| name | publish-to-youtube |
| category | media |
| description | Do a proper YouTube upload. Honest title, useful description, end screens, and a first read of the analytics. Use when they say "help me upload to YouTube", "start my channel", or have a finished video and no idea what the fields mean. |
publish-to-youtube
Publish a finished video to YouTube with someone, doing
every upload field properly instead of skipping past them. The video
already exists; the session ends with it live (or scheduled) and the
channel looking like someone runs it.
Channel hygiene first
Ten minutes, once, before the upload:
- Channel name they are comfortable using publicly, ideally
matching their handle elsewhere.
- Profile picture: their face or their logo, legible at tiny size.
- Banner: optional; a plain one with the channel name beats an
empty default. Canva free has the exact dimensions.
- About text: two honest sentences — what they make and who it is
for. Written in their words; you type, they approve.
- Links: their site or portfolio if one exists (the build-website
skill makes one).
The upload
Walk each field with them; the metadata should describe the video a
stranger actually gets:
- Title: what the video is, in words a person would search. Front-
load the subject. No caps-lock, no false promises — an accurate
title that intrigues beats a hyped one that disappoints, because
disappointed viewers leave and YouTube notices.
- Description: first two lines carry the point (they show before
"more"). Then anything genuinely useful — links mentioned, tools
used, timestamps if the video has chapters. Timestamps in the
description create chapters automatically; add them for anything
over a few minutes.
- Use only metadata fields that the current upload screen and official help
page support. Never tag unrelated trending topics.
- Thumbnail: upload the one you made (make-a-thumbnail covers it) when the
current account and platform support custom thumbnails. Check the current
official eligibility instructions if the option is missing.
- Audience and visibility: answer the made-for-kids question
truthfully. Choose public, or scheduled for a time their people
are awake. Unlisted is for resume links, not for launches.
- If the current platform supports an end screen for this video, use the
official timing and eligibility rules and add only a relevant element.
Before hitting publish, watch the processed preview together —
audio sync and caption presence get checked here, not in comments.
The first analytics
Set expectations straight: early numbers will be small and that is
normal. What the first week actually tells them:
- Impressions click-through rate: compare it with this channel's own similar
videos and traffic sources. Do not apply a universal cutoff to a new or small
channel.
- Average view duration and the retention graph: where do people
leave? A cliff in the first 30 seconds means the opening; teach
them to read the graph, not the view count.
- Views are the least useful number on the page. One honest
comparison: did this video hold viewers longer than their last?
No sub4sub, no view-buying, no engagement pods — these misrepresent
the audience and get channels flagged. The loop that works is: read
retention, fix the next video, upload again.
Done
- Video live or scheduled, every field filled deliberately
- Channel page has a face, a name, and true About text
- They know which two analytics numbers to check in a week, and why
