YouTube Uploader
First time? If
setup_complete: falseabove, run./SETUP.mdfirst, then setsetup_complete: true.
Upload videos to YouTube with full metadata control.
Quick Start
cd ~/.claude/skills/youtube-uploader/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 path |
| --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:
- Run
npx ts-node youtube-upload.ts --auth - Browser opens Google login
- Grant permissions to upload videos
- 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:
- Create project at console.cloud.google.com
- Enable YouTube Data API v3
- Create OAuth2 credentials (Desktop app)
- 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
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
- Daily upload quota: 10,000 units (typically ~6 videos/day)
- Title max: 100 characters
- Description max: 5,000 characters
- Tags max: 500 characters total