YouTube Shorts Metadata Extractor for Channels & Hashtags: MCP config, n8n workflow and API

{
  "channelUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast"
  ],
  "hashtags": [
    "#shorts"
  ],
  "searchQueries": [
    "cooking shorts"
  ],
  "shortUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pfUG56htjBc"
  ],
  "sortShortsBy": "newest",
  "maxShorts": 3,
  "includeDetails": true,
  "includeMembersOnly": false
}

---
name: youtube-shorts-metadata-extractor-for-channels
description: "YouTube Shorts with exact view, like, comment, date, duration, category and sound metadata, scraped by channel, hashtag, keyword search or direct URL. Runs the Apify Actor vexaloom-labs/youtube-shorts-metadata-extractor-for-channels. Use when the user needs YouTube data with fields such as title, type, videoId, viewCount, likes, duration and an Apify token is available."
compatibility: "Needs network access, curl, and an APIFY_TOKEN environment variable. Runs are billed to the token owner's Apify account."
metadata:
  actor: "vexaloom-labs/youtube-shorts-metadata-extractor-for-channels"
  store-url: "https://apify.com/vexaloom-labs/youtube-shorts-metadata-extractor-for-channels"
---

# YouTube Shorts Metadata Extractor for Channels & Hashtags

Use this skill to fetch YouTube data with the Apify Actor `vexaloom-labs/youtube-shorts-metadata-extractor-for-channels` and work with the returned rows.

## Before running

1. Check that `APIFY_TOKEN` is set in the environment. Never print it or write it to a file.
2. Build `input.json` from the user's request using the fields below. Keep limits small for a first run.
3. Confirm the search terms or URLs with the user if the request is ambiguous.

## Input fields

| Field | Type | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `channelUrls` | array | YouTube channel URLs, handles (@username), or channel IDs (UCxxx). Required when inputMode is 'channel'. |
| `hashtags` | array | Hashtags to scrape Shorts from (e.g. #cooking, sports). Required when inputMode is 'hashtag'. Include or omit the # prefix. |
| `searchQueries` | array | Keywords to search on YouTube, keeping only Shorts results. Required when inputMode is 'search'. |
| `shortUrls` | array | Shorts URLs, youtu.be links, watch URLs, or 11-character video IDs. Required when inputMode is 'direct'; used as the sound seeds when inputMode is 'sound'. |
| `sortShortsBy` | one of `newest`, `popular`, `oldest` | Order of the channel's Shorts tab, matching the buttons YouTube shows: newest first (default), most popular, or oldest first. Falls back to newest when a channel does not offer the chosen order. |
| `maxShorts` | integer | Maximum number of Shorts to return per channel, hashtag or search query (per run in direct mode). |
| `includeDetails` | boolean | Visit each Short's page for exact views, likes, comment count, publish date, duration, category, sound and captions. Turn off for a faster, cheaper listing-only run (views as displayed, no likes or dates). |
| `includeMembersOnly` | boolean | Channel mode only. Also collect members-only Shorts when YouTube offers the 'Members only' filter on that channel's Shorts tab (a gradual rollout — the actor retries the tab a few times and notes it in the status message when unavailable). |
| `oldestPostDate` | string | Only include Shorts published on or after this date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD. Leave empty to include all. Works in channel, search and direct modes; hashtag mode needs 'Include Exact Details' because dates come from each Short's page. |

Example `input.json` (the Actor's published prefill):

```json
{
  "channelUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast"
  ],
  "hashtags": [
    "#shorts"
  ],
  "searchQueries": [
    "cooking shorts"
  ],
  "shortUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pfUG56htjBc"
  ],
  "sortShortsBy": "newest",
  "maxShorts": 3,
  "includeDetails": true,
  "includeMembersOnly": false
}
```

## Run

```bash
curl -sS -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/vexaloom-labs~youtube-shorts-metadata-extractor-for-channels/run-sync-get-dataset-items" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d @input.json > results.json
```

The call waits for the run to finish and returns the dataset items as a JSON array. If the run needs more than 300 seconds the API answers with HTTP 408; then start the run with `POST /v2/acts/vexaloom-labs~youtube-shorts-metadata-extractor-for-channels/runs`, poll `GET /v2/actor-runs/{runId}` until `SUCCEEDED`, and read `GET /v2/datasets/{defaultDatasetId}/items`.

## Output

Each item is one record. Published fields include: `title`, `type`, `videoId`, `viewCount`, `likes`, `duration`, `uploadDate`, `url`, `hashtags`, `soundTitle`, `channelName`, `channelId`, `scrapedAt`, `thumbnailUrl`, `viewCountText`, `commentsCount`, `durationSeconds`, `publishDate`, `category`, `matchedSoundTitle`.

Summarise what was found, cite the record URLs when present, and say how many items came back. Do not invent values for empty fields.