Youtube Scrapper
by @arulmozhiv
A skill for discovering and scraping YouTube channels based on categories and locations without requiring API keys or login.
clawhub install youtube-scrapperπ About This Skill
YouTube Channel Scraper
A browser-based YouTube channel discovery and scraping tool.
> Part of ScrapeClaw β a suite of production-ready, agentic social media scrapers for Instagram, YouTube, X/Twitter, and Facebook built with Python & Playwright, no API keys required.
---
name: youtube-scrapper
description: Discover and scrape YouTube channels from your browser.
emoji: πΊ
version: 1.0.2
author: influenza
tags:
- youtube
- scraping
- social-media
- channel-discovery
- influencer-discovery
metadata:
clawdbot:
requires:
bins:
- python3
- chromium config:
stateDirs:
- data/output
- data/queue
- thumbnails
outputFormats:
- json
- csv
Overview
This skill provides a two-phase YouTube scraping system:
1. Channel Discovery β Find YouTube channels via Google Search (browser-based, no API key required) 2. Browser Scraping β Scrape public channel data using Playwright with anti-detection (no login required)
Features
Usage
Agent Tool Interface
For OpenClaw agent integration, the skill provides JSON output:
# Discover YouTube channels (returns JSON queue)
python scripts/youtube_channel_discovery.py --categories tech --locations IndiaScrape from a queue file
python scripts/youtube_channel_scraper.py --queue data/queue/your_queue_file.jsonFull orchestration β discover + scrape in one go
python scripts/youtube_orchestrator.py --config resources/scraper_config_ind.json
Output Data
Channel Data Structure
{
"channel_name": "Marques Brownlee",
"channel_url": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd",
"subscribers": 19200000,
"total_views": 4500000000,
"video_count": 1800,
"description": "MKBHD: Quality Tech Videos...",
"joined_date": "Mar 21, 2008",
"country": "United States",
"profile_pic_url": "https://...",
"profile_pic_local": "thumbnails/mkbhd/profile_abc123.jpg",
"banner_url": "https://...",
"banner_local": "thumbnails/mkbhd/banner_def456.jpg",
"influencer_tier": "mega",
"category": "tech",
"scrape_location": "New York",
"scraped_at": "2026-02-17T12:00:00",
"recent_videos": [
{
"title": "Galaxy S26 Ultra Review",
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...",
"views": 5200000,
"published": "2 days ago",
"duration": "14:32",
"thumbnail_url": "https://...",
"thumbnail_local": "thumbnails/mkbhd/video_0_ghi789.jpg"
}
]
}
Queue File Structure
{
"location": "India",
"category": "tech",
"total": 20,
"channels": ["@channel1", "@channel2", "..."],
"completed": ["@channel1"],
"failed": {"@channel3": "not_found"},
"current_index": 2,
"created_at": "2026-02-17T12:00:00",
"source": "google_search"
}
Influencer Tiers
| Tier | Subscribers Range | |-------|---------------------| | nano | < 1,000 | | micro | 1,000 β 10,000 | | mid | 10,000 β 100,000 | | macro | 100,000 β 1M | | mega | > 1,000,000 |
File Outputs
data/queue/{region}/{location}_{category}_{timestamp}.jsondata/output_{region}/{channel_name}.jsonthumbnails_{region}/{channel}/profile_*.jpg, thumbnails_{region}/{channel}/video_*.jpgdata/progress/discovery_progress_{region}.jsonConfiguration
Regional config files live in resources/:
resources/scraper_config_us.json
resources/scraper_config_uk.json
resources/scraper_config_eur.json
resources/scraper_config_ind.json
resources/scraper_config_gulf.json
resources/scraper_config_east.json
Example config (resources/scraper_config_ind.json):
{
"proxy": {
"enabled": false,
"provider": "brightdata",
"country": "",
"sticky": true,
"sticky_ttl_minutes": 10
},
"categories": [
"gaming", "tech", "beauty", "fashion", "fitness",
"food", "travel", "music", "education", "comedy",
"lifestyle", "cooking", "diy", "art", "finance",
"health", "entertainment"
],
"locations": [
"India", "Mumbai", "Delhi", "Bangalore", "Hyderabad",
"Chennai", "Kolkata", "Pune", "Ahmedabad", "Jaipur"
],
"max_videos_to_scrape": 6,
"headless": false,
"results_per_search": 20,
"search_delay": [3, 7],
"scrape_delay": [2, 5],
"rate_limit_wait": 60,
"max_retries": 3
}
Filters Applied
The scraper automatically filters out:
Anti-Detection
The scraper uses multiple anti-detection techniques:
navigator.webdriver, spoofs plugins/languages/hardware, canvas noise, fake chrome objectTroubleshooting
No Channels Discovered
--headless false to debug visuallyRate Limiting
Browser Crashes
π Residential Proxy Support
Why Use a Residential Proxy?
Running a scraper at scale without a residential proxy will get your IP blocked fast. Here's why proxies are essential for long-running scrapes:
| Advantage | Description | |-----------|-------------| | Avoid IP Bans | Residential IPs look like real household users, not data-center bots. YouTube is far less likely to flag them. | | Automatic IP Rotation | Each request (or session) gets a fresh IP, so rate-limits never stack up on one address. | | Geo-Targeting | Route traffic through a specific country/city so scraped content matches the target audience's locale. | | Sticky Sessions | Keep the same IP for a configurable window (e.g. 10 min) β critical for maintaining a consistent browsing session. | | Higher Success Rate | Rotating residential IPs deliver 95%+ success rates compared to ~30% with data-center proxies on YouTube. | | Long-Running Scrapes | Scrape thousands of channels over hours or days without interruption. | | Concurrent Scraping | Run multiple browser instances across different IPs simultaneously. |
Recommended Proxy Providers
We have affiliate partnerships with top residential proxy providers. Using these links supports continued development of this skill:
| Provider | Best For | Sign Up | |----------|----------|---------| | Bright Data | World's largest network, 72M+ IPs, enterprise-grade | π Get Bright Data | | IProyal | Pay-as-you-go, 195+ countries, no traffic expiry | π Get IProyal | | Storm Proxies | Fast & reliable, developer-friendly API, competitive pricing | π Get Storm Proxies | | NetNut | ISP-grade network, 52M+ IPs, direct connectivity | π Get NetNut |
Setup Steps
#### 1. Get Your Proxy Credentials
Sign up with any provider above, then grab:
#### 2. Configure via Environment Variables
export PROXY_ENABLED=true
export PROXY_PROVIDER=brightdata # brightdata | iproyal | stormproxies | netnut | custom
export PROXY_USERNAME=your_user
export PROXY_PASSWORD=your_pass
export PROXY_COUNTRY=us # optional: two-letter country code
export PROXY_STICKY=true # optional: keep same IP per session
#### 3. Provider-Specific Host/Port Defaults
These are auto-configured when you set the provider name:
| Provider | Host | Port |
|----------|------|------|
| Bright Data | brd.superproxy.io | 22225 |
| IProyal | proxy.iproyal.com | 12321 |
| Storm Proxies | rotating.stormproxies.com | 9999 |
| NetNut | gw-resi.netnut.io | 5959 |
Override with PROXY_HOST / PROXY_PORT env vars if your plan uses a different gateway.
#### 4. Custom Proxy Provider
For any other proxy service, set provider to custom and supply host/port manually:
{
"proxy": {
"enabled": true,
"provider": "custom",
"host": "your.proxy.host",
"port": 8080,
"username": "user",
"password": "pass"
}
}
Running the Scraper with Proxy
Once configured, the scraper picks up the proxy automatically β no extra flags needed:
# Discover and scrape as usual β proxy is applied automatically
python scripts/youtube_orchestrator.py --config resources/scraper_config_ind.jsonThe log will confirm proxy is active:
INFO - Proxy enabled:
INFO - Browser using proxy: brightdata β brd.superproxy.io:22225
Using the Proxy Manager Programmatically
from proxy_manager import ProxyManagerFrom config (auto-reads config from resources/)
pm = ProxyManager.from_config()From environment variables
pm = ProxyManager.from_env()Manual construction
pm = ProxyManager(
provider="brightdata",
username="your_user",
password="your_pass",
country="us",
sticky=True
)For Playwright browser context
proxy = pm.get_playwright_proxy()
β {"server": "http://brd.superproxy.io:22225", "username": "user-country-us-session-abc123", "password": "pass"}
For requests / aiohttp
proxies = pm.get_requests_proxy()
β {"http": "http://user:pass@host:port", "https": "http://user:pass@host:port"}
Force new IP (rotates session ID)
pm.rotate_session()Debug info
print(pm.info())
Best Practices for Long-Running Scrapes
1. Use sticky sessions β YouTube requires consistent IPs during a browsing session. Set "sticky": true.
2. Target the right country β Set "country": "us" (or your target region) so YouTube serves content in the expected locale.
3. Combine with existing anti-detection β This scraper already has fingerprinting, stealth scripts, and human behavior simulation. The proxy is the final layer.
4. Rotate sessions between batches β Call pm.rotate_session() between large batches of channels to get a fresh IP.
5. Use delays β Even with proxies, respect scrape_delay in config (default 2-5s) to avoid aggressive patterns.
6. Monitor your proxy dashboard β All providers have dashboards showing bandwidth usage and success rates.
Notes
π‘ Examples
Agent Tool Interface
For OpenClaw agent integration, the skill provides JSON output:
# Discover YouTube channels (returns JSON queue)
python scripts/youtube_channel_discovery.py --categories tech --locations IndiaScrape from a queue file
python scripts/youtube_channel_scraper.py --queue data/queue/your_queue_file.jsonFull orchestration β discover + scrape in one go
python scripts/youtube_orchestrator.py --config resources/scraper_config_ind.json
βοΈ Configuration
Regional config files live in resources/:
resources/scraper_config_us.json
resources/scraper_config_uk.json
resources/scraper_config_eur.json
resources/scraper_config_ind.json
resources/scraper_config_gulf.json
resources/scraper_config_east.json
Example config (resources/scraper_config_ind.json):
{
"proxy": {
"enabled": false,
"provider": "brightdata",
"country": "",
"sticky": true,
"sticky_ttl_minutes": 10
},
"categories": [
"gaming", "tech", "beauty", "fashion", "fitness",
"food", "travel", "music", "education", "comedy",
"lifestyle", "cooking", "diy", "art", "finance",
"health", "entertainment"
],
"locations": [
"India", "Mumbai", "Delhi", "Bangalore", "Hyderabad",
"Chennai", "Kolkata", "Pune", "Ahmedabad", "Jaipur"
],
"max_videos_to_scrape": 6,
"headless": false,
"results_per_search": 20,
"search_delay": [3, 7],
"scrape_delay": [2, 5],
"rate_limit_wait": 60,
"max_retries": 3
}