | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `channels` | `string[]` | yes | — | Channel URLs, `@handles`, custom names, or channel IDs (`UC…`). All forms are accepted; see examples below. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | `object` | no | `{ useApifyProxy: true }` | Apify proxy config. Recommended for non-trivial volumes. |
| `maxConcurrency` | `integer` | no | `5` | Number of channels fetched in parallel (1–50). |

Accepted channel formats:

```json
{
  "channels": [
    "@MrBeast",
    "https://youtube.com/@LinusTechTips",
    "UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA",
    "veritasium"
  ]
}
```

***

### Output

One record per input channel pushed to the default dataset. Failed inputs produce `{ input, error, scrapedAt }` records so nothing is silently dropped.

#### Sample successful record

```json
{
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@LinusTechTips/about",
  "channelId": "UCXuqSBlHAE6Xw-yeJA0Tunw",
  "handle": "@LinusTechTips",
  "title": "Linus Tech Tips",
  "description": "Tech can be complicated; we try to make it easy. …",
  "canonicalUrl": "http://www.youtube.com/@LinusTechTips",
  "country": "Canada",
  "joinedDate": "Joined Nov 24, 2008",
  "subscriberCount": "16.6M subscribers",
  "videoCount": "6,729 videos",
  "viewCount": "7,438,210,001 views",
  "keywords": "linus tech tips ltt …",
  "avatarUrl": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/…",
  "bannerUrl": "https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/…",
  "rssUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UCXuqSBlHAE6Xw-yeJA0Tunw",
  "links": [
    { "title": "LTT Store",  "url": "https://www.lttstore.com/" },
    { "title": "Floatplane", "url": "https://www.floatplane.com/" },
    { "title": "Twitter",    "url": "https://twitter.com/linustech" }
  ],
  "socials": {
    "website":   ["https://www.lttstore.com/", "https://www.floatplane.com/"],
    "twitter":   ["https://twitter.com/linustech"],
    "facebook":  ["https://www.facebook.com/LinusTech"],
    "instagram": ["https://www.instagram.com/linustech"],
    "tiktok":    ["https://www.tiktok.com/@linustech"]
  },
  "emails": ["partnerships@linusmediagroup.com"],
  "network": {
    "name": "Linus Media Group",
    "confidence": "high",
    "signals": [
      { "type": "email_domain",  "evidence": "partnerships@linusmediagroup.com" },
      { "type": "link_hostname", "evidence": "https://www.linusmediagroup.com/" }
    ]
  },
  "otherNetworkMatches": [],
  "likelyAgencyManaged": true,
  "agencyEmailDomain": "linusmediagroup.com",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-05-08T16:28:24.189Z"
}
```

#### Output field reference

| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| `sourceUrl` | string | The `/about` URL fetched. |
| `channelId` | string | YouTube channel ID (`UC…`). |
| `handle` | string | `@handle`. |
| `title` | string | Channel display name. |
| `description` | string | Full description text. |
| `canonicalUrl` | string | YouTube's canonical channel URL. |
| `country` | string | Reported country. |
| `joinedDate` | string | Join date as displayed. |
| `subscriberCount` / `videoCount` / `viewCount` | string | Display strings (e.g. `"16.6M subscribers"`); not parsed to numbers. |
| `keywords` | string | Channel keywords. |
| `avatarUrl` / `bannerUrl` | string | Largest available image URL. |
| `rssUrl` | string | YouTube's RSS feed for the channel. |
| `links` | `{ title, url }[]` | All channel links, with YouTube redirect wrappers unwrapped to the real destination. |
| `socials` | object | Links grouped by platform (`twitter`, `instagram`, `tiktok`, `facebook`, `youtube`, `twitch`, `discord`, `patreon`, `website`, …). |
| `emails` | `string[]` | Emails found in description + link titles/URLs. Common false-positive domains (`*.youtube.com`, `*.googleusercontent.com`, …) are filtered out. |
| `network` | object | `null` | Detected MCN/agency, see below. |
| `otherNetworkMatches` | `string[]` | Other networks that also matched (rare). |
| `likelyAgencyManaged` | boolean | True if a non-personal email domain is exposed and it doesn't match the channel's own brand. |
| `agencyEmailDomain` | string | `null` | The email domain that triggered the heuristic. |

***

#### Limitations

- **Recall is bounded by what creators publish.** A channel managed by Spotter/Jellysmack/Night Media that only links its personal Twitter+Instagram will show as `unmanaged` — there's no way to detect the relationship from public channel data alone.
- **The gated business email is unreachable.** YouTube hides the channel's "view email address" behind a CAPTCHA. Emails surfaced by this actor come from the description and link metadata only.
- **`description_phrase` matches are intentionally rare.** A bare mention like "I love Spotter's videos" won't match — the description must also contain a management phrase.
- **Network domains drift.** When you find a hit that exposes a new domain (e.g. an agency rebrands), append it to the existing entry's `domains` array.

# Actor input Schema

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

Channel URLs, @handles, custom names, or channel IDs (UC...). Examples: '@MrBeast', 'https://youtube.com/@MrBeast', 'UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA'.

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

Optional Apify proxy configuration. Recommended for non-trivial volumes to avoid rate limits.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of channels fetched in parallel.

## `includeLatestVideo` (type: `boolean`):

Also fetch the channel's latest upload (via RSS) and parse its description for emails and social links. Useful for creators who put business contacts in video descriptions instead of the channel's structured links.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "channels": [
    "@MrBeast"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  },
  "maxConcurrency": 5,
  "includeLatestVideo": true
}
```

# 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": [
        "@MrBeast"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("jasondev/youtube-channel-contact").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": ["@MrBeast"],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("jasondev/youtube-channel-contact").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 '{
  "channels": [
    "@MrBeast"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call jasondev/youtube-channel-contact --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=jasondev/youtube-channel-contact",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/guuazB6Sv1Jhd0TqC/builds/g9wy7f7pJTnPbcgkf/openapi.json