YouTube

GET /v1/youtube/shorts/comments

YouTube Shorts Comments API

Pull YouTube comments at scale with author, text, likes, and reply threads.

TL;DR

The YouTube Shorts Comments API (YouTube) returns pull YouTube comments at scale with author, text, likes, and reply threads. It's a single authenticated GET request to /v1/youtube/shorts/comments that responds with clean JSON, costs 20 credits, and is cached for 24 hours (repeat calls are free). Start with 100 free credits — no credit card.

What is the YouTube Shorts Comments API?

The YouTube Shorts Comments API lets you pull comments with author, text, likes, and replies from YouTube with a single REST call. No OAuth, no scraping infrastructure, and no platform SDKs — send the URL, get clean structured JSON back. Results are cached for 24 hours, so repeat lookups are instant and free.

What you get

Comment text, author name, and handle
Like counts and reply threads
Pagination via the limit parameter
Timestamps for trend and sentiment analysis

Try it

Fill in the parameters below and copy a ready-to-run request in your language of choice.

Parameters

url*stringPublic YouTube Shorts URL, e.g. https://youtube.com/shorts/ID.limitoptionalintegerMax items to return (default 50, max 500). Billed per result.

API keyoptionalPaste your key to get a ready-to-run snippet. It stays in your browser.

curl "https://api.captapi.com/v1/youtube/shorts/comments?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdQw4w9WgXcQ" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer capt_live_..."

Edit the parameters and the code updates instantly. Switch languages and hit copy.

Example response

{
  "success": true,
  "cached": false,
  "creditsUsed": 20,
  "data": {
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXVHmGoCTco",
    "videoId": "DXVHmGoCTco",
    "totalReturned": 10,
    "comments": [
      {
        "id": "UgzoTD5YBfsX4xvnclx4AaABAg",
        "author": "@MrBeast",
        "text": "Who is your favorite streamer?",
        "likeCount": 67000,
        "publishedAt": "1 month ago (edited)",
        "replyCount": 1000
      },
      {
        "id": "UgycsG5e6HB_ZIPSLcF4AaABAg",
        "author": "@KBD-LGN",
        "text": "I don't need 100 thousand dollars and not millions, just help buy back my rental housing 4400430319225923 I think if not you but your subscribers will help me at least 1 cent 400 million subscribers it's already an achievement! Thank you very much to all caring people, I don't need too much",
        "likeCount": null,
        "publishedAt": "48 seconds ago",
        "replyCount": null
      }
    ]
  }
}

Response structure

A successful call returns success, cached, creditsUsed, and a data object with the following fields:

Result

totalNumber of comments returned.

Each comment

Each item in comments contains:

authorComment author name or handle.
textThe comment text.
likesNumber of likes on the comment.
repliesNumber of replies in the thread.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
url	string	Yes	Public YouTube Shorts URL, e.g. https://youtube.com/shorts/ID.
limit	integer	No	Max items to return (default 50, max 500). Billed per result.

Authentication: send your key as Authorization: Bearer capt_live_.... A typical call costs 20 credits — billed per result, so the exact amount scales with how many items you request. Repeat calls for the same request are served from cache for free (metrics refresh within ~1 hour).

Using an AI agent? This endpoint is the MCP tool youtube_shorts_comments via @captapi/mcp. Set it up →

How it works

1. Sign up — get 100 free credits, no card required.
2. Create a key from your dashboard.
3. Send one request to /v1/youtube/shorts/comments and parse the JSON response.

Use cases

Sentiment Analysis

Understand how audiences react to content.

Community Insights

Surface FAQs, requests, and recurring themes.

Moderation

Detect spam, abuse, or policy violations at scale.

Market Research

Mine genuine opinions and product feedback.

Frequently asked questions

What does the YouTube Shorts Comments API do?+

The YouTube Shorts Comments API lets you pull comments with author, text, likes, and replies from a public YouTube video using one GET request to /v1/youtube/shorts/comments. It returns clean JSON — no OAuth or scraping setup required.

How many credits does the YouTube Shorts Comments API cost?+

Each successful call costs 20 credits. Responses are cached for 24 hours, and cached results cost 0 credits. Failed or empty results are never charged.

Do I need a YouTube API key or OAuth?+

No. A single Captapi key works across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. We handle proxies, rate limits, retries, and authentication for you.

Is the YouTube Shorts Comments API suitable for production use?+

Yes. It is a stable REST endpoint with predictable JSON, automatic retries, and a shared 24-hour cache. Use it for RAG pipelines, analytics, monitoring, and content automation.

More YouTube APIs

YouTube Transcript API YouTube Summarizer API YouTube Video Details API YouTube Comments API YouTube Channel Details API YouTube Search API

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