YouTube · Guide

How to get YouTube shorts comments

TL;DR

To get YouTube shorts comments, sign up for a free Captapi key, then send one GET request to /v1/youtube/shorts/comments with your input. You get clean JSON back in seconds for ~20 credits (0.4/result) per call — no OAuth, scraping or platform SDKs. Pull YouTube comments with author, text, likes, and timestamps — cursor pagination via nextCursor.

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How to get YouTube shorts comments (step by step)

1
Get a free API key
Create a free Captapi account (100 credits, no card) and generate an API key from the dashboard.
2
Call the YouTube Shorts Comments API
Send an authenticated GET request to /v1/youtube/shorts/comments with your input. No OAuth, no scraping setup.
3
Read the JSON response
Parse the clean JSON response. Pass cache=true for a free 24h cache hit; default is always fresh.

Code example

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

What the response looks like

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXVHmGoCTco",
    "videoId": "DXVHmGoCTco",
    "totalReturned": 2,
    "totalComments": 172101,
    "nextCursor": "Eg0SC0RYVkhtR29DVGNvGAYyJSIRIgtEWFZIbUdvQ1RjbzAAeAJCEGNvbW1lbnRzLXNlY3Rpb24%3D",
    "hasMore": true,
    "comments": [
      {
        "id": "UgzoTD5YBfsX4xvnclx4AaABAg",
        "author": "@MrBeast",
        "authorAvatarUrl": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/nxYrc_1_2f77DoBadyxMTmv7ZpRZapHR5jbuYe7PlPd5cIRJxtNNEYyOC0ZsxaDyJJzXrnJiuDE=s88-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
        "authorIsVerified": true,
        "authorIsChannelOwner": true,
        "text": "Who is your favorite streamer?",
        "likeCount": 69000,
        "replyCount": 907,
        "hasCreatorHeart": true,
        "publishedTimeText": "3 months ago (edited)",
        "replyToId": null
      },
      {
        "id": "UgyQ5z9f7wcaa6tM1hB4AaABAg",
        "author": "@NoOne-p8b",
        "authorAvatarUrl": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/ytc/AIdro_kVrDUhBwT9mRE2gmGtChvxhznEB5UPX2XPBtWPAOOek_gveCxp4-WhcCMLH1t7oFAkEQ=s88-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj",
        "authorIsVerified": false,
        "authorIsChannelOwner": false,
        "text": "Rakai is a type of guy who everyone wants to avoid, but still sticks around like a parasite.",
        "likeCount": 20000,
        "replyCount": 70,
        "hasCreatorHeart": true,
        "publishedTimeText": "3 months ago",
        "replyToId": null
      }
    ]
  }
}

Billing metadata (credits charged, cache hit/miss) is returned in the X-Captapi-Credits and X-Captapi-Cache response headers.

Request parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
url	string	Yes	Public YouTube Shorts URL, e.g. https://youtube.com/shorts/ID. Not a TikTok/Instagram/Facebook URL. The URL platform must match this endpoint's platform. Do not pass cross-platform URLs, e.g. YouTube to TikTok, Instagram to Facebook, LinkedIn to X/Twitter, or Pinterest to Rumble.
limit	integer	No	Max items to return (default 50, max 500). Billed per result.
cursor	string	No	Pagination cursor. Leave empty for the first page; then pass the nextCursor value returned in the previous response.
cache	boolean	No	Set true to serve from the 24h response cache. Default false — always fetch fresh data.

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 Short using one GET request to /v1/youtube/shorts/comments. It returns clean JSON — no OAuth or infrastructure setup required.

How many credits does the YouTube Shorts Comments API cost?

At the default limit this endpoint costs 20 credits (0.4 per result). Billing scales with how many results you request. Pass cache=true to serve from the 24h shared cache (0 credits on hit); default is always fresh. Failed or empty results are never charged.

Do I need a YouTube API key or OAuth?

No. A single Captapi key works across every platform Captapi supports — YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, Reddit, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Rumble, Spotify, Kwai, and more. 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 and automatic retries. Pass cache=true to serve from the 24h shared cache (0 credits on hit); default is always fresh. Use it for analytics, monitoring, and content automation.

Ready to get YouTube shorts comments?

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