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FAQs

YouTube publishing, Shorts, permissions, and troubleshooting.

For API and MCP fields, examples, and prerequisites, start with YouTube publishing.

Can Blotato Write Description and Timestamps for Youtube?

Yes, first upload your Youtube video as public or unlisted. It takes ~20 mins before Blotato can access it publicly. Then, add the Youtube URL as a Source and use the prompt "Youtube Description & Timestamps". This will analyze your Youtube video and generate a description and clickable timestamps.

Why does adding my YouTube video as a Source fail or say "error fetching"?

Adding a YouTube URL as a Source extracts the video transcript. Transcript extraction only reads English. If your YouTube video is in another language, or has no captions (subtitles), the extraction fails with an "error fetching" message.

Fixes:

  1. Use a YouTube video that has English captions.

  2. For a non-English video, open the video, copy the transcript or a summary, and add it as Text context instead.

  3. Make sure the video is public or unlisted, and wait about 20 minutes after upload before Blotato can access it.

This English-only limit applies to YouTube and TikTok Source extraction. See Understanding Context for all supported context types.

How Do You Upload Long Youtube Videos vs Youtube Shorts?

Youtube automatically identifies Shorts - if your video is less than 3 minutes long and vertical (9:16 aspect ratio), it will automatically be posted as a Youtube Short.

How Do You Add Tags to Youtube Videos?

Botato currently doesn't support adding Tags to Youtube videos because Youtube's recommendation: "Tags can be useful if the content of your video is commonly misspelled. Otherwise, tags play a minimal role in your video's discovery." (Source: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/146402?hl=en)

"You have reached the maximum number of 10 posts for the last 24 hours for this account"

Blotato emits this error when its per-channel publishing counter reaches the plan's limit: 10 posts in a rolling 24-hour window on Starter, or 25 on Creator and Agency. It is not a universal YouTube API allowance shared by all tools.

To resolve this:

  1. Confirm the plan, channel, and exact limit in the error.

  2. Wait for earlier successful posts to leave the rolling 24-hour window.

  3. Check the original post's outcome before retrying.

YouTube has separate quotas and account restrictions. Uploading directly on YouTube avoids Blotato's counter, not YouTube's restrictions. Do not switch channels or create a duplicate upload merely to work around the error.

Youtube API quota error "The user has exceeded the number of videos they may upload"?

The YouTube API error, "The user has exceeded the number of videos they may upload," means that your YouTube account has hit one of YouTube's upload limits or quotas.

This could be due to:

  1. Daily Upload Limit – YouTube enforces a cap on the number of videos an account can upload per 24 hours.

  2. Weekly or Periodic Limits – Some accounts may have stricter limits depending on factors like age, activity, and compliance with YouTube's policies.

  3. Quota Limits on the API – If you're uploading via the YouTube Data API, you may have hit your quota limit for video uploads.

  4. Account Restrictions – New or unverified accounts may have lower upload limits.

  5. Violation of YouTube Policies – If your account has received strikes or violations, YouTube may impose restrictions.

Solutions:

  • Wait and try again later – If you've hit the daily limit, you might just need to wait 24 hours.

  • Check API quota usage – If using the API, review your quota usage in the Google Cloud Console.

  • Verify your account – Make sure your YouTube account is verified to increase your upload limits.

  • Check YouTube's official upload limits – YouTube's limits can change, so check their official page.

Youtube "Unauthorized" error?

To fix the Unauthorized error when posting to YouTube, try these steps:

  1. Open an incognito Chrome browser

  2. Log into your YouTube account

  3. Log into Blotato

  4. Reconnect your YouTube account to Blotato

  5. If you are using a workflow automation, make sure you update your youtube account ID!

How do you upload a video to Youtube?

For YouTube Shorts:

  • Connect your YouTube account in Settings

  • Go to the AI Agent and click the pencil "New Post" button to create a draft, then select your YouTube account when scheduling

  • Upload a video with 9:16 aspect ratio and under 3 minutes - it will automatically post as a YouTube Short

For regular videos:

  • Go to the AI Agent

  • Create a draft post

  • Click Photo / Video, then upload your video

If you're making videos in Blotato:

  • Turn Slideshow off before clicking Export, then wait for the MP4 export to succeed.

  • Click Create Post to create a draft in Remix. Select the intended destination before a separate publishing or scheduling action. See Edit, mute, and export.

  • YouTube automatically identifies Shorts based on length (under 3 minutes) and aspect ratio (9:16 vertical)

If you're using a workflow automation tool:

  • Add a new node/module, search for Blotato, select platform "Youtube", and pass your publicly accessible video URL to be uploaded to Youtube

Connected YouTube account but different channel not appearing?

Follow this troubleshooting guide for connecting your YouTube channels: Help guide

I published to YouTube but the video is not on my channel

Publishing from the Blotato web app defaults to Unlisted unless you change the "Video privacy status" dropdown. Unlisted and private videos do not appear on your public channel page, but they do exist in your account.

  1. Open YouTube Studio.

  2. Click Content in the left sidebar.

  3. Find your video in the list.

  4. Check the Visibility column.

  5. Click the visibility value and change it to Public.

To publish as public from the start, set the "Video privacy status" dropdown to Public before publishing. Over the API, privacyStatus is required and has no default -- set it to public explicitly. See Publish Post.

How do I set the title and description when publishing to YouTube?

When publishing to YouTube from Blotato:

  1. The post text becomes the YouTube video description

  2. The title field becomes the YouTube video title

In the web app (AI Agent), the text you write in the post body becomes the YouTube description. The title field appears when you select YouTube as a platform.

When using the API, set content.text for the description and target.title for the video title.

Tags are not supported. YouTube recommends against relying on tags for discovery (source).

I get "target.title: must NOT have fewer than 1 characters" when scheduling

This error means the YouTube Title field is empty. YouTube requires a title, so a blank title blocks the post even when the main post box has text.

Using Blotato Web App

  1. Open the post and confirm YouTube is selected as a platform

  2. Scroll down on the right side of the composer to the YouTube options

  3. Type a title in the Title field, so it has at least one character

  4. Schedule or publish the post

Using Blotato API (n8n / Make.com)

  1. Set target.title to a non-empty string for the YouTube post

  2. Do not send an empty value or a variable that maps to blank

How can I select the thumbnail of my YouTube video?

You can add a custom thumbnail when publishing to YouTube.

Using Blotato Web App

  1. Create a post and select your YouTube account

  2. In the scheduling screen, upload or select your custom thumbnail

  3. Publish or schedule your post

Using Blotato API (n8n / Make.com)

  1. Pass a thumbnailUrl field in the target object with a publicly accessible image URL

  2. Publish or schedule your post

See: Publish Post API Reference

Custom thumbnails require a verified YouTube account with custom thumbnail capabilities enabled on YouTube.

Why doesn't my custom YouTube thumbnail work?

If you connected your YouTube account before custom thumbnail support was added, or you verified your account after your first connected your YouTube account to Blotato, you'll need to re-connect your account.

To re-connect:

  1. Go to Settings

  2. Click "Connect account > YouTube" or click the "Reconnect" button on your YouTube account

  3. Grant all requested permissions

YouTube requires that your account is verified and in good standing before you can use custom thumbnails on your videos If your account is not verified, see YouTube's verification guide.

How do I add a YouTube video to a playlist?

When publishing to YouTube, you can add your video to an existing playlist.

  1. Select your YouTube account to publish to

  2. A playlist dropdown appears after selecting the account

  3. Choose the playlist you want to add your video to

  4. Publish or schedule your post

This works in both the AI Agent and the post creation screen.

Why don't I see my YouTube playlists?

If you connected your YouTube account before playlist support was added, you need to re-connect your account.

  1. Go to Settings

  2. Click "Connect account > YouTube" or click the "Reconnect" button on your account

  3. Grant all requested permissions (playlists require additional permissions)

Your playlists will appear after re-connecting. Do not disconnect your account -- use the reconnect flow above.

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