YouTube Shorts Automation

A fully automated system for creating and posting AI-generated story videos to YouTube Shorts every 6 hours.

Features

• AI Story Generation: Uses OpenAI GPT-4 to create unique stories (horror, romance, action, wholesome)
• Natural Voice Narration: Converts stories to speech using ElevenLabs TTS
• Professional Video Composition: Overlays narration on gameplay footage with subtitles
• Automated YouTube Upload: Posts videos every 6 hours with optimized titles and descriptions
• Analytics Tracking: Monitors performance and identifies trending story types
• Background Music: Adds royalty-free background music for enhanced engagement
• Cloud-Ready: Designed for deployment on cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)

Architecture

┌─────────────────┐
│ Story Generator │ (OpenAI GPT-4)
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│ Voice Generator │ (ElevenLabs TTS)
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│ Video Composer  │ (FFmpeg)
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│ YouTube Uploader│ (YouTube Data API)
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│ Analytics       │ (Performance Tracking)
└─────────────────┘

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ and npm
• FFmpeg (installed automatically via ffmpeg-static)
• OpenAI API key
• ElevenLabs API key
• YouTube Data API credentials
• (Optional) AWS S3 for asset storage
• (Optional) Pexels/Pixabay API keys for background videos

Installation

1. Clone and Install Dependencies

npm install

2. Configure Environment Variables

Copy the example environment file:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env and add your API keys:

# Required
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key
ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=your_elevenlabs_key
YOUTUBE_CLIENT_ID=your_youtube_client_id
YOUTUBE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_youtube_client_secret

# Optional but recommended
PEXELS_API_KEY=your_pexels_key
PIXABAY_API_KEY=your_pixabay_key

3. Set Up YouTube Authentication

node src/scripts/setupYouTube.js

Follow the prompts to authorize the application and get your refresh token.

4. Add Background Assets

Create directories and add your assets:

mkdir -p assets/videos
mkdir -p assets/music

Add royalty-free gameplay videos to assets/videos/ and background music to assets/music/.

Optionally organize by story type:

assets/
├── videos/
│   ├── horror/
│   ├── romantic/
│   ├── action/
│   └── wholesome/
└── music/
    └── ambient-music.mp3

Usage

Run the Full Automation

npm start

This starts the scheduler that will:

• Generate a new video every 6 hours
• Upload to YouTube automatically
• Track analytics daily

Test Individual Components

Generate a story:

npm run generate-story
# Or specify type:
node src/scripts/generateStory.js horror

Test the complete pipeline (without uploading):

node src/scripts/testPipeline.js

Configuration

Edit src/config/config.js or use environment variables:

• UPLOAD_INTERVAL_HOURS: Change posting frequency (default: 6)
• VIDEO_WIDTH / VIDEO_HEIGHT: Video dimensions (default: 1080x1920)
• STORY_DURATION_SECONDS: Target story length (default: 50)
• RUN_ON_STARTUP: Run immediately on start (default: false)
• CLEANUP_FILES: Delete files after upload (default: false)

Project Structure

youtube-shorts-automation/
├── src/
│   ├── config/
│   │   └── config.js              # Configuration management
│   ├── services/
│   │   ├── storyGenerator.js      # AI story generation
│   │   ├── voiceoverGenerator.js  # TTS voice generation
│   │   ├── backgroundManager.js   # Video background handling
│   │   ├── videoComposer.js       # Video composition with FFmpeg
│   │   ├── youtubeUploader.js     # YouTube API integration
│   │   ├── contentPipeline.js     # Main pipeline orchestration
│   │   └── analyticsTracker.js    # Performance tracking
│   ├── utils/
│   │   └── logger.js              # Winston logging
│   ├── scripts/
│   │   ├── generateStory.js       # Test story generation
│   │   ├── testPipeline.js        # Test full pipeline
│   │   └── setupYouTube.js        # YouTube OAuth setup
│   └── index.js                   # Main entry point with scheduler
├── assets/
│   ├── videos/                    # Background videos
│   └── music/                     # Background music
├── output/                        # Generated videos
├── logs/                          # Application logs
├── .env                           # Environment configuration
├── .env.example                   # Example environment file
├── package.json
└── README.md

API Keys Setup Guide

OpenAI API

1. Go to https://platform.openai.com/api-keys
2. Create a new API key
3. Add to .env as OPENAI_API_KEY

ElevenLabs

1. Sign up at https://elevenlabs.io
2. Go to Profile Settings → API Key
3. Add to .env as ELEVENLABS_API_KEY
4. Get voice IDs from Voice Library and add as ELEVENLABS_VOICE_ID

YouTube Data API

1. Go to https://console.cloud.google.com
2. Create a new project
3. Enable YouTube Data API v3
4. Create OAuth 2.0 credentials (Desktop app)
5. Add Client ID and Secret to .env
6. Run node src/scripts/setupYouTube.js to get refresh token

Pexels (Optional)

1. Sign up at https://www.pexels.com/api
2. Get API key and add to .env

Pixabay (Optional)

1. Sign up at https://pixabay.com/api
2. Get API key and add to .env

Cloud Deployment

Deploy on AWS EC2

1. Launch an EC2 instance (Ubuntu 20.04+)
2. Install Node.js and dependencies
3. Clone repository and configure
4. Use PM2 for process management:

npm install -g pm2
pm2 start src/index.js --name youtube-automation
pm2 save
pm2 startup

Deploy on Google Cloud Run

# Build and deploy
gcloud run deploy youtube-automation \
  --source . \
  --platform managed \
  --region us-central1 \
  --allow-unauthenticated

Deploy with Docker

FROM node:18-alpine

WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install --production
COPY . .

CMD ["npm", "start"]

Analytics and Monitoring

The system automatically tracks:

• Video views, likes, and comments
• Performance by story type
• Channel growth metrics
• Best performing content

Generate a performance report:

const analyticsTracker = require('./src/services/analyticsTracker');
const report = analyticsTracker.generateReport();
console.log(report);

View logs:

# Combined logs
tail -f logs/combined.log

# Error logs only
tail -f logs/error.log

# Upload logs
tail -f logs/uploads.log

Troubleshooting

FFmpeg Errors

• Ensure FFmpeg is properly installed
• Check video/audio file formats are compatible
• Verify file paths don't contain special characters

YouTube Upload Fails

• Verify OAuth tokens are valid
• Check YouTube API quota limits
• Ensure video meets YouTube's requirements (duration, format, etc.)

Story Generation Issues

• Check OpenAI API key and quota
• Verify API model access (GPT-4)
• Review rate limits

Voice Generation Issues

• Verify ElevenLabs API key
• Check character quota
• Ensure voice ID is valid

Cost Estimation

Monthly costs for 4 videos/day (120 videos/month):

• OpenAI GPT-4: ~$6-12 (depending on token usage)
• ElevenLabs: ~$5-22 (Creator tier recommended)
• YouTube API: Free (within quota limits)
• Cloud hosting: ~$5-20 (depending on provider)
• Total: $16-54/month

Legal & Ethics

• Only use royalty-free or properly licensed content
• Comply with YouTube's Terms of Service
• Follow monetization policies
• Disclose AI-generated content when required
• Respect copyright and intellectual property laws

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Submit a pull request

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

Support

For issues and questions:

• Check the logs in logs/ directory
• Review the troubleshooting section
• Open an issue on GitHub

Roadmap

• Multi-language support
• Custom voice training
• Advanced analytics dashboard
• A/B testing for titles/thumbnails
• Integration with more video platforms
• Automated thumbnail generation
• Content moderation and safety checks
• Advanced scheduling options

Acknowledgments

• OpenAI for GPT-4 API
• ElevenLabs for TTS API
• FFmpeg for video processing
• YouTube Data API
• All open-source contributors

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Note: This is an automated content creation tool. Always review and comply with platform policies and local regulations.