Skip to content
//Video Thumbnail & Frame Extractor example\\

Frames from YouTube search results

Two evenly spaced PNG frames from each of the first 2 videos for a keyword.

Updated November 13, 2026

What this example returns

This example returns up to 2 images saved.

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.

Search terms searchTerms

car review

Find videos or episodes by keyword instead of links. Each term returns up to the number set in Videos per search or list link.

Search in searchSource

YouTube videos

Where the search terms are looked up. Podcast search returns episodes with their cover art.

Videos per search or list link maxVideos

2

How many videos or episodes to take from each search term, playlist, channel, podcast show or feed. Single video links always count as one.

Default: 10 → this example uses 2

Save the cover image includeCover

No

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

Default: Yes → this example uses No

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

480p

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, and the row's note says so. Frames above 1080p from a video platform also carry the large-frame add-on. Direct video files larger than 1080p, and videos from…

Default: 720p → this example uses 480p

Image format imageFormat

PNG

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

Default: JPG → this example uses PNG

.json
{
  "searchTerms": [
    "car review"
  ],
  "searchSource": "youtube",
  "maxVideos": 2,
  "includeCover": false,
  "evenlySpacedFrames": 2,
  "frameMaxHeight": "480p",
  "imageFormat": "png"
}

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 $0.0006174One image saved with the run: a cover or a still frame.
  • Frame above 1080pfrom $0.0019Added to the image event for a frame larger than 1080p (1440p or 2160p) read from a video platform (YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, TikTok). Frames up to 1080p and covers do not have it; direct video files and videos downloaded whole pay per megabyte instead (video megabyte add-on).
  • Video megabytefrom $0.0004Charged per megabyte (1,000,000 bytes) read from a video in two cases: a direct video file or stream link (not a video platform) whose own picture is larger than 1080p, and a video whose host does not answer byte-range requests, so it is downloaded whole to read frames. Rounded up per video and charged with the frames saved from it.

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 stream in segments (Vimeo, Dailymotion) give the one segment that holds each frame time. Only a host that allows neither is downloaded at the chosen frame size and the frames are taken from that copy; the downloaded megabytes carry the video megabyte add-on.

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. Among streams of that size, the one with standard colour (not HDR) and the fewest bytes is read.

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 $0.617 / 1,000 results
Developer:
Toolwright
Categories:
Videos, Social media

Video Thumbnail & Frame Extractor pageOutput fieldsPricing

Related actors

//From the blog\\

Latest articles

All articles

The internet is full of data.
Start owning yours.

Scrape.ly gives you the infrastructure, the tooling, and the team to extract, process, and operationalize web data at any scale. Setup takes minutes.

No credit card. No setup calls.