YouTube Shorts Scraper API: Analyze Short-Form Video Content

YouTube Shorts compete directly with TikTok and Instagram Reels. This guide shows you how to extract Shorts data for content analysis and competitive research.

Why Track YouTube Shorts?

• Format Analysis - Compare Shorts vs long-form performance
• Trend Detection - Spot viral Shorts early
• Competitor Research - Analyze rival Shorts strategy
• Content Repurposing - Track cross-posted content
• Growth Tracking - Monitor Shorts channel growth

Shorts API Endpoints

Endpoint	Description
Channel Shorts	Get Shorts from a channel
Simple Shorts	Auto-paginated Shorts retrieval
Trending Shorts	Discover trending Shorts

Get Channel Shorts

const response = await fetch('https://api.sociavault.com/youtube/channel/shorts', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    handle: 'MrBeast'
  })
});

const shorts = await response.json();

Sample Response

{
  "shorts": [
    {
      "id": "abc123xyz",
      "title": "Would you do this for $1000? 💰",
      "views": 45000000,
      "likes": 2100000,
      "comments": 15000,
      "duration": 58,
      "publishedAt": "2026-01-08T16:00:00Z",
      "thumbnail": "https://..."
    }
  ],
  "hasMore": true,
  "cursor": "next_page"
}

Simple Shorts Endpoint

For easier pagination, use the Simple Shorts endpoint:

const response = await fetch('https://api.sociavault.com/youtube/channel/shorts/simple', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    handle: 'MrBeast',
    amount: 50 // Get 50 Shorts automatically
  })
});

Trending Shorts

Discover currently trending YouTube Shorts:

const response = await fetch('https://api.sociavault.com/youtube/shorts/trending', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  }
});

const trending = await response.json();

Use Cases

Compare Shorts vs Long-Form

Analyze which format performs better:

const videos = await getChannelVideos(handle);
const shorts = await getChannelShorts(handle);

const videoAvg = videos.reduce((s, v) => s + v.views, 0) / videos.length;
const shortsAvg = shorts.reduce((s, v) => s + v.views, 0) / shorts.length;

console.log(`Long-form average: ${videoAvg.toLocaleString()} views`);
console.log(`Shorts average: ${shortsAvg.toLocaleString()} views`);
console.log(`Shorts perform ${(shortsAvg / videoAvg * 100).toFixed(0)}% compared to long-form`);

Track Shorts Posting Frequency

Analyze upload patterns:

const shorts = await getChannelShorts(handle);

const shortsByWeek = {};
shorts.forEach(short => {
  const week = getWeekNumber(new Date(short.publishedAt));
  shortsByWeek[week] = (shortsByWeek[week] || 0) + 1;
});

const avgPerWeek = shorts.length / Object.keys(shortsByWeek).length;
console.log(`Average Shorts per week: ${avgPerWeek.toFixed(1)}`);

Find Viral Shorts

Identify outlier performers:

const shorts = await getChannelShorts(handle);

const avgViews = shorts.reduce((s, v) => s + v.views, 0) / shorts.length;
const viralShorts = shorts.filter(s => s.views > avgViews * 3);

console.log(`Viral Shorts (3x+ average): ${viralShorts.length}`);
viralShorts.forEach(s => {
  console.log(`- ${s.title}: ${s.views.toLocaleString()} views`);
});

Trending Analysis

Monitor what's trending:

async function checkTrending() {
  const { shorts } = await getTrendingShorts();
  
  // Analyze common themes
  const titleWords = shorts
    .flatMap(s => s.title.toLowerCase().split(/\s+/))
    .filter(w => w.length > 3);
  
  const wordCounts = {};
  titleWords.forEach(word => {
    wordCounts[word] = (wordCounts[word] || 0) + 1;
  });
  
  const trending = Object.entries(wordCounts)
    .sort((a, b) => b[1] - a[1])
    .slice(0, 10);
  
  console.log('Trending topics:', trending);
}

Related Endpoints

• YouTube Channel Scraper - Channel info
• YouTube Videos Scraper - Long-form videos
• YouTube Video Details - Single video info
• TikTok Videos Scraper - Compare with TikTok

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the maximum Shorts duration?

YouTube Shorts are limited to 60 seconds. Content over 60 seconds appears in regular videos.

How do I distinguish Shorts from regular videos?

The Shorts endpoint only returns Shorts content. The Videos endpoint returns all videos including Shorts.

Can I get Shorts from any channel?

Yes, any public channel's Shorts are accessible.

How often does the trending list update?

Trending Shorts are refreshed continuously, reflecting real-time popularity.

Are view counts accurate?

Yes, view counts are fetched in real-time from YouTube.

Get Started

Sign up free and start analyzing YouTube Shorts.

Documentation: /docs/api-reference/youtube/channel-shorts