youtube-publisher

name	youtube-publisher
description	Upload and publish videos to YouTube with title, description, tags, thumbnail and subtitles. Use for: youtube upload, publish video, share on youtube.
setup_complete	true
setup	./SETUP.md

YouTube Publisher

First time? If setup_complete: false above, run ./SETUP.md first, then set setup_complete: true.

Upload videos to YouTube with full metadata control.

Metadata sanitization

• > in title/description is automatically rewritten to 》
• < in title/description is automatically rewritten to 《
• Use this when YouTube rejects metadata because of special characters

Quick Start

cd ~/.claude/skills/youtube-publisher/scripts

# First time: authenticate
npx ts-node youtube-upload.ts --auth

# Upload video
npx ts-node youtube-upload.ts \
  --video /path/to/video.mp4 \
  --title "My Awesome Video" \
  --description "Check out this amazing content!" \
  --tags "tech,ai,tutorial" \
  --privacy unlisted

# Upload as YouTube Short (vertical video)
npx ts-node youtube-upload.ts \
  --video /path/to/short.mp4 \
  --title "Quick Tip #Shorts" \
  --description "A quick tip for you!" \
  --privacy public \
  --short

Options

Option	Short	Description
--video	-v	Video file path (required)
--title	-t	Video title (required)
--description	-d	Video description
--tags		Comma-separated tags
--privacy	-p	Privacy: public, unlisted, private (default: unlisted)
--category	-c	Category ID (default: 22 = People & Blogs)
--thumbnail		Custom thumbnail image (local path or URL)
--subtitles		Subtitle file path (SRT/VTT)
--subtitle-lang		Subtitle language code (default: zh)
--subtitle-name		Subtitle display name (default: 中文)
--playlist		Add to playlist ID
--short		Mark as YouTube Short
--auth		Run OAuth2 authentication flow
--dry-run		Preview without uploading

Category IDs

ID	Category
1	Film & Animation
2	Autos & Vehicles
10	Music
15	Pets & Animals
17	Sports
19	Travel & Events
20	Gaming
22	People & Blogs
23	Comedy
24	Entertainment
25	News & Politics
26	Howto & Style
27	Education
28	Science & Technology

Authentication

First-time setup requires OAuth2 authentication:

1. Run npx ts-node youtube-upload.ts --auth
2. Browser opens Google login
3. Grant permissions to upload videos
4. Token is saved to .youtube-token.json

Token refreshes automatically. Re-run --auth if expired.

Environment

Create scripts/.env:

YOUTUBE_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
YOUTUBE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret

Get credentials from Google Cloud Console:

1. Create project at console.cloud.google.com
2. Enable YouTube Data API v3
3. Create OAuth2 credentials (Desktop app)
4. Download and extract client_id & client_secret

Examples

Upload Tutorial Video

npx ts-node youtube-upload.ts \
  -v tutorial.mp4 \
  -t "How to Use Claude Code - Complete Guide" \
  -d "Learn everything about Claude Code in this comprehensive tutorial.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
02:30 Getting Started
05:00 Advanced Features

#ClaudeCode #AI #Tutorial" \
  --tags "claude code,ai,tutorial,anthropic,coding" \
  --category 28 \
  --privacy public

Upload YouTube Short

npx ts-node youtube-upload.ts \
  -v short_video.mp4 \
  -t "Mind-blowing AI trick! #Shorts" \
  -d "This will change how you work! #AI #Tech" \
  --privacy public \
  --short

Upload to Playlist

npx ts-node youtube-upload.ts \
  -v episode5.mp4 \
  -t "Podcast Episode 5" \
  --playlist PLxxxxxxxxxxxxxx \
  --privacy unlisted

Upload with Thumbnail and Subtitles

npx ts-node youtube-upload.ts \
  -v tutorial.mp4 \
  -t "Tutorial with Subtitles" \
  -d "Learn step by step with subtitles" \
  --thumbnail /path/to/cover.jpg \
  --subtitles /path/to/subtitles.srt \
  --subtitle-lang zh \
  --subtitle-name "中文" \
  --privacy public

Upload with Local Thumbnail

npx ts-node youtube-upload.ts \
  -v video.mp4 \
  -t "My Video Title" \
  --thumbnail "/Users/m/Downloads/shell/work/cover.jpg" \
  --privacy public

Output

On success, returns:

• Video ID
• Video URL (https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID)
• Status

Limitations

• Max file size: 256GB (YouTube limit)
• Supported formats: MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, FLV, 3GP, MPEG
• Supported subtitle formats: SRT, VTT
• Daily upload quota: 10,000 units (typically ~6 videos/day)
• Title max: 100 characters
• Description max: 5,000 characters
• Tags max: 500 characters total

Changelog

v1.1 - Resumable Upload + Retry (2026-04-22)

• Fixed EPIPE error on large file uploads by switching to resumable upload with progress tracking
• Added automatic retry (up to 3 attempts) for transient network errors (EPIPE, ETIMEDOUT, ECONNRESET)
• Added upload progress logging (every 10%)
• Added media.mimeType for better upload compatibility

v1.0 - Initial Release

• Basic video upload with metadata
• Thumbnail, subtitle, playlist support
• OAuth2 authentication