Installation Guide

This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to install, configure, and deploy the YouTube Automation Agent.

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+

JavaScript runtime required for the application

Google Account

For YouTube Data API access

AI Provider Account

OpenAI or Google AI Studio account

10 Minutes

Initial setup and configuration time

System Requirements

Minimum
Recommended

OS: Windows 10+, macOS 10.15+, Ubuntu 20.04+
CPU: 2 cores
RAM: 2 GB available
Storage: 5 GB free space
Network: Stable internet connection

Step 1: Install Node.js

Download Node.js

Visit nodejs.org and download the LTS version.

brew install node@18

Verify Installation

node --version  # Should show v18.x.x or higher
npm --version   # Should show 9.x.x or higher

Step 2: Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/darkzOGx/youtube-automation-agent.git
cd youtube-automation-agent

Step 3: Install Dependencies

Install all required npm packages:

npm install

This installs:

Core Dependencies

{
  "googleapis": "^128.0.0",           // YouTube API integration
  "express": "^4.18.2",               // Web server
  "sqlite3": "^5.1.6",                // Database
  "dotenv": "^16.3.1",                // Environment variables
  "winston": "^3.11.0"                // Logging
}

AI Providers

{
  "openai": "^4.20.0",                      // OpenAI GPT-4, DALL-E
  "@google/generative-ai": "^0.1.3",       // Google Gemini
  "replicate": "^1.0.1"                     // Alternative AI models
}

Automation Tools

{
  "node-cron": "^3.0.2",              // Task scheduling
  "cron": "^3.1.6",                   // Advanced scheduling
  "axios": "^1.6.0",                  // HTTP requests
  "moment": "^2.29.4"                 // Date/time handling
}

Media Processing

{
  "jimp": "^0.22.10",                           // Image manipulation
  "playwright": "^1.54.2",                      // Browser automation
  "microsoft-cognitiveservices-speech-sdk": "^1.45.0"  // TTS
}

Step 4: Configure API Credentials

YouTube Data API Setup

Create Google Cloud Project

Navigate to Google Cloud Console
Click “Select a project” → “New Project”
Enter project name: YouTube Automation Agent
Click “Create”

Project creation takes 10-30 seconds. Wait for the notification before proceeding.

Enable YouTube Data API v3

In the left sidebar: “APIs & Services” → “Library”
Search for: YouTube Data API v3
Click on the API in results
Click “Enable” button

// The API provides 10,000 quota units per day (FREE)
// Typical usage:
// - Search: 100 units
// - Video details: 1 unit
// - Upload: 1,600 units
// Daily automation uses ~2,000-3,000 units

Create OAuth 2.0 Credentials

Navigate to: “APIs & Services” → “Credentials”
Click “Create Credentials” → “OAuth client ID”
If prompted, configure OAuth consent screen:
- User Type: External
- App name: YouTube Automation Agent
- Support email: Your email
- Scopes: Add youtube.upload, youtube.readonly
Back to credentials, choose application type: Desktop app
Name it: YouTube Automation Desktop
Click “Create”

Download Credentials

Click the download icon (⬇️) next to your new OAuth client
Save the JSON file
Rename to credentials.json
Move to config/credentials.json in your project:

mkdir -p config
mv ~/Downloads/client_secret_*.json config/credentials.json

AI Provider Setup

Choose one of the following AI providers:

OpenAI (Recommended)
Google Gemini (FREE)
Custom (Advanced)

OpenAI Setup

Create Account

Visit platform.openai.com/signup and create an account.

Generate API Key

Go to API Keys
Click “Create new secret key”
Name it: YouTube Automation
Copy the key (starts with sk-proj-)

Save your API key immediately! You won’t be able to see it again.

Add Credits

Go to Billing
Click “Add payment method”
Add $5-10 to start (lasts 20-50 videos)

Configure in .env

OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-proj-your-key-here

Pricing Overview:

GPT-4: $0.01 per 1K tokens (~750 words)
DALL-E 3: $0.040 per image (1024x1024)
Total per video: ~$0.10-0.30

Google Gemini Setup

Access AI Studio

Visit makersuite.google.com

Get API Key

Click “Get API Key” in the top right
Choose “Create API key in new project” or select existing project
Click “Create API key”
Copy the key (starts with AIza)

Configure in .env

GEMINI_API_KEY=AIza-your-key-here

Free Tier:

60 requests per minute
1,500 requests per day
Perfect for 3-5 videos daily at $0 cost

Custom AI Integration

You can integrate any OpenAI-compatible API:

// Example: Anthropic Claude
const Anthropic = require('@anthropic-ai/sdk');

const anthropic = new Anthropic({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
});

async generateContent(prompt) {
  const response = await anthropic.messages.create({
    model: 'claude-3-sonnet-20240229',
    max_tokens: 1024,
    messages: [{ role: 'user', content: prompt }]
  });
  return response.content[0].text;
}

Or use local models:

# Install Ollama
curl https://ollama.ai/install.sh | sh

# Run local model
ollama run llama2

# Configure endpoint
OLLAMA_API_URL=http://localhost:11434

Step 5: Run Setup Wizard

The interactive setup wizard configures everything:

npm run setup

Setup Wizard Flow

Create Directories

async createDirectories() {
  const directories = [
    'config',      // Configuration files
    'logs',        // Application logs
    'data',        // Generated content
    'data/production',        // Production assets
    'data/assets',           // Media assets
    'data/videos',           // Video files
    'data/audio',            // Audio files
    'data/scripts',          // Generated scripts
    'data/captions',         // Caption files
    'data/thumbnail-templates',  // Thumbnail templates
    'temp/processing',       // Temporary processing
    'uploads/thumbnails'     // Upload queue
  ];
  
  for (const dir of directories) {
    await fs.mkdir(path.join(__dirname, dir), { recursive: true });
  }
}

Initialize Database

async initializeDatabase() {
  this.db = new Database();
  await this.db.initialize();
  
  // Creates tables:
  // - content_strategies
  // - scripts
  // - thumbnails
  // - seo_data
  // - productions
  // - publish_schedule
  // - analytics_reports
  // - keyword_performance
  // - content_history
  // - settings
}

Configure Credentials

Interactive prompts for:

YouTube channel selection
AI provider preference
API keys validation
Content preferences
Posting schedule

Generate Environment File

async createEnvironmentFile() {
  const envContent = `
  # Application Settings
  NODE_ENV=production
  PORT=3456
  LOG_LEVEL=info
  
  # YouTube Settings
  YOUTUBE_REGION=US
  DEFAULT_PRIVACY_STATUS=public
  
  # Content Settings
  AUTO_SHORTEN_CONTENT=true
  AUTO_ADD_BACKLINKS=true
  PRESERVE_FORMATTING=true
  
  # Rate Limiting
  GLOBAL_RATE_LIMIT_PER_HOUR=50
  DEFAULT_DELAY_BETWEEN_POSTS=60000
  
  # Security
  JWT_SECRET=${this.generateJWTSecret()}
  
  # Automation
  DAILY_CONTENT_ENABLED=true
  AUTO_PUBLISH_ENABLED=true
  OPTIMIZATION_ENABLED=true
  CONTENT_BUFFER_DAYS=3
  MAX_DAILY_POSTS=1
  `;
  
  await fs.writeFile('.env', envContent);
}

Validate Setup

async validateSetup() {
  // Check directories exist
  await fs.access('data');
  await fs.access('logs');
  await fs.access('config');
  
  // Check database
  const stats = await this.database.getStats();
  
  // Validate credentials
  const valid = await this.credentialManager.validateAll();
  
  // Check environment
  await fs.access('.env');
}

Step 6: Start the Application

Launch the automation agent:

npm start

Successful startup shows:

🎬 YouTube Automation Agent v1.0
──────────────────────────────────────────────────
ℹ Initializing database...
✓ Database initialized successfully
ℹ Loading credentials...
ℹ Initializing agents...
ℹ ✓ strategy agent initialized
ℹ ✓ scriptWriter agent initialized
ℹ ✓ thumbnailDesigner agent initialized
ℹ ✓ seoOptimizer agent initialized
ℹ ✓ production agent initialized
ℹ ✓ publishing agent initialized
ℹ ✓ analytics agent initialized
ℹ Setting up automation scheduler...
ℹ Started scheduled task: daily-content-generation
ℹ Started scheduled task: publish-queue-processing
ℹ Started scheduled task: daily-analytics
ℹ Started scheduled task: weekly-strategy-review
ℹ Started scheduled task: daily-optimization
ℹ Started scheduled task: database-maintenance
✓ YouTube Automation Agent initialized successfully!

✅ YouTube Automation Agent running on port 3456
──────────────────────────────────────────────────
📊 Dashboard: http://localhost:3456
🔧 API Health: http://localhost:3456/health
📅 Schedule: http://localhost:3456/schedule
📈 Analytics: http://localhost:3456/analytics
──────────────────────────────────────────────────

🤖 Automation is active. Content will be generated and posted daily.

Deployment Options

Local Development

Run on your computer during development:

# Development mode with auto-restart
npm install -g nodemon
nodemon index.js

Production Deployment

PM2 (Recommended)
Docker
VPS (DigitalOcean/Linode)

Process Manager for Node.js

# Install PM2
npm install -g pm2

# Start application
pm2 start index.js --name youtube-automation

# Enable startup script
pm2 startup
pm2 save

# Monitor
pm2 monit

# View logs
pm2 logs youtube-automation

# Restart
pm2 restart youtube-automation

The setup wizard creates ecosystem.config.js:

module.exports = {
  apps: [{
    name: 'youtube-automation-agent',
    script: 'index.js',
    instances: 1,
    autorestart: true,
    watch: false,
    max_memory_restart: '1G',
    env: {
      NODE_ENV: 'production',
      PORT: 3456
    }
  }]
};

Docker Deployment

Create Dockerfile:

FROM node:18-alpine

WORKDIR /app

COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production

COPY . .

EXPOSE 3456

CMD ["node", "index.js"]

Create docker-compose.yml:

version: '3.8'
services:
  youtube-automation:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "3456:3456"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data
      - ./logs:/app/logs
      - ./config:/app/config
    env_file:
      - .env
    restart: unless-stopped

Deploy:

docker-compose up -d

Cloud VPS Deployment

Create VPS

Provider: DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr
Plan: $5-10/month (1-2 GB RAM)
OS: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

SSH and Setup

# Connect to VPS
ssh root@your-vps-ip

# Update system
apt update && apt upgrade -y

# Install Node.js
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | bash -
apt install -y nodejs

# Install Git
apt install -y git

Clone and Configure

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/darkzOGx/youtube-automation-agent.git
cd youtube-automation-agent

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Configure environment
nano .env
# (Add your API keys)

# Setup credentials
mkdir config
nano config/credentials.json
# (Paste YouTube API credentials)

Start with PM2

# Install PM2
npm install -g pm2

# Start application
pm2 start index.js --name youtube-automation

# Configure startup
pm2 startup systemd
pm2 save

# Setup nginx reverse proxy (optional)
apt install -y nginx
# Configure nginx for domain access

Configuration Reference

Environment Variables

Application Settings

NODE_ENV=production          # Environment (development/production)
PORT=3456                    # Server port
LOG_LEVEL=info              # Logging level (debug/info/warn/error)

YouTube Settings

YOUTUBE_REGION=US                    # YouTube region code
DEFAULT_PRIVACY_STATUS=public        # Video privacy (public/private/unlisted)

Content Settings

CHANNEL_NAME=Your Channel Name
TARGET_AUDIENCE=Your target audience
POSTING_FREQUENCY=daily              # daily/every-2-days/3-per-week/weekly
CONTENT_BUFFER_DAYS=3               # Days of content to keep ready
MAX_DAILY_POSTS=1                   # Maximum posts per day

Automation Settings

DAILY_CONTENT_ENABLED=true
AUTO_PUBLISH_ENABLED=true
OPTIMIZATION_ENABLED=true
ANALYTICS_ENABLED=true

Verification

Confirm everything is working:

Health Check

curl http://localhost:3456/health

Should return:

{
  "status": "healthy",
  "initialized": true,
  "agents": ["strategy", "scriptWriter", "thumbnailDesigner", "seoOptimizer", "production", "publishing", "analytics"],
  "timestamp": "2026-03-05T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Test Content Generation

curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/generate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"topic": "Test Video"}'

Check Logs

# View application logs
tail -f logs/application.log

# Or with PM2
pm2 logs youtube-automation

Next Steps

API Reference

Explore available API endpoints

Configuration

Advanced configuration options

Agents

Learn about each AI agent

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions

Installation Complete! Your YouTube Automation Agent is now running and will automatically generate and publish content according to your schedule.

​Installation Guide

​Prerequisites

Node.js 18+

Google Account

AI Provider Account

10 Minutes

​System Requirements

​Step 1: Install Node.js

​Step 2: Clone Repository

​Step 3: Install Dependencies

​Step 4: Configure API Credentials

​YouTube Data API Setup

​AI Provider Setup

​OpenAI Setup

​Google Gemini Setup

​Custom AI Integration

​Step 5: Run Setup Wizard

​Setup Wizard Flow

​Step 6: Start the Application

​Deployment Options

​Local Development

​Production Deployment

​Process Manager for Node.js

​Docker Deployment

​Cloud VPS Deployment

​Configuration Reference

​Environment Variables

​Verification

​Next Steps

API Reference

Configuration

Agents

Troubleshooting

Installation Guide

Prerequisites

System Requirements

Step 1: Install Node.js

Step 2: Clone Repository

Step 3: Install Dependencies

Step 4: Configure API Credentials

YouTube Data API Setup

AI Provider Setup

OpenAI Setup

Google Gemini Setup

Custom AI Integration

Step 5: Run Setup Wizard

Setup Wizard Flow

Step 6: Start the Application

Deployment Options

Local Development

Production Deployment

Process Manager for Node.js

Docker Deployment

Cloud VPS Deployment

Configuration Reference

Environment Variables

Verification

Next Steps