Step-by-Step Guide¤

This guide walks through the complete process of publishing conference videos using PyTube.

Prerequisites Checklist¤

Before starting, ensure you have completed ALL prerequisites:

Conference Prerequisites¤

Pretalx event created with confirmed sessions
Video recordings completed
Video files named with Pretalx session IDs (e.g., ABC123-talk-title.mp4)
Speaker consent obtained for video publication
Production plan documenting which recordings map to which sessions

Technical Prerequisites¤

Python 3.13.1+ installed
uv package manager installed
Git repository cloned locally
Virtual environment created and activated

API Access Prerequisites¤

Pretalx API credentials (via pytanis)
Google Cloud Project with YouTube Data API v3 enabled
YouTube OAuth2 credentials downloaded as JSON
OpenAI API key with available credits
LinkedIn API access (optional, for social media)
Helpdesk access (optional, for speaker emails)

YouTube Channel Setup¤

Manager/owner access to YouTube channel
Upload defaults configured (empty title)
Hidden playlist created for staging videos
Channel ID and playlist ID documented

Phase 1: Initial Setup¤

1.1 Install PyTube¤

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/PioneersHub/pytube.git
cd pytube

# Create and activate virtual environment
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate

# Install with all dependencies
uv pip install -e ".[all]"

1.2 Configure Local Settings¤

Create config_local.yaml with your settings:

# Directories
dirs:
  work_dir: "./_tmp"
  video_dir: "/path/to/video/files"  # Optional

# Pretalx configuration
pretalx:
  event_slug: "pycon-2024"  # Your event slug
  questions_map:
    company: 3012  # Map custom question IDs
    job: 3013
    linkedin: 3017

  # Track to channel mapping (if using multiple channels)
  track_to_channel:
    "Python Basics": "pycon"
    "Data Science": "pydata"

# YouTube configuration
youtube:
  client_secrets_file: "/path/to/client_secrets.json"
  api_key: "YOUR_API_KEY"  # For read operations
  channels:
    pycon:
      id: "UCji5VWDkGzuRenyRQZ9OpFQ"
      playlist_id: "PLHd2BPBhxqRLZOcMUtgVeK2eE5sBksNhQ"

# OpenAI for descriptions
openai:
  api_key: "sk-..."

# LinkedIn (optional)
linkedin:
  access_token: "..."
  client_id: "..."
  client_secret: "..."
  company_id: "..."

1.3 Set Up Pytanis Credentials¤

# Create pytanis config directory
mkdir -p ~/.pytanis

# Add credentials for Pretalx access
# See: https://florianwilhelm.info/pytanis/latest/usage/installation/

Phase 2: Load Conference Data¤

2.1 Fetch Data from Pretalx¤

# Run the records command to load all session and speaker data
pytube records fetch

This will: - Connect to Pretalx API - Download all confirmed sessions - Download all speaker information - Create JSON files in _tmp/records/ - Generate AI descriptions (if OpenAI is configured)

Verify: Check that files exist in _tmp/records/

ls -la _tmp/records/ | head -10
# Should show JSON files named by session ID (e.g., ABC123.json)

# Or use the CLI to list records
pytube records show

2.2 Review Generated Descriptions¤

# Check a sample record
cat _tmp/records/ABC123.json | jq '.sm_teaser_text, .sm_short_text'

Phase 3: Upload Videos to YouTube¤

3.1 Prepare Video Files¤

Ensure your video files follow the naming convention: - Include Pretalx session ID in the filename - Examples: ABC123-python-basics.mp4, DEF456_advanced_topics.mov

3.2 Manual Upload Process¤

Go to YouTube Studio
Click "Create" → "Upload videos"
Drag and drop up to 15 videos at a time
For each batch:
Set visibility to "Unlisted" or "Private"
Do NOT add titles (let YouTube use filename)
Add all videos to your hidden playlist
Do NOT set publish date yet

3.3 Verify Upload¤

In YouTube Studio: - Check that all videos appear in your channel's content - Verify all videos are in the hidden playlist - Note that videos show filename as title

Phase 4: Process Videos¤

4.1 Map Videos to Sessions¤

# Get YouTube video IDs and create mappings
pytube youtube map

# Update video metadata with descriptions
pytube youtube update

# Set publishing schedule
pytube youtube schedule --start "2024-05-01T10:00:00" --interval 6h

These commands will: 1. Retrieve your channel ID (if not known) 2. Get all video IDs from the hidden playlist 3. Match video IDs to Pretalx session IDs (by filename) 4. Generate video metadata from templates 5. Set publishing schedule 6. Update videos on YouTube

4.2 Customize Publishing Schedule¤

You can customize the publishing schedule using CLI options:

# Start in 5 minutes, publish every 4 hours
pytube youtube schedule --start now+5m --interval 4h

# Start at specific time, publish every 6 hours
pytube youtube schedule --start "2024-05-01T10:00:00" --interval 6h

# Preview the schedule before applying
pytube youtube schedule --start "2024-05-01T10:00:00" --interval 6h --preview

4.3 Verify Video Updates¤

Check YouTube Studio to confirm: - Videos now have proper titles and descriptions - Scheduled publish dates are set - Videos are set to "Private" (required for scheduling)

Phase 5: Monitor and Notify¤

5.1 Set Up Monitoring¤

The notify command should run periodically to check for published videos:

# Test run - check status only
pytube notify check

# Run with auto-posting enabled
pytube notify check --auto-post

# Set up cron job to run every hour
crontab -e
# Add: 0 * * * * cd /path/to/pytube && /path/to/.venv/bin/pytube notify check --auto-post

5.2 What Happens on Publish¤

When a video goes live, the notify script will: 1. Detect the newly published video 2. Create a LinkedIn post (if configured) 3. Queue an email to speakers (if configured) 4. Move the record to video_published status

5.3 Monitor Progress¤

# Check overall system status
pytube status

# Get detailed status with next steps
pytube status --detailed

# Manual status checks
echo "Records: $(ls _tmp/records/ | wc -l)"
echo "Updated: $(ls _tmp/video_records_updated/ | wc -l)"
echo "Published: $(ls _tmp/video_published/ | wc -l)"

# Check for pending notifications
ls -la _tmp/speaker_to_email/
ls -la _tmp/linked_in_to_post/

Phase 6: Troubleshooting¤

Common Issues¤

Videos not found in playlist - Verify playlist ID in config - Ensure videos are in the playlist - Check playlist visibility settings

Mapping fails - Confirm Pretalx ID is in video filename - Check that YouTube used filename as title - Review logs for specific errors

Scheduling fails - Videos must be "Private" (not "Unlisted") - Check YouTube API quotas - Verify OAuth token is valid

Notifications not sending - Check respective API configurations - Verify files exist in queue directories - Review notify script logs

Manual Recovery¤

# Retry a specific video
mv _tmp/video_published/ABC123.json _tmp/video_records_updated/
pytube notify check --auto-post

# Skip problematic video
mv _tmp/video_records_updated/ABC123.json _tmp/video_published/

# Regenerate descriptions
rm _tmp/records/ABC123.json
pytube records fetch

# Send notifications manually
pytube notify email
pytube notify social

Quick Reference¤

Status Flow¤

records → video_records → video_records_updated → video_published
                                    ↓
                          speaker_to_email/linked_in_to_post

Key Commands¤

# Check system status
pytube status

# Load data
pytube records fetch

# Process videos  
pytube youtube map
pytube youtube update
pytube youtube schedule

# Monitor & notify
pytube notify check --auto-post

# Manual operations
pytube notify email
pytube notify social

Important Files¤

config_local.yaml - Your configuration
_tmp/records/*.json - Session data
_tmp/videos/youtube_pycon.json - Video mappings
./_secret/youtube_token.json - OAuth token

Next Steps¤

Once comfortable with the basic flow: 1. Explore custom description templates 2. Set up video processing for automatic cuts 3. Customize LinkedIn post formats 4. Integrate with additional platforms