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//Video Thumbnail & Frame Extractor example\\

Cover and 4 frames of a YouTube video

The thumbnail plus frames at 0:05, at the middle and evenly spaced.

Updated November 12, 2026

What this example returns

The dataset’s “Images” view shows 12 columns: Image, Type, Time, Title, Creator, Link, Platform, Width, Height, Format, Published, and Length (s). See every output field.

What each setting does

The input this example runs Video Thumbnail & Frame Extractor with. “Try this input” opens it in the console, where you can run it as-is or change any field first.

Video or episode links videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw

Public video links (YouTube videos, Shorts, playlists and channels; TikTok; Vimeo; Dailymotion; direct MP4 links) and podcast links (Apple Podcasts shows and episodes, Spotify episodes, podcast RSS feeds).

Save the cover image includeCover

Yes

Save the video thumbnail or the episode cover art at the largest size the platform offers.

Frames at these times frameTimestamps

0:05, 50%

Times to take a still frame from each video: seconds (90), clock time (1:30 or 01:02:03), units (1m30s) or a share of the length (50%). Times after the end are skipped with a note.

Evenly spaced frames evenlySpacedFrames

2

Number of frames spread evenly across each video, skipping the very first and last picture. 0 takes none.

Default: 0 → this example uses 2

Frame size frameMaxHeight

720p

Largest picture size for frames, measured on the short side (a vertical clip at 720p is 720 px wide). A video published in a smaller size gives smaller frames.

Image format imageFormat

JPG

File format of the saved images. Covers are converted when the platform serves another format.

.json
{
  "videos": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"
    }
  ],
  "includeCover": true,
  "frameTimestamps": [
    "0:05",
    "50%"
  ],
  "evenlySpacedFrames": 2,
  "frameMaxHeight": "720p",
  "imageFormat": "jpg"
}

What it costs

You pay for the events the actor reports, such as each result or page it produces. Platform usage is included in the event prices: compute, proxies, browser and storage cost nothing extra.

  • Image savedfrom $0.00136One image saved with the run: a cover or a still frame.

Full pricing

When to use this example

From the Video Thumbnail & Frame Extractor readme:

How are frames read from long videos?

The actor asks the video host for the parts of the file around each frame time, so a long episode is not downloaded whole. Hosts that only stream in segments are downloaded at the chosen frame size (up to 400 MB) and the frames are taken from that copy.

Which frame size do I get?

The largest published picture at or below your choice, measured on the short side. An old video may only offer 360p even if you ask for 1080p.

Other ways to run Video Thumbnail & Frame Extractor

All examples of Video Thumbnail & Frame Extractor

About Video Thumbnail & Frame Extractor

Save cover images and still frames from public YouTube, TikTok, Vimeo and Dailymotion videos and podcast episodes (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RSS feeds). Pick exact times or evenly spaced frames; every image is stored with the run and gets a download link.

Price:
from $1.36 / 1,000 results
Developer:
Echofield
Categories:
Videos, Social media

Video Thumbnail & Frame Extractor pageOutput fieldsPricing

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