Use YouTube Search Results & Entity Type Scraper with Python

Search YouTube by keyword for videos, Shorts, channels, or playlists, with view counts, duration, and channel details, filterable by upload date, duration, sort order, and region.

1. Choose the data you need

Review the published README for supported collection modes, examples, and limits. The recipe below uses the current published input definition.

2. Prepare a source-based input

This JSON contains published prefills and required-field defaults. Review every value for your task before running it; it is not a promise of successful collection.

{
  "duration": "",
  "features": [],
  "includeVideoDetails": false,
  "language": "auto",
  "market": "US",
  "maxResults": 3,
  "scrapeAllResults": false,
  "searchQueries": [
    "apify"
  ],
  "sortBy": "relevance",
  "type": "video",
  "uploadDate": ""
}

Download input.example.json and save your reviewed copy as input.json.

Field	Type	Required	Description
`searchQueries`	array	required	One or more YouTube search terms. Each query is scraped separately and its results are combined in the dataset.
`maxResults`	integer	optional	Maximum number of results per query. YouTube may serve fewer rows for a given query, entity type, session, or IP; the run reports the requested and actual counts and whether the result pool was exhausted.
`scrapeAllResults`	boolean	optional	Keep loading pages until YouTube stops offering results. This ignores Max Results Per Query and can take longer on broad searches.
`sortBy`	string	optional	Order of the search results. YouTube currently supports relevance and popularity (view count). Legacy values upload_date and rating are accepted for saved tasks and mapped to relevance with a warning.
`uploadDate`	string	optional	Only return results uploaded in the selected period. Applies to videos and Shorts.
`type`	string	optional	Restrict results to one entity type. Legacy plural value shorts is accepted and mapped to Shorts.
`duration`	string	optional	Filter videos by length. Applies to video and Shorts searches.
`features`	array	optional	Filter videos by features. Multiple selections are combined. Legacy aliases cc, location, and purchased are accepted for saved tasks; cc maps to subtitles and the other two are ignored with a warning.
`market`	string	optional	Country used for YouTube's search context (gl). Results and labels follow this market.
`language`	string	optional	Language for YouTube labels and search text (hl). Auto follows the selected market.
`includeVideoDetails`	boolean	optional	Fetch each video's public detail payload to add exact publish date, views, likes, category, tags, and full description. Adds one request per video and makes runs slower.

3. Start an Actor run

Set APIFY_TOKEN in your environment. Python 3.10 or newer is sufficient; this recipe uses no third-party packages.

Execution may incur charges. Review current pricing on Apify. The request asks for a 120-second timeout and a charge limit; these settings are subject to Apify’s pricing and do not guarantee an all-inclusive spending cap.

import json
import os
import urllib.request

# Save the schema-derived example as input.json; review and edit it first.
with open("input.json", encoding="utf-8") as stream:
    actor_input = json.load(stream)

token = os.environ["APIFY_TOKEN"]
request = urllib.request.Request(
    "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/q1TdCUHc87k8c3NFU/runs?timeout=120&maxTotalChargeUsd=0.50",
    data=json.dumps(actor_input).encode("utf-8"),
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer " + token, "Content-Type": "application/json"},
    method="POST",
)
# This starts a potentially billable run. Do not automatically retry this POST.
with urllib.request.urlopen(request, timeout=40) as response:
    run = json.load(response)["data"]
print("Run ID:", run["id"])
print("Status:", run["status"])
# Inspect and download results in Apify Console once the run succeeds.

4. Inspect the actual results

Open the run in Apify Console and wait for a successful completion. Use the published output schema to locate results and the dataset schema to understand declared views. Missing or optional record fields must not be treated as guaranteed values.

Search result rows for videos, Shorts, channels, playlists, and movies, with optional exact dates, views, likes, categories, tags, and live or upcoming state.

Questions before you run

Which inputs are required?

The published required fields are searchQueries

What does this guide verify?

The fields, prefills, and schema links are rendered from the published build. This is a usage recipe, not a paid live extraction test. Source availability and collection results can vary.

What if the run request times out?

Check Apify Console before retrying. The first request may already have created a run. Do not automatically repeat a run-creation POST.

Open on Apify Full Actor reference

Generated from source build dDxnim0EkVlo74Ldw and its README and schemas. Source changes regenerate this guide; no third-party editorial claims are inferred.