Youtube Automation

# YouTube Automation via Rube MCP

Automate YouTube operations through Composio's YouTube toolkit via Rube MCP.

Prerequisites

- Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)

- Active YouTube connection via `RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS` with toolkit `youtube`

- Always call `RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS` first to get current tool schemas

Setup

**Get Rube MCP**: Add `https://rube.app/mcp` as an MCP server in your client configuration. No API keys needed — just add the endpoint and it works.

1. Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming `RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS` responds

2. Call `RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS` with toolkit `youtube`

3. If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete Google OAuth

4. Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. Upload and Manage Videos

**When to use**: User wants to upload a video or update video metadata

**Tool sequence**:

1. `YOUTUBE_UPLOAD_VIDEO` - Upload a new video [Required]

2. `YOUTUBE_UPDATE_VIDEO` - Update title, description, tags, privacy [Optional]

3. `YOUTUBE_UPDATE_THUMBNAIL` - Set a custom thumbnail [Optional]

**Key parameters**:

- `title`: Video title (max 100 characters)

- `description`: Video description (max 5000 bytes)

- `tags`: Array of keyword tags

- `categoryId`: YouTube category ID (e.g., '22' for People & Blogs)

- `privacyStatus`: 'public', 'private', or 'unlisted'

- `videoFilePath`: Object with `{name, mimetype, s3key}` for the video file

**Pitfalls**:

- UPLOAD_VIDEO consumes high quota; prefer UPDATE_VIDEO for metadata-only changes

- videoFilePath must be an object with s3key, not a raw file path or URL

- Tags total must not exceed 500 characters including separators

- Angle brackets `< >` in tags are automatically stripped

- Description limit is 5000 bytes, not characters (multibyte chars count more)

2. Search YouTube Content

**When to use**: User wants to find videos, channels, or playlists

**Tool sequence**:

1. `YOUTUBE_SEARCH_YOU_TUBE` - Search for content [Required]

2. `YOUTUBE_VIDEO_DETAILS` - Get full details for a specific video [Optional]

3. `YOUTUBE_GET_VIDEO_DETAILS_BATCH` - Get details for multiple videos [Optional]

**Key parameters**:

- `q`: Search query (supports exact phrases, exclusions, channel handles)

- `type`: 'video', 'channel', or 'playlist'

- `maxResults`: Results per page (1-50)

- `pageToken`: For pagination

**Pitfalls**:

- Search endpoint only returns 'snippet' part; use VIDEO_DETAILS for statistics

- Search results are capped at 500 total items

- Search has higher quota cost (100 units) vs list endpoints (1 unit)

- BATCH video details practical limit is ~50 IDs per call; chunk larger sets

3. Manage Playlists

**When to use**: User wants to create playlists or manage playlist contents

**Tool sequence**:

1. `YOUTUBE_LIST_USER_PLAYLISTS` - List user's existing playlists [Optional]

2. `YOUTUBE_CREATE_PLAYLIST` - Create a new playlist [Optional]

3. `YOUTUBE_ADD_VIDEO_TO_PLAYLIST` - Add a video to a playlist [Optional]

4. `YOUTUBE_LIST_PLAYLIST_ITEMS` - List videos in a playlist [Optional]

**Key parameters**:

- `playlistId`: Playlist ID ('PL...' for user-created, 'UU...' for uploads)

- `part`: Resource parts to include (e.g., 'snippet,contentDetails')

- `maxResults`: Items per page (1-50)

- `pageToken`: Pagination token from previous response

**Pitfalls**:

- Do NOT pass channel IDs ('UC...') as playlist IDs; convert 'UC' to 'UU' for uploads

- Large playlists require pagination via pageToken; follow nextPageToken until absent

- items[].id is not the videoId; use items[].snippet.resourceId.videoId

- Creating duplicate playlist names is allowed; check existing playlists first

4. Get Channel and Video Analytics

**When to use**: User wants to analyze channel performance or video metrics

**Tool sequence**:

1. `YOUTUBE_GET_CHANNEL_ID_BY_HANDLE` - Resolve a handle to channel ID [Prerequisite]

2. `YOUTUBE_GET_CHANNEL_STATISTICS` - Get channel subscriber/view/video cou