Scraping Youtube Trending Videos
Raw data collection. No assumed use case — returns the full dataset for downstream analysis.
Inputs
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
type |
string | Optional | n |
Trending category: n (now), music, movies, gaming |
gl |
string | Optional | us |
Country code (e.g. US, GB) |
hl |
string | Optional | en |
Language code (e.g. en) |
maxItems |
number | Optional | Unlimited | Maximum videos to return |
customMapFunction |
string | Optional | — | JavaScript function to transform each output object |
How to Run
Using run_actor.js (recommended)
# Quick answer (table)
node scripts/run_actor.js --actor "apidojo~youtube-trending-scraper" --input '{"type": "n", "gl": "us", "hl": "en", "maxItems": 50}'
# Save as CSV
node scripts/run_actor.js --actor "apidojo~youtube-trending-scraper" --input '{"type": "n", "gl": "us", "hl": "en", "maxItems": 50}' --output results.csv --format csv
# Save as JSON
node scripts/run_actor.js --actor "apidojo~youtube-trending-scraper" --input '{"type": "n", "gl": "us", "hl": "en", "maxItems": 50}' --output results.json --format json
REST API fallback
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~youtube-trending-scraper/runs" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"type": "n", "gl": "us", "hl": "en", "maxItems": 50}'
If Apify MCP is available:
Use the Apify MCP call_actor tool with actor apidojo~youtube-trending-scraper and the input above.
Output Fields
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
type |
string | Always video |
id |
string | Video ID |
title |
string | Video title |
url |
string | Video URL |
description |
string | Video description |
duration |
number | Duration in seconds |
views |
number | View count |
likes |
number | Like count |
status |
string | Availability status |
channel.id |
string | Channel ID |
channel.name |
string | Channel name |
channel.url |
string | Channel URL |
keywords |
array | Video tags/keywords |
isLive |
boolean | Live stream flag |
thumbnails |
array | Thumbnail objects |
Edge Cases
- No results for category: Some countries may not have all category pages. Fall back to type=
n. - Empty results: YouTube may show different trending per session — retry.
- Region mismatch: gl and hl must be valid ISO codes.
- Data freshness: Trending changes frequently — data reflects a point-in-time snapshot.