# YouTube Video Scraper (`scrape-and-brew/youtube-video-scraper`) Actor

Extract structured video data from YouTube — videos, channels, playlists, and search. Returns titles, views, likes, comments, duration, channel info, tags, and more. Built for content research, competitor analysis, and influencer discovery.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/scrape-and-brew/youtube-video-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Scape and Brew](https://apify.com/scrape-and-brew) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce, Agents, Videos
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 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 Video Scraper 🎬

Extract structured video data from YouTube — videos, channels, playlists, and search results.

### Features

- **Search by keyword** — find videos on any topic
- **Scrape channels** — get all videos from any channel
- **Full metadata** — titles, views, likes, comments, duration, channel info, tags, upload dates
- **Search or playlist support** — scrape playlists and search result pages
- **Cookie support** — provide your YouTube cookies for higher success rates
- **Export anywhere** — download as JSON, CSV, XLSX, or connect via API

### Use cases

- **Content research** — discover trending topics in any niche
- **Competitor analysis** — track channel growth, video frequency, engagement
- **Influencer outreach** — find creators by keyword, get channel stats
- **SEO & keyword research** — analyze video titles and tags

### Pricing

- **$3 per 1,000 results** — pay only for what you extract
- Platform usage costs are billed separately by Apify
- Set a max cost per run to control spending

### Quick start

1. Set **Source type** to "Search query"
2. Enter your keyword (e.g. "longevity")
3. Set **Max videos** (default: 50)
4. Click **Start**

#### Input parameters

| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| source\_type | select | `video_url`, `channel_url`, `playlist_url`, or `search_query` |
| source\_value | string | YouTube URL or search query |
| max\_videos | integer | Max videos to extract (0 = unlimited) |
| include\_comments | boolean | Also scrape top comments (slower) |
| cookies | string | YouTube session cookies in Netscape format |

#### Output fields

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| id | string | YouTube video ID |
| title | string | Video title |
| url | string | Full video URL |
| view\_count | integer | Number of views |
| like\_count | integer | Number of likes |
| comment\_count | integer | Number of comments |
| duration\_seconds | integer | Video duration in seconds |
| channel\_name | string | Channel name |
| channel\_url | string | Channel URL |
| channel\_subscriber\_count | integer | Channel subscriber count |
| upload\_date\_formatted | string | Upload date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| thumbnail\_url | string | Video thumbnail URL |
| tags | array | Video tags |
| is\_shorts | boolean | Whether the video is a Short |

### Example

Input:

```json
{
  "source_type": "search_query",
  "source_value": "longevity",
  "max_videos": 5
}
```

Output:

```json
[
  {
    "id": "abc123def45",
    "title": "Longevity: can ageing be reversed?",
    "view_count": 634530,
    "channel_name": "Example Channel",
    "duration_seconds": 1245
  }
]
```

### Integration

Connect via [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api) or use with Make, Zapier, n8n, and other automation tools.

### Support

Open an issue on the Actor page for questions, feature requests, or bug reports.

# Actor input Schema

## `source_type` (type: `string`):

What to scrape from YouTube

## `source_value` (type: `string`):

YouTube URL or search query depending on source type

## `max_videos` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of videos to extract (0 = unlimited for single video, capped for channels/playlists)

## `include_comments` (type: `boolean`):

Also scrape top comments for each video (slower, requires more credits)

## `cookies` (type: `string`):

Paste your YouTube cookies in Netscape format. Required when running from datacenter IPs. Export from browser using 'Get cookies.txt' extension or yt-dlp's --cookies-from-browser

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "source_type": "video_url",
  "source_value": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "max_videos": 50,
  "include_comments": false
}
```

# 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 = {
    "source_value": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("scrape-and-brew/youtube-video-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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "source_value": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("scrape-and-brew/youtube-video-scraper").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 '{
  "source_value": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"
}' |
apify call scrape-and-brew/youtube-video-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=scrape-and-brew/youtube-video-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/gWmPcWHodse1XD2lc/builds/bVh3IMnH4qd5Ma8w2/openapi.json