> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://magic-post.mintlify.site/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # YouTube > Set up a Google Cloud project for the YouTube Data API, connect channels, and publish videos and Shorts with title, visibility and first comments. MagicPost uploads to YouTube with the YouTube Data API. You create one Google Cloud project and OAuth client. Each user then connects their own YouTube channel through it. ## What you need * A Google account that can use the [Google Cloud console](https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/credentials). * Your site served over HTTPS. * Access to **Admin** → **Publishing** → **Platforms**. * For a custom thumbnail, FFmpeg on the server. See [Video processing](https://magic-post.mintlify.site/advanced/video-processing.md). ## Set up Google Cloud **1. Create a project and enable the API** In the Google Cloud console, create a project and enable the **YouTube Data API v3** for it. **2. Get the redirect URI from MagicPost** In MagicPost, go to **Admin** → **Publishing** → **Platforms** and click **Add credentials** on the **YouTube** card. Under **What to register**, copy the **Redirect URI** and the permissions under **Permissions asked for**: ```text theme={null} https://your-domain.com/publishing/youtube/callback ``` **3. Configure the consent screen** Set up the **OAuth consent screen** for **External** users and add the scopes from the table below. **4. Create the OAuth client** Create an **OAuth client ID** of type **Web application**. Add the redirect URI under **Authorized redirect URIs**. **5. Copy the keys** Copy the **Client ID** and the **Client secret**. **6. Store them in MagicPost** Paste them into **Client ID** and **Client secret**. Tick **Available to users**, click **Save**, then **Run checks**. ### Permissions MagicPost asks for | Scope | Used for | | - | - | | `https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.upload` | Uploading videos. | | `https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.readonly` | Reading the channel and its statistics. | | `https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.force-ssl` | Posting first comments. | > [!WARNING] > > While the consent screen is in **Testing**, Google ends every connection after 7 days. Publish the app to **In production** before users rely on it. > [!WARNING] > > Videos uploaded through a Google project that has not passed YouTube's API audit are locked to private, whatever visibility the user chose. Request the audit from Google before people publish publicly. ## Connect a YouTube channel **1. Open Channels** Under **Publishing** in the sidebar, click **Channels**. **2. Add the channel** In **Add a channel**, click **YouTube**. Sign in with Google and approve access. Google asks for consent every time, so that it issues a refresh token. **3. Confirm** You return to **Channels** with a **Channel** entry named after the YouTube channel. A Google account without a YouTube channel cannot be connected. MagicPost answers **This Google account has no YouTube channel.** Channels connected before first comments were added lack the `youtube.force-ssl` scope. They have to reconnect to get first comments. ## What you can publish YouTube has two post types: **Video** and **Short**. Both need a video. | Setting | Video | Short | | - | - | - | | Description | Up to 5,000 bytes. The characters `<` and `>` are not allowed. | Same. | | Video formats | mp4, mov, webm, avi, mkv, flv | mp4, mov, webm | | Video size | Up to 262,144 MB | Up to 1,024 MB | | Video length | 1 to 43,200 seconds | 1 to 180 seconds | | Images | None. | None. | | First comment | Yes. | Yes. | * YouTube counts the description in bytes, so characters outside the basic Latin range use more than one. * Files reach YouTube through the media library. Its default ceiling is 2,048 MB per video, and it accepts mp4, mov, webm, avi and mkv. A larger file, or a format the library does not accept such as flv, cannot be added to the library. See [Upload ceilings](https://magic-post.mintlify.site/channels/overview.md#upload-ceilings). * A Short needs a square or vertical video. A wide one is published as a regular video. * YouTube refuses videos over 15 minutes until the YouTube account is verified. ### Options Set these under **Settings for** the channel in the composer. | Option | Required | On Video | On Short | What it does | | - | - | - | - | - | | **Title** | Yes | Yes | Yes | Up to 100 characters, without `<` or `>`. When empty, the first line of the caption is used, then **Untitled video**. | | **Visibility** | Yes | Yes | Yes | **Public**, **Unlisted** or **Private**. | | **Category** | No | Yes | No | One of 15 YouTube categories, from **Film & Animation** to **Nonprofits & Activism**. **People & Blogs** is used when none is chosen. | | **Tags** | No | Yes | Yes | Up to 500 characters in total, without `<` or `>`. | | **Made for kids** | No | Yes | Yes | Required by law to be set honestly. Turns off comments and personalised ads. | | **Altered or synthetic content** | No | Yes | Yes | For realistic content made or changed with AI. YouTube shows a label. | | **Thumbnail frame** | No | Yes | Yes | Pick a frame of the video as the thumbnail. | | **Don't notify subscribers** | No | Yes | Yes | Uploads without notifying subscribers. | * MagicPost switches **Altered or synthetic content** on by itself when any attached media was created with MagicPost's AI tools. * **Thumbnail frame** only works for a verified YouTube account, and the server needs FFmpeg. Otherwise YouTube picks a thumbnail itself. The video stays live either way. ### First comment The first comment is posted as a top-level comment on the video once YouTube has finished processing it. It is not posted on a video marked **Made for kids**, because comments are off. If posting it fails, the video stays published and the failure is written to the application log. ### How the upload works * The file is uploaded in chunks of 8 MB against one upload session. A run that is cut short asks Google how much it has and carries on, so a long video is never sent twice. * After the upload, MagicPost waits for YouTube to process the video and checks again every minute. A video that is still processing 30 minutes after the upload is treated as published, because it exists and YouTube carries on. ## Connection check | Item | Result | | - | - | | **Channel** | **Connected to NAME.** | | **Long videos** | Warns when YouTube does not allow long uploads: **Videos over 15 minutes are refused until the YouTube account is verified.** | | **Visibility** | Warns when an earlier upload came out private: **YouTube keeps this channel's uploads private until the Google Cloud project behind this app passes YouTube's API audit. Ask your admin to apply for it.** The warning clears when a public upload goes through. | | **First comments** | Warns when the connection lacks `youtube.force-ssl`: **Reconnect this channel so MagicPost can post first comments on new videos.** | The same note about private uploads appears in the composer under **Settings for** the channel. ## Analytics | Level | Figures | | - | - | | Post | Likes, comments and views. A like count the creator hides is read as zero. | | Channel | Subscribers (shown as followers), number of videos, and total views. | See [Analytics](https://magic-post.mintlify.site/user-guide/analytics.md). ## Common errors > [accordion] This app has used its YouTube upload allowance for today > > The Google project's daily quota is used up. The post is retried after midnight Pacific time, when the allowance resets. > [accordion] This YouTube channel has reached its daily upload limit > > The channel itself hit YouTube's limit. The post goes out after midnight Pacific time. > [accordion] Videos stay private > > The Google project has not passed YouTube's API audit. See the warning above and apply for the audit. > [accordion] Connections end after a week > > The OAuth consent screen is still in **Testing**. Publish it to **In production**, then reconnect the channels. > [accordion] YouTube refused the video as a duplicate > > The channel already holds a video with the same content. Use a different file. > [accordion] The video is longer than this YouTube account may upload > > Verify the YouTube account to upload videos over 15 minutes. > [accordion] YouTube refused the video over a copyright claim > > YouTube rejected the upload because of a copyright claim. The post fails with that reason. > [accordion] YouTube could not process the file > > Export the video as an H.264 MP4 and try again. > [accordion] The upload session expired > > MagicPost starts the upload again automatically. No action is needed. > [accordion] Redirect URI mismatch when connecting > > The URI under **Authorized redirect URIs** in Google Cloud differs from the **Redirect URI** in MagicPost. Copy it again from the setup panel. Other errors are shown with Google's own message. See [Failed posts](https://magic-post.mintlify.site/troubleshooting/publishing-errors.md). This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.