# Youtube Scraper Plus (`practicaltools/youtube-scraper-plus`) Actor YouTube Scraper is a powerful, high-performance tool designed to extract comprehensive data from YouTube without the limitations of the official YouTube Data API. Scrape videos, channels, playlists, shorts, and search results at scaleβ€” no API key or quotas required. - **URL**: https://apify.com/practicaltools/youtube-scraper-plus.md - **Developed by:** [Practical Tools](https://apify.com/practicaltools) (community) - **Categories:** Videos, Developer tools, Social media - **Stats:** 8 total users, 2 monthly users, 85.8% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $2.10 / 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. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. 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 ## πŸ“Ή YouTube Scraper YouTube Scraper is a powerful, high-performance tool designed to extract comprehensive data from YouTube without the limitations of the official YouTube Data API. Scrape videos, channels, playlists, shorts, and search results at scaleβ€”**no API key or quotas required.** ### 🌟 Why choose this YouTube Scraper? Compared to the official API and other scrapers, this tool offers: - **Zero Quota Limits**: Scrape as much as you need without worrying about "units" or daily credits. - **Deep Data Extraction**: Access fields not available in the official API, like detailed like counts (even on videos with hidden counts), precise subscriber counts, and full channel about data. - **Built-in Filtering**: Use YouTube's native search filters directly through the scraper (HD, 4K, Live, etc.). - **Subtitles & Transcripts**: Extract video transcripts in plaintext, SRT, or VTT formats (experimental). - **Advanced Channel Insights**: Collect total video counts, total channel views, location, and social media links with one click. - **Flexible Sorting**: Sort results by relevance, upload date, view count, or rating. --- ### πŸš€ Getting Started 1. **Create an Apify account** if you don't have one. 2. Open the **YouTube Scraper** Actor. 3. Enter one or more **search terms** (e.g., `web scraping tutorial`) OR **direct URLs** (videos, channels, playlists). 4. (Optional) Enable **Scrape Channel Data** for extra depth. 5. Click **Start** and watch the data pour in. 6. **Download** your results in JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML. --- ### πŸ›  Features #### πŸ” Powerful Search Enter search terms just like you would on YouTube. You can limit the number of results for regular videos, shorts, and streams separately. #### πŸ”— Direct URL Support Scrape specific entities directly by providing their URLs: - **Videos**: `https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...` - **Channels**: `https://www.youtube.com/@...` - **Playlists**: `https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...` - **Hashtags**: `https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/...` #### 🎞️ Shorts & Streams Specifically target YouTube Shorts or Live Streams with dedicated result limits and specific metadata for these formats. #### πŸ“Š Comprehensive Metadata Every result includes: - **Video Details**: ID, Title, URL, Views, Likes, Comment Count. - **Timing**: Duration (seconds + text), Published Date (ISO + text). - **Quality**: Thumbnails, isShort, isStream flag. - **Transcripts**: Full video subtitles/captions (Plaintext, SRT, or VTT). - **Channel Info**: Name, ID, URL, Subscriber count. - **Social Hooks**: Hashtags, full Description. #### πŸ“ Exclusive Channel Data Enable the **Scrape Channel Data** option to navigate to the channel's About page and collect: - **Total Video Count** - **Total Channel Views** - **Channel Location** - **Social Media Links** (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, etc.) --- ### πŸ“₯ Input Example ```json { "searchQueries": ["apify web scraping"], "maxResults": 10, "scrapeChannelData": true, "sortingOrder": "views" } ```` ### πŸ“€ Output Example ```json { "id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ", "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video)", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", "views": 1749021771, "likes": 18833617, "commentsCount": 2400000, "durationText": "3:33", "publishedAt": "2009-10-24T23:57:33-07:00", "channelName": "Rick Astley", "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@RickAstleyYT", "subscribers": "4.46M subscribers", "videoCount": 394, "totalViews": 2412509438, "channelLocation": "United Kingdom", "socialMediaLinks": [ "https://www.facebook.com/RickAstley/", "https://twitter.com/rickastley" ] } ``` *** ### ❓ FAQ #### Is it legal to scrape data from YouTube? Scraping public data is generally legal in most jurisdictions. Our scraper only accesses publicly available data that any user can see in a browser. However, you should always consult with legal counsel regarding your specific use case and comply with local regulations. #### Does it require a proxy? While it can run without a proxy for small volumes, we highly recommend using **Apify Proxy** (Residential or Datacenter) for high-volume scraping to ensure reliability and avoid rate limits. *** ### πŸ’¬ Feedback We are constantly improving! If you find a bug or have a feature request, please [open an issue](https://console.apify.com/actors/nYGIjRsSV1mNi9ZYS/issues) on the Apify platform. # Actor input Schema ## `searchQueries` (type: `array`): Enter search terms just like you would enter them in YouTube's search bar. ## `startUrls` (type: `array`): Enter a link to a YouTube video, channel, playlist, hashtag or search results page. ## `maxResults` (type: `integer`): Limit the number of regular videos to crawl. 0 means unlimited. ## `maxResultsShorts` (type: `integer`): Limit the number of Shorts videos to crawl. 0 means unlimited. ## `maxResultStreams` (type: `integer`): Limit the number of Stream videos to crawl. 0 means unlimited. ## `downloadSubtitles` (type: `boolean`): If enabled, the actor will attempt to download the transcript for each video. ## `saveSubsToKVS` (type: `boolean`): Save the full subtitle/transcript text to the default Key-Value Store. Recommended if you are scraping long videos to avoid giant dataset files. ## `subtitlesLanguage` (type: `string`): Language code for subtitles (e.g. 'en', 'es'). ## `subtitlesFormat` (type: `string`): The format of the collected subtitles. ## `sortingOrder` (type: `string`): YouTube sort parameter for search results. ## `dateFilter` (type: `string`): Filter search results by upload date. ## `videoType` (type: `string`): Filter by video type. ## `lengthFilter` (type: `string`): Filter results by video length. ## `isHD` (type: `boolean`): Apply the HD filter for search. ## `hasSubtitles` (type: `boolean`): Apply the Subtitles/CC filter for search. ## `hasCC` (type: `boolean`): Apply the Creative Commons filter for search. ## `is3D` (type: `boolean`): Apply the 3D filter for search. ## `isLive` (type: `boolean`): Apply the Live filter for search. ## `isBought` (type: `boolean`): Apply the Purchased filter for search. ## `is4K` (type: `boolean`): Apply the 4K filter for search. ## `is360` (type: `boolean`): Apply the 360 degrees filter for search. ## `hasLocation` (type: `boolean`): Apply the Location filter for search. ## `isHDR` (type: `boolean`): Apply the HDR filter for search. ## `isVR180` (type: `boolean`): Apply the VR180 filter for search. ## `oldestPostDate` (type: `string`): Only scrape videos uploaded on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD) or this many days ago (e.g. '7' for last 7 days). ## `sortVideosBy` (type: `string`): Sorting for channel Videos, Shorts, and Streams tabs. ## `scrapeChannelData` (type: `boolean`): If enabled, the actor will navigate to each video's channel About page to collect additional channel data: total video count, total channel views, country/location, and social media links. Results are cached per channel to avoid duplicate requests. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Select proxies to be used by your crawler. ## Actor input object example ```json { "searchQueries": [ "apify tutorial", "web scraping 2026" ], "startUrls": [], "maxResults": 10, "maxResultsShorts": 0, "maxResultStreams": 0, "downloadSubtitles": false, "saveSubsToKVS": false, "subtitlesLanguage": "en", "subtitlesFormat": "plaintext", "sortingOrder": "relevance", "scrapeChannelData": false, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } } ``` # 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 = {}; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("practicaltools/youtube-scraper-plus").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`πŸ’Ύ 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); }); // πŸ“š Want to learn more πŸ“–? Go to β†’ 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 = {} # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("practicaltools/youtube-scraper-plus").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("πŸ’Ύ Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # πŸ“š Want to learn more πŸ“–? Go to β†’ https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{}' | apify call practicaltools/youtube-scraper-plus --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=practicaltools/youtube-scraper-plus", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Youtube Scraper Plus", "description": "YouTube Scraper is a powerful, high-performance tool designed to extract comprehensive data from YouTube without the limitations of the official YouTube Data API. Scrape videos, channels, playlists, shorts, and search results at scaleβ€” no API key or quotas required.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "hHjkZhXP9kK6XEo97" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/practicaltools~youtube-scraper-plus/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-practicaltools-youtube-scraper-plus", "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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/practicaltools~youtube-scraper-plus/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-practicaltools-youtube-scraper-plus", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/practicaltools~youtube-scraper-plus/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-practicaltools-youtube-scraper-plus", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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", "properties": { "searchQueries": { "title": "Search terms", "type": "array", "description": "Enter search terms just like you would enter them in YouTube's search bar.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "startUrls": { "title": "Direct URLs", "type": "array", "description": "Enter a link to a YouTube video, channel, playlist, hashtag or search results page.", "default": [], "items": { "type": "object", "required": [ "url" ], "properties": { "url": { "type": "string", "title": "URL of a web page", "format": "uri" } } } }, "maxResults": { "title": "Maximum videos per search term", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 999999, "type": "integer", "description": "Limit the number of regular videos to crawl. 0 means unlimited.", "default": 10 }, "maxResultsShorts": { "title": "Maximum shorts per search term", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 999999, "type": "integer", "description": "Limit the number of Shorts videos to crawl. 0 means unlimited.", "default": 0 }, "maxResultStreams": { "title": "Maximum streams per search term", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 999999, "type": "integer", "description": "Limit the number of Stream videos to crawl. 0 means unlimited.", "default": 0 }, "downloadSubtitles": { "title": "Download subtitles", "type": "boolean", "description": "If enabled, the actor will attempt to download the transcript for each video.", "default": false }, "saveSubsToKVS": { "title": "Save subtitles to Key-Value Store", "type": "boolean", "description": "Save the full subtitle/transcript text to the default Key-Value Store. Recommended if you are scraping long videos to avoid giant dataset files.", "default": false }, "subtitlesLanguage": { "title": "Subtitles language", "type": "string", "description": "Language code for subtitles (e.g. 'en', 'es').", "default": "en" }, "subtitlesFormat": { "title": "Subtitles format", "enum": [ "plaintext", "srt", "vtt" ], "type": "string", "description": "The format of the collected subtitles.", "default": "plaintext" }, "sortingOrder": { "title": "Sorting order", "enum": [ "relevance", "rating", "date", "views" ], "type": "string", "description": "YouTube sort parameter for search results.", "default": "relevance" }, "dateFilter": { "title": "Date filter", "enum": [ "hour", "today", "week", "month", "year" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter search results by upload date." }, "videoType": { "title": "Video type filter", "enum": [ "video", "movie" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter by video type." }, "lengthFilter": { "title": "Length filter", "enum": [ "under4", "between420", "plus20" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter results by video length." }, "isHD": { "title": "HD", "type": "boolean", "description": "Apply the HD filter for search." }, "hasSubtitles": { "title": "Subtitles/CC", "type": "boolean", "description": "Apply the Subtitles/CC filter for search." }, "hasCC": { "title": "Creative Commons", "type": "boolean", "description": "Apply the Creative Commons filter for search." }, "is3D": { "title": "3D", "type": "boolean", "description": "Apply the 3D filter for search." }, "isLive": { "title": "Live", "type": "boolean", "description": "Apply the Live filter for search." }, "isBought": { "title": "Purchased", "type": "boolean", "description": "Apply the Purchased filter for search." }, "is4K": { "title": "4K", "type": "boolean", "description": "Apply the 4K filter for search." }, "is360": { "title": "360 degrees", "type": "boolean", "description": "Apply the 360 degrees filter for search." }, "hasLocation": { "title": "Location", "type": "boolean", "description": "Apply the Location filter for search." }, "isHDR": { "title": "HDR", "type": "boolean", "description": "Apply the HDR filter for search." }, "isVR180": { "title": "VR180", "type": "boolean", "description": "Apply the VR180 filter for search." }, "oldestPostDate": { "title": "Scrape videos published after date", "type": "string", "description": "Only scrape videos uploaded on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD) or this many days ago (e.g. '7' for last 7 days)." }, "sortVideosBy": { "title": "Sort channel videos by", "enum": [ "NEWEST", "POPULAR", "OLDEST" ], "type": "string", "description": "Sorting for channel Videos, Shorts, and Streams tabs." }, "scrapeChannelData": { "title": "Scrape channel data", "type": "boolean", "description": "If enabled, the actor will navigate to each video's channel About page to collect additional channel data: total video count, total channel views, country/location, and social media links. Results are cached per channel to avoid duplicate requests.", "default": false }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Select proxies to be used by your crawler.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": true } } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```