YouTube Shorts Scraper — find viral Shorts by channel or keyword

YouTube Shorts Scraper Pro is an Apify actor that scrapes Shorts by channel handle, keyword, hashtag, or Short URL — each input line is auto-detected, so there are no modes to configure. It queries YouTube's own internal data API (the same one youtube.com uses), returning exact view, like, and comment counts with no login, no API key, and no daily quota. Each result also includes two computed metrics you won't get elsewhere: a viralScore (0-100) and an engagementRate.

In short

youtube-shorts-scraper-pro — query builder

Channels, keywords, hashtags, or Short URLs

Max Shorts per input

Sort by

This builds a ready-to-run query for the youtube-shorts-scraper-pro actor and shows a fixed example of the output shape — not live results. Paste the query into the actor to run it at scale.

Example output

A fixed sample of the fields the youtube-shorts-scraper-pro actor returns for this query — example data, not live results. Run it on Apify for real, complete output.

title	channelName	viewCount	viralScore	durationSeconds
$1 vs $10,000 Cake	MrBeast	48200000	94	48
5-minute morning ab routine	FitByLina	12100000	86	59
ASMR mechanical keyboard build	KeebLab	8900000	82	33
How I edit a Short in 60 seconds	mkbhd	3400000	77	52
POV: your first espresso	BaristaDaily	1250000	64	27

Key takeaways

Accepts four input types on one list — channel handle (@MrBeast), keyword ("cooking tips"), hashtag (#asmr), or a direct Short URL — and auto-detects each line, so no mode switching is needed.
Uses YouTube's internal data API for exact view/like/comment counts, not the rounded estimates the public API returns.
Requires no API key, no OAuth, and no login, and is not subject to the official API's daily quota.
Adds two computed metrics incumbents don't provide: viralScore (0-100) and engagementRate — both calculated by the actor, not supplied by YouTube.
Optional flags let you pull comments (maxComments default 20) and download each Short as a 360p MP4 saved to Apify storage with a shareable link.
Public data only, fetched through residential proxies; free to start on Apify, then pay-as-you-go.

How it works

1. Add your inputs

Put one or more lines in the required startUrls list — any mix of channel handles (@MrBeast), keywords ("cooking tips"), hashtags (#asmr), or direct Short URLs. Each line is auto-detected.

2. Set scope and recency

Choose maxResults per input (default 10), optionally set publishedAfter to a date (YYYY-MM-DD) or a relative window like "7 days", and pick sortOrder: newest, popular, or oldest.

3. Enable optional extras

Turn on includeComments (with maxComments, default 20) to pull comments, and downloadVideos to save each Short as a 360p MP4 with a shareable link.

How to use it

Add your inputsPut one or more lines in the required startUrls list — any mix of channel handles (@MrBeast), keywords ("cooking tips"), hashtags (#asmr), or direct Short URLs. Each line is auto-detected.
Set scope and recencyChoose maxResults per input (default 10), optionally set publishedAfter to a date (YYYY-MM-DD) or a relative window like "7 days", and pick sortOrder: newest, popular, or oldest.
Enable optional extrasTurn on includeComments (with maxComments, default 20) to pull comments, and downloadVideos to save each Short as a 360p MP4 with a shareable link.
Run the actorStart the run on Apify. It queries YouTube's internal data API through residential proxies — no API key, login, or quota is needed.
Collect the outputRead the dataset: each Short returns videoId, url, title, description, hashtags, exact view/like/comment counts, durationSeconds, publishedAt, thumbnail, channel details, plus computed viralScore and engagementRate.

Run it at scale

Run YouTube Shorts Scraper at scale

Copy the run input below into the youtube-shorts-scraper-pro actor on Apify to run this at scale and export clean JSON/CSV/API. Free to start, then pay-as-you-go.

{
  "startUrls": [
    "@MrBeast"
  ],
  "maxResults": 10,
  "sortOrder": "newest"
}

Run on Apify — free to start → See pricing

Paste the input below into the actor → click Start. Free to start, then pay-as-you-go.

Key facts

The official YouTube Data API v3 has a default quota of 10,000 units per day.
A single search.list call in the YouTube Data API v3 costs 100 quota units, so the default quota allows only about 100 searches per day.
The YouTube Data API v3 requires an API key or OAuth 2.0 credentials to make requests.
YouTube Shorts are vertical videos of up to 3 minutes; the Data API v3 does not provide a clean filter to isolate Shorts from standard videos.
This actor returns exact viewCount, likeCount, and commentCount rather than the rounded values commonly surfaced through the public API.
viralScore (0-100) and engagementRate are computed by the actor itself and are not fields returned by YouTube.

FAQ

How is this different from the official YouTube Data API v3?

The official API works but has a strict 10,000-unit/day quota, requires an API key or OAuth, does not cleanly isolate Shorts from regular videos, and returns limited, rounded statistics. This actor reads YouTube's internal data API instead, so it returns exact counts, isolates Shorts, and needs no key or quota.

Do I need a YouTube or Google API key?

No. The actor authenticates nothing on YouTube's side — no API key, no OAuth, and no login. You only need an Apify account to run it.

What inputs can I give it?

A startUrls list is the only required field. Each line can be a channel handle like @MrBeast, a keyword like "cooking tips", a hashtag like #asmr, or a direct Short URL. The actor auto-detects the type of each line, so you can mix them freely.

Are the view and like counts exact or estimated?

Exact. Because the actor pulls from the same internal data endpoint youtube.com uses, viewCount, likeCount, and commentCount are the precise integers YouTube shows, not the rounded figures the public Data API returns.

What are viralScore and engagementRate?

They are the actor's own computed metrics, not values from YouTube. viralScore is a 0-100 signal and engagementRate is derived from interactions relative to views. They are provided as convenience analytics on top of the raw fields.

Can it download the actual Short video?

Yes. Turn on downloadVideos and each Short is saved as a 360p MP4 to Apify storage, with a shareable videoDownloadUrl added to that record's output.

How do I control how many results and how recent they are?

Set maxResults per input (default 10), publishedAfter as either a date (YYYY-MM-DD) or a relative window like "7 days", and sortOrder as newest, popular, or oldest.

What does it cost to run?

The backing Apify actor is free to start and then pay-as-you-go. Runtime uses residential proxies and scrapes only public data.

This browser tool is free. Bulk/scheduled/API extraction runs on the youtube-shorts-scraper-pro actor on Apify — free to start, then pay-as-you-go (you only pay for what you run). Public data only; respect each source's terms.