Articles on: Integrations & API

How to use YouTube auto-posting

This feature requires the Professional plan or higher.


Transistor can automatically post your audio episodes to YouTube. When you publish an episode, we can turn its audio into a video with a static background image, upload it to your YouTube channel, and add it to a podcast playlist so your show can also appear on YouTube Music. In Transistor, this is called Audio → Video Publishing.


For creators using our Dynamic Ad Insertion tools, dynamic ads are not included in the videos we upload to YouTube. This ensures that the podcast will comply with YouTube's terms of service as it relates to embedded, third-party ads.


Alternatively, you can submit your RSS feed to YouTube directly, which will publish audio episodes to YouTube with dynamic ads baked in.


What gets posted


  • Title: the episode title
  • Description: the episode description, with any chapters converted to YouTube timestamps
  • Background image: the episode's Video Thumbnail if it has one, otherwise the default background image from your YouTube settings
  • Category: the YouTube category you choose when connecting


Before you start



Connecting YouTube


  • Go to the Distribution page of your podcast and scroll to the YouTube section
  • Click Enable audio → video publishing


Enable audio to video publishing


  • Check the box to agree to Transistor's YouTube API Client Privacy Policy


Check the box and sign in


  • Click Sign in with YouTube and connect, then sign in with your Google account and choose the channel you want to use. When Google asks, check the boxes that allow Transistor to manage your YouTube account and upload videos.
  • Back in Transistor, under Set Your Playlist, choose one of your existing playlists or Create a new podcast playlist and we will create one for you
  • Under Choose a Category, pick the category that best describes your podcast
  • Under Audio → Video Publishing, make sure Enable upload of audio-only episodes as static videos is turned on, and upload a 16:9 background image (1280 x 720 px or larger)
  • Click Save and finish set up →


Transistor marks your playlist as a podcast on YouTube, sets its artwork to your podcast artwork, and uses it as your podcast's YouTube link.


To change your playlist, category or background image later, go back to the YouTube section of the Distribution page and click Settings.


When episodes are posted


  • Episodes are posted to YouTube as public videos when they're published. Scheduled episodes are posted when they go live, and drafts aren't posted.
  • Only episodes published after you connect are posted automatically.
  • To post an older episode, open it in Transistor. In the Video Distribution box, click Publish next to YouTube.



    Publish an older episode


You can follow an upload's progress on the episode page. Once it's done, the Video Distribution box shows a View button that opens the video on YouTube.


YouTube limits the number of videos you can upload per day. If you reach that limit, uploads pause and resume after 24 hours.


Changing an episode that's already on YouTube


  • Title and description: changes you make in Transistor after an episode is posted aren't sent to YouTube. Edit the video in YouTube Studio, or re-upload it.
  • Video Thumbnail: if you add or change an episode's Video Thumbnail, Transistor updates the thumbnail on YouTube.
  • Audio: replacing the episode's audio doesn't update the YouTube video automatically. Re-upload it to post the new version.


To re-upload, open the episode and click Re-upload next to YouTube in the Video Distribution box. This permanently deletes the existing YouTube video, along with its views and comments, and uploads a new one.


Re-upload an existing episode


To remove an episode from YouTube without re-uploading it, open the episode, go to YouTube Video URL and click delete that video.


Delete an existing YouTube video


If the connection stops working


If Transistor loses access to your YouTube account, for example because the access was revoked in your Google account, YouTube uploads are disabled and the show owner gets an email. To fix it, go to the YouTube section of the Distribution page and click Authenticate with YouTube.


Episodes published while uploads were disabled aren't posted automatically after you reconnect. Use the Publish button on each episode to post them.


If connecting fails, Transistor shows the reason on the YouTube page. The most common causes are:


  • The Google account doesn't have a YouTube channel. Create a YouTube channel, then connect again. If your channel belongs to a Brand Account, choose that account when Google asks you to pick one.
  • The YouTube permission boxes were left unchecked. Connect again, and when Google asks, check the boxes that allow Transistor to manage your YouTube account and upload videos.


Disconnecting


To stop posting episodes to YouTube, go to the YouTube section of the Distribution page, click Settings, then click Disconnect at the bottom of the page. Videos that are already on YouTube aren't affected.


If you have additional questions please reach out to us:


Updated on: 27/10/2026

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