YouTube Manager

A Python tool for content creators to optimize video metadata with bilingual (Chinese-English) SEO, upload videos with AI-powered metadata generation, sync to Bilibili, and track analytics. Available as both a Web UI and CLI tool.

Features

🌐 Web UI (NEW!)

• Video Upload Workflow: Upload videos directly to YouTube with AI-generated metadata
  • Smart file detection (automatically identifies video + thumbnail)
  • 3 AI-generated metadata options (engaging, informative, curiosity-based)
  • Edit metadata before upload (description, tags, hashtags)
  • Real-time upload progress with ETA
  • Scheduled publishing support
  • Privacy settings (private/unlisted/public)
• Analytics Dashboard: Visual dashboard with channel metrics and top performing videos
• Modern Interface: Clean, responsive design built with Flask + Tailwind CSS
• Start server: python start_web.py → Access at http://localhost:5001

SEO Optimization

• Batch Update: Optimize metadata for all existing videos
• New Video Mode: Generate SEO-optimized metadata for upcoming videos
• Bilingual SEO: Simplified Chinese (简体中文) titles with bilingual descriptions and tags
• Multiple Options: Generate 3 different metadata styles with parallel API calls
• Interactive Review: Preview changes before applying
• AI-Powered: Uses Claude API for intelligent metadata generation

Bilibili Integration

• Video Matching: Automatically match YouTube videos with Bilibili videos by title
• LLM Compression: Intelligently compress descriptions to fit Bilibili's 250-character limit
• Metadata Sync: Sync titles, descriptions, and tags from YouTube to Bilibili
• Manual Sync Workflow: Generate ready-to-paste compressed descriptions

Analytics Dashboard

• Channel Analytics: Track subscribers, views, and video count
• Video Performance: Analyze engagement rates, views, and likes
• Growth Metrics: Week-over-week growth tracking
• Top Performers: Identify your best performing videos
• Underperforming Videos: Flag videos that need attention
• Historical Tracking: Save snapshots for trend analysis

General

• Video Tracking: Never re-process the same video twice
• Parallel Processing: Generate SEO metadata for multiple videos simultaneously
• Rate Limiting: Built-in protection for API limits

SEO Optimization Strategy

What Gets Optimized:

Titles (Chinese)

• 60 characters optimal length
• Primary keywords placed first
• Engaging power words (必看, 攻略, 完整版, 深度, 实拍, 最新)

Descriptions (Bilingual)

• Chinese section: 250+ words with keywords in first 25 words
• English section: 150+ words translation/summary
• Both sections SEO-optimized for their respective languages

Tags (Mixed Chinese & English)

• 8-12 tags total
• Chinese: 中国旅行, 旅游攻略, 自由行, 旅行vlog
• English: China travel, travel guide, travel vlog
• Location-specific tags in both languages

Hashtags (Bilingual)

• 2-3 focused hashtags
• Example: #中国旅行 #TravelChina #旅游攻略

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.9 or higher
• YouTube channel with videos
• Google Cloud Platform account (for YouTube API)
• Anthropic API key (for Claude)
• (Optional) Bilibili account with videos (for Bilibili sync features)

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   cd youtube_manager

2. Create and activate virtual environment:

   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Set up YouTube API:

   • Go to Google Cloud Console
   • Create a new project or select existing one
   • Enable YouTube Data API v3
   • Create OAuth 2.0 credentials (Desktop application)
   • Download the JSON file and save as config/client_secrets.json

5. Set up Anthropic API:

   • Get your API key from Anthropic Console
   • Copy .env.example to .env
   • Add your API key: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

6. (Optional) Set up Bilibili credentials:

   • Log in to Bilibili in your browser
   • Open browser DevTools (F12) → Application/Storage → Cookies
   • Copy SESSDATA and bili_jct cookie values
   • Add to .env file:

     BILIBILI_SESSDATA=your_sessdata_value
     BILIBILI_BILI_JCT=your_bili_jct_value
     

   • See .env.example for more details

7. First-time authentication:

   • Run any command (e.g., python youtube_manager.py batch-update --limit 1)
   • Browser will open for YouTube OAuth2 authentication
   • Grant permissions to the application
   • Token will be saved for future use

Usage

Web UI (Recommended)

Start the web server for a visual interface:

python start_web.py

Then open http://localhost:5001 in your browser.

Features:

• Upload Videos: Select video + thumbnail, generate AI metadata, upload to YouTube
• Analytics Dashboard: View channel performance, top videos, growth metrics
• Easy to Use: No command-line knowledge required

See docs/WEB_UI_SETUP.md for detailed instructions.

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CLI Commands

For advanced users and automation:

Batch Update Existing Videos

Optimize metadata for all videos on your channel:

python youtube_manager.py batch-update

Options:

# Process only the first 5 videos
python youtube_manager.py batch-update --limit 5

# Update a specific video by ID
python youtube_manager.py batch-update --video-id VIDEO_ID

# Auto-apply all changes without manual review
python youtube_manager.py batch-update --auto-apply

Workflow:

1. Fetches all videos from your channel
2. For each video, generates optimized metadata using Claude
3. Shows side-by-side comparison (current vs. optimized)
4. Asks for confirmation before applying changes
5. Updates video on YouTube

Generate Metadata for New Videos

Create SEO-optimized metadata for a new video:

python youtube_manager.py new-video

With options:

# Specify topic and details
python youtube_manager.py new-video \
  --topic "北京旅游攻略" \
  --locations "故宫,长城,天安门" \
  --key-points "历史文化,美食推荐,交通指南"

# Save output to file
python youtube_manager.py new-video --save metadata.txt

Interactive mode:

• Prompts for video topic
• Optionally asks for locations and key points
• Generates complete metadata
• Displays formatted output ready to copy

Bilibili Sync

Match and sync your videos between YouTube and Bilibili:

# Step 1: Match videos between YouTube and Bilibili
python youtube_manager.py match-bilibili

# Step 2: Generate compressed descriptions for manual sync
python youtube_manager.py generate-bilibili-descriptions --min-confidence 0.9

# Or: Try automated sync (experimental)
python youtube_manager.py sync-to-bilibili --min-confidence 0.9

Features:

• Uses original YouTube titles for accurate matching
• LLM-powered intelligent compression (preserves ~85% of information)
• Handles Bilibili's 250-character description limit
• Manual sync workflow for reliability

See BILIBILI_COMPRESSION_GUIDE.md and BILIBILI_API_NOTES.md for detailed documentation.

Analytics Dashboard (CLI)

Track your channel's performance in the terminal:

# Display comprehensive analytics dashboard
python youtube_manager.py analytics-dashboard

# Save a snapshot for historical tracking
python youtube_manager.py analytics-dashboard --save-snapshot

# Customize the analysis period
python youtube_manager.py analytics-dashboard --days 28 --growth-days 7 --video-limit 50

Dashboard includes:

• Channel overview (subscribers, views, total videos)
• Recent performance metrics (last 7-28 days)
• Top 10 performing videos
• Bottom 25% underperforming videos
• AI-generated insights and recommendations
• Week-over-week growth tracking

Best practice: Run with --save-snapshot weekly to track growth trends over time.

Tip: Use the web UI for a visual dashboard with charts and graphs!

Project Structure

youtube_manager/
├── src/
│   ├── web/               # Flask web application
│   │   ├── app.py         # Web routes and API endpoints
│   │   └── templates/     # HTML templates
│   ├── auth/              # YouTube OAuth2 authentication
│   ├── youtube_client/    # YouTube API operations
│   ├── seo_optimizer/     # Claude API metadata generation
│   ├── bilibili_client/   # Bilibili integration
│   ├── analytics/         # Analytics tracking & reporting
│   └── cli/               # CLI interface
├── docs/                  # Documentation
├── config/                # API credentials (gitignored)
│   └── client_secrets.json
├── data/                  # Analytics history
├── start_web.py           # Web server launcher
├── youtube_manager.py     # CLI entry point
├── requirements.txt
├── .env                   # Environment variables
└── README.md

API Quotas

YouTube Data API:

• Daily quota: 10,000 units
• Video list: 1 unit per call
• Video update: 50 units per call
• ~60 videos = ~3,060 units (safe for daily limit)

Anthropic Claude API:

• Pay-per-use pricing
• Each metadata generation uses ~2,000-4,000 tokens
• Estimated cost: ~$0.01-0.02 per video

Troubleshooting

"Client secrets file not found"

Ensure client_secrets.json is in the config/ directory. Download it from Google Cloud Console.

"ANTHROPIC_API_KEY not found"

1. Check that .env file exists in the root directory
2. Verify it contains: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_actual_key
3. Ensure python-dotenv is installed

YouTube API quota exceeded

You've reached the daily limit of 10,000 units. Wait 24 hours or request a quota increase in Google Cloud Console.

Authentication loop

Delete config/token.pickle and re-authenticate:

rm config/token.pickle
python youtube_manager.py batch-update --limit 1

Chinese characters not displaying correctly

Ensure your terminal supports UTF-8 encoding:

export LANG=en_US.UTF-8
export LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8

Best Practices

1. Test with a few videos first: Use --limit 5 to test the process
2. Review before applying: Don't use --auto-apply until you trust the output
3. Backup your data: YouTube doesn't provide undo for metadata changes
4. Monitor quota usage: Keep track of your daily API usage
5. Iterate on results: Adjust prompts in optimizer.py if needed

Development

See CLAUDE.md for detailed architecture and development guidance.

License

MIT License - feel free to use and modify for your needs.

Support

For issues or questions:

1. Check the troubleshooting section above
2. Review the CLAUDE.md documentation
3. Check YouTube API and Anthropic API documentation

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Note: This tool modifies your YouTube videos. Always review changes before applying them. Test with a small number of videos first.