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Video Organization¤

PyTube provides tools to automatically organize conference videos based on their target YouTube channel.

Overview¤

The video organization system: 1. Downloads videos to a central downloads/ directory 2. Analyzes Pretalx session data to determine channel assignments 3. Moves videos to channel-specific directories for upload 4. Tracks unassigned videos for manual review

Directory Structure¤

video_dir/
├── downloads/           # Original downloaded videos
│   ├── ABC123-talk-title.mp4
│   └── DEF456-another-talk.mp4
├── pycon/              # Videos for PyCon channel
│   └── ABC123-talk-title.mp4
├── pydata/             # Videos for PyData channel
│   └── DEF456-another-talk.mp4
├── do_not_release/     # Videos marked as do-not-record
└── tracks_map.json     # Channel assignments

Video Naming Convention¤

Videos must follow the naming pattern: {SESSION_CODE}-{title}.mp4

  • SESSION_CODE: The 6-character Pretalx session code
  • title: Any descriptive title (used for reference only)

Example: ABC123-introduction-to-python.mp4

Channel Assignment Logic¤

Videos are assigned to channels using a priority system:

  1. Do Not Record: Sessions with do_not_record: true → no_publishing channel
  2. Direct Mapping: Session codes listed in pretalx.video_to_track config
  3. Track Matching: Track names matching patterns in pretalx.track_to_channel
  4. AI Heuristics: Claude/OpenAI analyze title+abstract (if configured and above methods fail)
  5. Unmatched: Remains in downloads/ for manual handling

Configuration Example¤

pretalx:
  # Direct session-to-channel mapping
  video_to_track:
    ABC123: "pycon"
    DEF456: "pydata"

  # Track name pattern matching
  track_to_channel:
    pycon: "pycon"      # Tracks containing "pycon" → PyCon channel
    pydata: "pydata"    # Tracks containing "pydata" → PyData channel
    data: "pydata"      # Tracks containing "data" → PyData channel

# Optional: AI heuristics for unmatched videos
openai:
  api_key: "sk-..."
anthropic:
  api_key: "sk-..."

Special Cases¤

  • Do Not Record: Videos marked with do_not_record: true in Pretalx are automatically moved to do_not_release/ directory
  • No Publishing: These videos are tracked but not uploaded or published

Important Safety Note

NEVER upload videos from the do_not_release/ directory to YouTube! These videos are marked as do_not_record for privacy reasons. The pytube youtube map command will automatically skip these videos and warn if they are found on YouTube.

Workflow¤

1. Assign Videos to Channels¤

# Preview assignments
pytube video assign-channels --dry-run

# Create assignment files
pytube video assign-channels

This creates: - tracks.json: Full video-to-channel mapping - tracks_map.json: Session ID to channel lookup

2. Move Videos to Channel Directories¤

# Preview moves
pytube video move --dry-run

# Move videos
pytube video move

This: - Moves videos to pycon/ or pydata/ directories - Moves do-not-record videos to do_not_release/ - Keeps unmatched videos in downloads/

3. Review Unassigned Videos¤

pytube video report

This generates a report of videos that couldn't be assigned automatically.

Handling Unassigned Videos¤

If videos cannot be automatically assigned:

  1. Check the report: pytube video report
  2. Add direct mappings to your config: 
    pretalx:
  video_to_track:
    XYZ789: "pycon"  # Add session code here
  3. Re-run assignment: pytube video assign-channels
  4. Move the newly assigned videos: pytube video move

Best Practices¤

  1. Always use dry-run first: Preview operations before making changes
  2. Check video naming: Ensure files follow the {CODE}-{title}.mp4 pattern
  3. Review assignments: Check tracks_map.json for accuracy
  4. Handle edge cases: Add direct mappings for special sessions

Troubleshooting¤

Videos Not Being Assigned¤

  1. Check filename format - must start with 6-character code
  2. Verify session exists in Pretalx data
  3. Check if session is marked as "confirmed"
  4. Look for track name in configuration

Wrong Channel Assignment¤

  1. Add direct mapping in video_to_track config
  2. Re-run assignment process
  3. Move corrected videos

Missing Videos¤

Run pytube video report to see which sessions are missing video files.