# YouTube Upload Automation: Review & Build Checklist

Companion to Chad Sheppard's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJOGi-nyzUk
Written guide: https://chadesheppard.com/youtube-upload-automation

This is a planning and review checklist, not Chad's original publisher skill or a working Python uploader. The full API setup is a separate future tutorial in the video script.

## Prepare from the finished video
- [ ] Select the final export, not an older draft.
- [ ] Generate a fresh transcript using an available transcription tool.
- [ ] Use vidIQ research that matches the actual content; do not invent keyword scores.
- [ ] Prepare a title, description, relevant tags, thumbnail, and SRT captions.

## Review before upload
- [ ] Confirm the title and thumbnail accurately represent the video.
- [ ] Proofread the description and check every link.
- [ ] Spot-check caption wording and timing.
- [ ] Confirm the correct channel and intended visibility.
- [ ] Explicitly approve the complete package. No approval means no upload.

## Build safely, one stage at a time
- [ ] Give the Python project its own virtual environment and dependencies.
- [ ] Create your own Google Cloud project and enable YouTube Data API v3.
- [ ] Configure OAuth and understand the requested permissions before sign-in.
- [ ] Keep OAuth credentials and saved tokens private, local, and out of source control.
- [ ] Never paste credentials into AI prompts, logs, screenshots, or shared downloads.
- [ ] Test in review-only mode first, then use a private upload for the first real test.
- [ ] Confirm what the API supports for metadata, thumbnails, and captions.
- [ ] Prevent duplicate uploads and show clear errors.
- [ ] On Windows, ensure the optional .bat launcher uses the project's Python environment.
- [ ] Add Stream Deck only if you want it; the launcher can run directly.

## Check YouTube Studio afterward
- [ ] Verify the video appeared on the intended channel.
- [ ] Confirm the supported assets attached correctly.
- [ ] Check captions, thumbnail, visibility, and any remaining Studio-only tasks.
- [ ] Do not assume automatic Shorts thumbnail uploading works: Chad's method did not support it.

## Measure your own result
Chad's same-video manual process took four minutes; the workflow plus remaining Studio tasks roughly halved that time. This is not a promise about production time, AI processing, or network upload speed.

Manual admin time: ____
Automated workflow + remaining Studio admin time: ____
Setup/troubleshooting time (track separately): ____

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