Scripted uploads to the aesthetic.computer YouTube channel (signed in as mail@aesthetic.computer). Zero npm dependencies — yt.mjs talks to the YouTube Data API v3 directly over fetch.

One-time setup #

Credentials live in the vault, never in this repo:

aesthetic-computer-vault/youtube/client.json   OAuth client (Desktop app)
aesthetic-computer-vault/youtube/token.json    saved refresh token

Enable the API. console.cloud.google.com → project aesthetic-computer → APIs & Services → Library → enable YouTube Data API v3.
Make an OAuth client. APIs & Services → Credentials → Create credentials → OAuth client ID → Application type Desktop app. Download the JSON, save it as aesthetic-computer-vault/youtube/client.json.
- If the consent screen isn't configured yet, set it up as External, add mail@aesthetic.computer as a test user (the app can stay in "testing" — test-user refresh tokens issued to a Desktop client don't expire on the 7-day clock).
Authorize.
```
node toolchain/youtube/yt.mjs auth
```
A browser opens — sign in as mail@aesthetic.computer, approve. The refresh token is written to the vault. Done once; uploads are fully scripted afterward.

Commands #

# confirm which channel is wired up
node toolchain/youtube/yt.mjs whoami

# upload (defaults to PRIVATE so you review in YouTube Studio first)
node toolchain/youtube/yt.mjs upload <video.mp4> \
  --title "..." \
  --description-file <path.txt> \
  --tags trance,waltz,aesthetic-computer \
  --privacy private \
  --category 10 \
  --thumbnail <image.jpg>

Flags: --title (required), --description / --description-file, --tags a,b,c, --privacy private|unlisted|public (default private), --category (default 10 = Music), --thumbnail, --playlist <id>, --language <code>, --made-for-kids.

Every upload drops a <video>.youtube.json receipt next to the file with the resulting videoId, watch URL, and the metadata that was sent.

Other channels (whistlegraph) #

Every command takes --as <channel>, which swaps in aesthetic-computer-vault/youtube/<channel>-token.json. The OAuth client is shared; each channel just needs its own one-time consent:

node toolchain/youtube/yt.mjs auth --as whistlegraph
node toolchain/youtube/yt.mjs whoami --as whistlegraph
node toolchain/youtube/yt.mjs upload video.mp4 --as whistlegraph --title "..."

Use --login-hint <email> on auth when several Google accounts are present in the browser and the token must belong to one specific account.

Playlists and resumable batches #

Create or reuse a playlist by exact title (safe to rerun):

node toolchain/youtube/yt.mjs playlist-ensure --as <channel> \
  --title "Playlist title" --description-file description.txt \
  --privacy unlisted

For a set of uploads, put the channel, playlist, defaults, and a videos[] array in a JSON manifest, then run:

node toolchain/youtube/batch.mjs path/to/manifest.json
node toolchain/youtube/batch.mjs path/to/manifest.json --dry-run

The batch runner uses the same per-channel OAuth token as yt.mjs. Each successful video leaves its usual .youtube.json receipt; rerunning skips matching receipts, reuses the playlist, and resumes at the first unfinished video. This is useful when the YouTube API quota resets between upload days.

Unlisted uploads before a YouTube API audit #

YouTube forces uploads from unaudited API projects created after July 28, 2020 to Private, even if videos.insert asks for Unlisted. While an audit is pending, studio-batch.mjs drives an already signed-in, remote-debugging Chrome profile through YouTube Studio instead. It applies the same manifest metadata, playlist, not-made-for-kids setting, and Unlisted visibility, and writes the same resumable receipts:

open -na "Google Chrome" --args \
  --user-data-dir="$HOME/.local/share/fuser-youtube-chrome" \
  --remote-debugging-port=9444 https://studio.youtube.com

node toolchain/youtube/studio-batch.mjs path/to/manifest.json --port=9444
node toolchain/youtube/studio-batch.mjs path/to/manifest.json --start=4 --limit=1

Keep the dedicated profile private: Studio automation uses its signed-in browser session. The batch is safe to resume because a receipt is written only after Studio accepts the Unlisted publish action.

During consent, Google's account chooser lists the channel identities — pick whistlegraph. If the whistlegraph channel lives under a different Google account (not a brand channel of mail@aesthetic.computer), first add that account as a test user on the OAuth consent screen (GCP project aesthetic-computer → APIs & Services → OAuth consent screen), then sign in as it.

Notes #

Private-first. The default privacy is private — uploads land as drafts you flip to public yourself in YouTube Studio.
Quota. videos.insert currently allows 100 calls/day and costs one unit in the Video Uploads quota bucket.
Music visualizers come from pop/dance/bin/cover-video.mjs rendered at --size 1920x1080. See pop/RELEASES.md for per-track build recipes.