# YouTube Scraper — Channels, Videos & Search (`hichemdev/youtube-scraper`) Actor

Scrape YouTube channels, videos, and search results: title, views, likes, duration, publish date, description, and channel stats. No API key.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/hichemdev/youtube-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Hichem Ben Moussa](https://apify.com/hichemdev) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 6 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $4.00 / 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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## ▶️ YouTube Scraper — Channels, Videos & Search

**Scrape YouTube without an API key or quota — channel stats, video details (views, likes, duration, publish date), and search results — as clean structured data.**

Give it channel handles, video URLs, or search terms and export to CSV, Excel, JSON, or Google Sheets.

***

### ✨ What you get

**Per channel**

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| name / id | MKBHD · UCBJycsmduvYEL83R_U4JriQ |
| subscribers | 19.8M |
| description, url, avatar | channel metadata |

**Per video**

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| title / id / url | direct watch link |
| channel / channelId | uploader |
| views / likes | 4,210,880 · 182,300 |
| durationSecs / duration | 754 · 12:34 |
| publishDate / uploadDate | 2026-06-01 |
| description / keywords / category | metadata |
| thumbnail | image URL |

***

### 🎯 Who it's for

- **Creators & marketers** — benchmark channels and track video performance.
- **Agencies** — vet influencers by real view and subscriber numbers.
- **Trend & content research** — pull top videos for any topic or niche.
- **Analytics & dashboards** — feed structured YouTube data into your reports.

***

### 🚀 How to use it

1. Add any mix of:
   - **Channels** — `@mkbhd`, a channel URL, or a `UC…` ID (returns channel stats + recent videos).
   - **Video URLs** — full watch links or video IDs (returns full per-video details).
   - **Search queries** — returns the matching videos.
2. Set **max videos per channel / search**.
3. Click **Start** and export.

The Actor reads YouTube's own embedded page data via a real browser, so results are clean and complete — no login, no API key, no quota.

***

### 📥 Example input

```json
{
  "channels": ["@mkbhd"],
  "searchQueries": ["mechanical keyboard review"],
  "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"],
  "maxVideos": 30
}
```

***

### 📤 Example output

```json
{
  "type": "video",
  "id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "title": "Best Keyboards of 2026",
  "channel": "Marques Brownlee",
  "channelId": "UCBJycsmduvYEL83R_U4JriQ",
  "views": 4210880,
  "likes": 182300,
  "durationSecs": 754,
  "publishDate": "2026-06-01",
  "keywords": ["keyboard", "review"],
  "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg"
}
```

Export to **CSV, Excel, JSON, XML, or Google Sheets**, or pull via the **Apify API**.

***

### ❓ FAQ

**Do I need a YouTube API key?**
No — and no quota limits either. It reads YouTube's public page data directly.

**How many videos can I get per channel?**
It returns the channel's most recent videos up to your limit (the batch YouTube loads on the Videos tab).

**Are likes always available?**
Views, title, duration, and dates have strong coverage. Like counts are read best-effort from the video page and may be `null` when YouTube hides them.

**Is scraping YouTube legal?**
It collects publicly visible information. You're responsible for complying with YouTube's terms and applicable laws, and for how you use the data.

***

### 🗺️ Roadmap

- Comment scraping per video
- Full channel back-catalog (beyond the recent batch)
- Playlist scraping
- Shorts and live-stream details

***

*Built and maintained by [hichemdev](https://apify.com/hichemdev). Found a bug or want a feature? Open an issue on the Actor's **Issues** tab.*

# Actor input Schema

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

YouTube channel handles or URLs, e.g. "@YouTube", "youtube.com/@mkbhd", or a /channel/UC... URL. Returns channel stats plus recent videos.

## `videoUrls` (type: `array`):

Optional. Scrape specific videos — full watch URLs or bare video IDs.

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Optional. Search YouTube and scrape the matching videos, e.g. "lofi hip hop".

## `maxVideos` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of videos to collect from each channel or search query.

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

Residential proxy is recommended for reliable YouTube access and is included in your Apify plan.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "channels": [
    "@YouTube"
  ],
  "videoUrls": [],
  "searchQueries": [],
  "maxVideos": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# 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": [
        "@YouTube"
    ],
    "videoUrls": [],
    "searchQueries": [],
    "maxVideos": 5
};

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

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "channels": ["@YouTube"],
    "videoUrls": [],
    "searchQueries": [],
    "maxVideos": 5,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("hichemdev/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 '{
  "channels": [
    "@YouTube"
  ],
  "videoUrls": [],
  "searchQueries": [],
  "maxVideos": 5
}' |
apify call hichemdev/youtube-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,hichemdev/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 <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` 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/uRbYChtY6SmPMoKZ5/builds/f7WiXnNWUoLrC3Lrr/openapi.json