youtube-scraper-api
Pull YouTube search results, video metadata, and subtitles as parsed JSON. A thin Python wrapper over the ScrapingBee YouTube scraper API that handles authentication, headless rendering, and proxies behind a single Bearer-token request.
pip install youtube-scraper-api
Covers the queries people reach for: youtube scraper, youtube scraping api, youtube video scraper, youtube scraper api, and youtube data scraper. Requires Python 3.8+ and requests. Built on the ScrapingBee YouTube API.
30-second example
from youtube_scraper_api import YouTubeScraper
yt = YouTubeScraper(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
# 1. find videos
hits = yt.search("python tutorial", type="video", sort_by="view_count")
video_id = hits["results"][0]["videoId"]
# 2. enrich one of them
details = yt.metadata(video_id)
# 3. grab its captions
captions = yt.subtitles(video_id, language="en")
Get a key first: ScrapingBee gives 1,000 credits with no card at scrapingbee.com.
The client
YouTubeScraper(api_key: str, timeout: int = 60)
Authentication is a Bearer token, set for you on every call. The client drops any None arguments before sending the request.
Methods
search(search, type=None, upload_date=None, duration=None, sort_by=None, hd=False, fourk=False, subtitles=False, creative_commons=False, live=False, tag=None, extra=None)
Query YouTube for videos, channels, or playlists. search is the only required argument.
| Argument | API parameter | Accepted values |
|---|---|---|
search |
search |
any query string |
type |
type |
video, channel, playlist, movie |
upload_date |
upload_date |
today, last_hour, this_week, this_month, this_year |
duration |
duration |
<4, 4-20, >20 |
sort_by |
sort_by |
rating, relevance, view_count, upload_date |
hd, fourk, subtitles, creative_commons, live |
hd, 4k, subtitles, creative_commons, live |
booleans |
tag |
tag |
custom id echoed back in the response |
extra |
(any) | dict for other documented flags: 360, 3d, hdr, vr180, location, purchased |
metadata(video_id)
Return full details for one video: duration, view count, like count, upload date, description, channel info, thumbnails, and available formats. This is the building block of a YouTube data scraper that enriches a list of ids.
subtitles(video_id, language=None, subtitle_origin=None)
Return timestamped caption segments. subtitle_origin selects auto-generated or uploader-provided captions when both exist.
Returned fields
search() returns a results list. Each item carries the fields YouTube rendered, commonly:
videoId, title, longBylineText, thumbnail, lengthText,
shortViewCountText, publishedTimeText
Not every field appears on every result, so use .get() rather than direct indexing.
Credits
ScrapingBee bills successful calls. search() is 5 credits per call. The cost for metadata() and subtitles() is shown in the dashboard request builder. Plan tiers: scrapingbee.com/pricing.
Notes
- A YouTube video scraper built this way needs no headless browser or proxy management on your side; ScrapingBee does both.
- Scrape public content only. ScrapingBee's terms prohibit scraping behind a login.
Links
License
MIT
Disclaimer
Unofficial Python client built on the ScrapingBee YouTube API. Not affiliated with ScrapingBee or YouTube. Comply with YouTube's terms of service and applicable law.
1 maintainer
Metadata
1 maintainer
Release files for youtube-scraper-api 0.0.1
For a detailed explanation of source distributions (sdists) and built distributions (wheels), please see the package formats documentation.
Source distribution (sdist)
| File | Size | Uploaded | |
|---|---|---|---|
| youtube_scraper_api-0.0.1.tar.gz | 4.9 kB | Details |
Built distribution (wheel)
| File | Interpreter | ABI | Platform | Reset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| youtube_scraper_api-0.0.1-py3-none-any.whl | Python 3 | none | any | Details |
Total release size: 10.2 kB
Release files / youtube_scraper_api-0.0.1.tar.gz
| Download URL | youtube_scraper_api-0.0.1.tar.gz |
|---|---|
| Size | 4.9 kB |
| Tags | Source |
|
SHA-256 checksum How to use checksums |
9d8d00d8f94c5ba02f4e1e36dabe0f58a67d6c3162152804059be86ef044c4be
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BLAKE2b-256 checksum How to use checksums |
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| Upload date | |
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Uploaded using Trusted Publishing? What is trusted publishing? |
No |
| Uploaded via |
twine/6.2.0 CPython/3.14.3
|
Release files / youtube_scraper_api-0.0.1-py3-none-any.whl
| Download URL | youtube_scraper_api-0.0.1-py3-none-any.whl |
|---|---|
| Size | 5.3 kB |
| Tags | Python 3 |
|
SHA-256 checksum How to use checksums |
d0bda623e22a3c83e64f1961cc5aa679aa5d7978447e794d61ff9cebb12289b1
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BLAKE2b-256 checksum How to use checksums |
26aec64f02c1223ca6610b2f85b90ace6b016e890525c3248d0eb2f4733cebda
|
| Upload date | |
|
Uploaded using Trusted Publishing? What is trusted publishing? |
No |
| Uploaded via |
twine/6.2.0 CPython/3.14.3
|
