Quickstart

Generate your first YouTube Short in under 5 minutes

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• Python 3.10+ installed
• An OpenAI API key (get one here)
• FFmpeg and ImageMagick installed on your system

For detailed installation instructions for all platforms, see the Installation Guide.

Quick Setup

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone https://github.com/SamurAIGPT/AI-Youtube-Shorts-Generator.git
   cd AI-Youtube-Shorts-Generator
   
2. Install System Dependencies

   Ubuntu/Debian

   sudo apt install -y ffmpeg libavdevice-dev libavfilter-dev \
     libopus-dev libvpx-dev pkg-config libsrtp2-dev imagemagick
   
   # Fix ImageMagick security policy (required for subtitles)
   sudo sed -i 's/rights="none" pattern="@\*"/rights="read|write" pattern="@*"/' /etc/ImageMagick-6/policy.xml
   
3. Create Python Virtual Environment

   python3.10 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .\venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
   
4. Install Python Dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

   If you don’t have an NVIDIA GPU, use requirements-cpu.txt instead, but install CPU PyTorch first:

   pip install torch --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cpu
   pip install -r requirements-cpu.txt
   
5. Configure OpenAI API Key

   Create a .env file in the project root:

   OPENAI_API=your_openai_api_key_here
   

Generate Your First Short

Interactive Mode

Run the tool and enter a YouTube URL when prompted:

./run.sh

You’ll see:

Session ID: a1b2c3d4
Enter YouTube video URL or local video file path:

Paste a YouTube URL (e.g., https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ) and press Enter.

Command-Line Mode

Pass the YouTube URL directly as an argument:

./run.sh "https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ"

Using Local Video Files

Process a local video file instead:

./run.sh "/path/to/your/video.mp4"

The Processing Workflow

1. Resolution Selection

   You’ll see available video streams:

   Available video streams:
     0. Resolution: 1080p, Size: 45.2 MB, Type: Adaptive
     1. Resolution: 720p, Size: 28.1 MB, Type: Adaptive
     2. Resolution: 480p, Size: 15.3 MB, Type: Adaptive
   
   Select resolution number (0-2) or wait 5s for auto-select...
   Auto-selecting highest quality in 5 seconds...
   

   • Enter a number to select immediately
   • Wait 5 seconds to auto-select highest quality
2. Transcription & AI Analysis

   The tool will:

   • Extract and transcribe audio (~30s for 5-minute video with GPU)
   • Analyze transcript with GPT-4o-mini to find engaging segments

   Analyzing transcription to find best highlight...
   
3. Review & Approve Selection

   The AI will present its selection:

   ============================================================
   SELECTED SEGMENT DETAILS:
   Time: 68s - 187s (119s duration)
   ============================================================
   
   Options:
     [Enter/y] Approve and continue
     [r] Regenerate selection
     [n] Cancel
   
   Auto-approving in 15 seconds if no input...
   

   Your options:

   • Press Enter or y to approve
   • Press r to regenerate (can repeat multiple times)
   • Press n to cancel
   • Wait 15 seconds to auto-approve
4. Video Processing

   The tool will:

   Step 1/4: Extracting clip from original video...
   Step 2/4: Cropping to vertical format (9:16)...
   Step 3/4: Adding subtitles to video...
   Step 4/4: Adding audio to final video...
   

Expected Output

When processing completes, you’ll see:

============================================================
✓ SUCCESS: my-awesome-video_a1b2c3d4_short.mp4 is ready!
============================================================

Cleaned up temporary files for session a1b2c3d4

Your vertical short will be saved in the project directory with:

• 9:16 aspect ratio (perfect for TikTok/Reels/Shorts)
• Stylized subtitles with Franklin Gothic font
• Smart cropping (face-centered or motion-tracked)
• Original audio from selected segment

Automation for Batch Processing

Skip interactive prompts for hands-free operation:

./run.sh --auto-approve "https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID"

Process multiple videos from a file:

# Create urls.txt with one URL per line
echo "https://youtu.be/VIDEO1" > urls.txt
echo "https://youtu.be/VIDEO2" >> urls.txt
echo "https://youtu.be/VIDEO3" >> urls.txt

# Process all videos sequentially
xargs -a urls.txt -I{} ./run.sh --auto-approve {}

The --auto-approve flag automatically:

• Selects highest video quality
• Approves AI highlight selection after 15s timeout
• Perfect for overnight batch processing

Concurrent Processing

Run multiple instances simultaneously (each gets a unique session ID):

./run.sh "https://youtu.be/VIDEO1" &
./run.sh "https://youtu.be/VIDEO2" &
./run.sh "/path/to/video3.mp4" &

Each instance operates independently with separate temporary files.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

No subtitles appearing?

Ensure ImageMagick policy allows file operations:

grep 'pattern="@\*"' /etc/ImageMagick-6/policy.xml
# Should show: rights="read|write"

If not, run:

sudo sed -i 's/rights="none" pattern="@\*"/rights="read|write" pattern="@*"/' /etc/ImageMagick-6/policy.xml

CUDA/GPU errors?

The run.sh script automatically configures CUDA library paths. If you still encounter issues:

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$(find $(pwd)/venv/lib/python3.10/site-packages/nvidia -name "lib" -type d | paste -sd ":" -)

Or switch to CPU-only mode (see Installation Guide).

What’s Next?

Installation Guide

Detailed setup instructions for all platforms including Docker

Configuration

Customize subtitle styling, AI prompts, and video quality settings