Posting to YouTube through the API

Where a vertical clip under a minute becomes a Short. The request shape is the same one every network here uses — only the limits on this page change.

Connecting works. Until Google finishes auditing our app, anything we upload stays private on your channel. The status page tracks it.

Connecting a YouTube account

Needs a Google Cloud project with the YouTube Data API. Once connected, we hold the credential and keep it alive; your code only ever sends the API key.

The limits we enforce before publishing

What pre-flight rejects, verbatim

A request that breaks a YouTube rule comes back as a 422 naming the network and the number — before anything is scheduled, not after the other networks published. The error strings are these:

• 5132 chars — YouTube allows 5000.
• 3 attachments — YouTube allows 1.
• YouTube requires a video.
• Video is 24h 0m — YouTube allows 12h 0m.

The request

curl -X POST https://attentionpilot.com/api/v1/posts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PILOT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "caption": "Written for YouTube, under 5000 characters.",
    "accounts": ["youtube"]
  }'

Omit schedule for the next free queue slot, send "now" to publish immediately, or send an ISO timestamp.

When YouTube fails

Each network is delivered on its own. A revoked token or a rejected upload on YouTube never blocks your other targets: the post returns "partial", the YouTube target carries the error text, and you can retry just this delivery.

Worth knowing

• ✓5,000-character description
• ✓Video required
• ✓Under 60s and vertical publishes as a Short

The same call reaches the rest