Scraper to turn your YouTube watch later list (private no API) into a csv

scrapePlaylist.js

function scrapePlaylist() {
    // 0. go to https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=WL and run this from the chrome dev console
    // 1. Extract the expected number of videos from the metadata
    const bylineItems = document.querySelectorAll('ytd-playlist-byline-renderer .byline-item');
    let targetCount = 0;
    
    if (bylineItems.length > 0) {
        // Extracts digits from strings like "450 videos" or "1,234 views"
        const countText = bylineItems[0].innerText;
        targetCount = parseInt(countText.replace(/[^0-9]/g, ''), 10);
    }

    if (!targetCount || isNaN(targetCount)) {
        console.error("Could not find the total video count. Falling back to 100.");
        targetCount = 100;
    }

    console.log(`Start: Attempting to harvest a total of ${targetCount} videos... Please do not scroll.`);

    let extractedData = [];
    let seenUrls = new Set();
    
    // Safety net: If no new videos are found for 10 cycles (10 seconds), abort loop
    let idleCounter = 0; 
    let lastDataLength = 0;

    const scrollInterval = setInterval(() => {
        const domVideos = document.querySelectorAll('ytd-playlist-video-renderer');
        let lastValidVideo = null;

        for (let video of domVideos) {
            const titleEl = video.querySelector('#video-title');
            
            // Skip empty/ghost containers
            if (!titleEl || titleEl.innerText.trim() === '') continue;

            const url = titleEl.href;

            // Process only if we haven't seen this URL yet
            if (!seenUrls.has(url)) {
                const title = titleEl.innerText.trim();
                const channelEl = video.querySelector('ytd-channel-name a');
                const channel = channelEl ? channelEl.innerText.trim() : 'N/A';
                
                const durationEl = video.querySelector('ytd-thumbnail-overlay-time-status-renderer #text');
                const duration = durationEl ? durationEl.innerText.trim() : 'N/A';

                const infoSpans = video.querySelectorAll('#video-info span');
                let views = 'N/A';
                let uploadTime = 'N/A';
                
                if (infoSpans.length >= 3) {
                    views = infoSpans[0].innerText.trim();
                    uploadTime = infoSpans[2].innerText.trim();
                } else if (infoSpans.length === 1) {
                    const splitInfo = infoSpans[0].innerText.split('•');
                    if(splitInfo.length >= 2) {
                        views = splitInfo[0].trim();
                        uploadTime = splitInfo[1].trim();
                    }
                }

                extractedData.push({ title, channel, duration, views, uploadTime });
                seenUrls.add(url);
            }
            lastValidVideo = video;
        }

        // Progress display
        console.log(`Status: Collected ${extractedData.length} of ${targetCount} videos.`);

        // Idle-Check (Safety net for hidden/deleted videos)
        if (extractedData.length === lastDataLength) {
            idleCounter++;
        } else {
            idleCounter = 0; // Reset because we found new videos
            lastDataLength = extractedData.length;
        }

        // Abort condition: Target reached OR idle too long at the bottom
        if (extractedData.length >= targetCount || idleCounter > 10) {
            clearInterval(scrollInterval);
            
            if (idleCounter > 10) {
                console.warn(`\nStopped due to timeout! The playlist likely contains hidden/deleted videos. Found ${extractedData.length} videos.`);
            } else {
                console.log(`\nGoal reached! Successfully harvested all ${targetCount} videos.`);
            }
            
            // Generate and download CSV
            downloadCSV(extractedData.slice(0, targetCount));
        } else {
            // Continue scrolling
            if (lastValidVideo) {
                lastValidVideo.scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'center' });
            }
            const loader = document.querySelector('ytd-continuation-item-renderer');
            if (loader) {
                setTimeout(() => loader.scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'end' }), 300);
            }
        }
    }, 1000);

    // Helper function to build and trigger the CSV download
    function downloadCSV(videos) {
        console.log("Generating CSV file...");
        
        // Header
        let csvContent = "Title,Channel,Duration,Views,UploadTime\n";

        // Data rows
        videos.forEach(v => {
            const safeTitle = `"${v.title.replace(/"/g, '""')}"`;
            const safeChannel = `"${v.channel.replace(/"/g, '""')}"`;
            csvContent += `${safeTitle},${safeChannel},"${v.duration}","${v.views}","${v.uploadTime}"\n`;
        });

        // Create Blob (with BOM for correct UTF-8 rendering in Excel)
        const blob = new Blob(["\uFEFF" + csvContent], { type: 'text/csv;charset=utf-8;' });
        const link = document.createElement("a");
        const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
        
        link.setAttribute("href", url);
        link.setAttribute("download", "youtube_playlist_export.csv");
        link.style.visibility = 'hidden';
        
        document.body.appendChild(link);
        link.click();
        document.body.removeChild(link);
        
        console.log("Download should have started!");
    }
}

// Start script
scrapePlaylist();