Sync All Channels
Why? Manually running extract-videos on each channel is tedious and error-prone. This skill automates batch extraction with rate limiting to respect YouTube's API.
Quick Start
# Run the unified CLI command
ytscriber sync-all
[!TIP] Run this before
ytscriber download-allto ensure video lists are current.
Workflow
1. Review Channel Configuration
Check ~/Documents/YTScriber/channels.yaml and verify:
- All desired channels have
enabled: true - Video counts are appropriate (20-100 typical)
- URLs point to channel video pages
channels:
- folder: OpenAI
url: https://www.youtube.com/@OpenAI/videos
count: 50
enabled: true
collections:
- library-of-minds
- random
[!CAUTION] Setting
countabove 200 significantly increases sync time and may trigger rate limiting.
2. Execute the Sync
ytscriber sync-all
The command will:
- Parse
channels.yaml - Skip channels with
enabled: false - Extract videos for each enabled channel
- Wait between channels (rate limiting)
- Report completion and next steps
3. Verify Results
After completion, check:
- Each channel folder exists
- Each folder contains
videos.csvwith entries - No persistent errors in output
# Quick verification
ls -la ~/Documents/YTScriber/*/videos.csv | head -10
Configuration
Adding a New Channel
-
Add entry to
channels.yaml:- folder: new-channel-name url: https://www.youtube.com/@ChannelName/videos count: 50 enabled: true -
Run sync - folder is created automatically
Or use the extract command with --register-channel:
ytscriber extract https://www.youtube.com/@ChannelName/videos \
--count 50 \
--folder new-channel-name \
--register-channel
[!WARNING] Folder names should use lowercase with hyphens (e.g.,
my-channel). Avoid spaces or special characters.
Disabling a Channel
Set enabled: false - the channel will be skipped during sync but data is preserved.
Recommended Video Counts
| Channel Type | Recommended Count |
|---|---|
| Infrequent posters (1-2/month) | 20 |
| Regular posters (weekly) | 50 |
| High-volume (daily) | 100 |
| Conference channels | 100-200 |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
Config file not found | Running from wrong directory or channels.yaml missing | Ensure ~/Documents/YTScriber/channels.yaml exists |
Failed to sync [channel] | Network issue or invalid URL | Check URL is accessible in browser, retry |
| Sync takes forever | Too many channels or high counts | Reduce counts or disable some channels |
| Empty videos.csv | Channel has no public videos or URL is wrong | Verify URL ends in /videos |
| Rate limit errors | Too many requests | Wait 1 hour and retry; reduce counts |
Common Mistakes
- Wrong URL format - Use
https://www.youtube.com/@ChannelName/videosnot/channel/or/c/URLs - Forgetting to enable - New channels default to
enabled: falsein templates - Excessive counts - Starting with
count: 500causes long waits; start with 50
Next Steps
After syncing channels:
# Download transcripts for all synced videos
ytscriber download-all
Quality Checklist
Before running sync:
-
channels.yamlexists and is valid YAML - At least one channel has
enabled: true
After sync completes:
- No persistent errors in output (warnings OK)
- Each enabled channel has
videos.csv - CSV files contain video entries
Rate Limiting Details
- Sequential processing - one channel at a time
- Graceful failure - if one channel fails, others continue
[!TIP] For overnight batch operations, run sync first, then download-all. This sequence ensures video lists are current before downloading.