Use YouTube Hashtag Video & Shorts Ranking Scraper with Python

Look up one or more YouTube hashtags and get the videos and Shorts currently ranked under them, in order, with view count, channel, duration and the hashtag's own total video and channel counts.

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.

{
  "contentType": "videos",
  "hashtags": [
    "programming"
  ],
  "includeVideoDetails": false,
  "language": "auto",
  "market": "US",
  "maxResultsPerHashtag": 2,
  "sortBy": "default"
}

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

Field	Type	Required	Description
`hashtags`	array	required	Hashtags to scrape. Accepts a bare tag, a #tag, or a full youtube.com/hashtag/<tag> URL. Up to 200 unique tags per run.
`maxResultsPerHashtag`	integer	optional	Maximum records to return per hashtag after sorting and filters. YouTube's hashtag feed is a ranked sample, so large values may return fewer rows.
`contentType`	string	optional	Which cards to return: regular videos, Shorts, or both.
`market`	string	optional	Country/region used for the hashtag feed. It changes which videos rank and the default language.
`language`	string	optional	Language used for YouTube labels, counts and dates. Auto follows the selected market.
`includeVideoDetails`	boolean	optional	Fetch each video's detail data to fill exact views, likes, comments, subscriber counts, publish date, description, keywords, category and Shorts channel metadata. Slower but more complete.
`sortBy`	string	optional	Order the collected results within each hashtag. Default keeps YouTube's first-seen feed order.
`minViewCount`	integer	optional	Drop videos with fewer than this many views. Turns on detail enrichment so compact Shorts labels are not mis-filtered.
`publishedAfter`	string	optional	Only keep videos published on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD). Turns on detail enrichment.

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/mSw6ELIsZXjgPdFNp/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.

Videos and Shorts ranked under the requested hashtags, with view count, channel info and hashtag totals.

Questions before you run

Which inputs are required?

The published required fields are hashtags

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 jVtydLgaRgAoNQmFS and its README and schemas. Source changes regenerate this guide; no third-party editorial claims are inferred.