REDOANUZZAMAN/AI-Powered-YouTube-Shorts-Generator

🎬 AI-Powered YouTube Shorts Generator

An intelligent n8n workflow that automatically creates and uploads YouTube Shorts from Reddit content. Uses AI to generate engaging short-form videos with text-to-speech, background footage, and music - all automated via MCP (Model Context Protocol) server integration.

✨ Features

• Multi-Source Content - Creates videos from r/Jokes, r/LifeProTips, and r/Stories
• AI Content Adaptation - GPT-4 transforms Reddit posts into video-friendly scripts
• Automated Video Generation - MCP server creates videos with TTS and background footage
• Background Video Selection - Automatically fetches relevant Pexels videos
• Music Selection - AI picks appropriate background music tags
• Text-to-Speech - Converts scripts to natural voice narration
• Subtitle Generation - Automatic subtitle overlay on videos
• YouTube Integration - Direct upload to YouTube with metadata
• Status Monitoring - Polls video generation status until ready
• Batch Processing - Handles multiple posts simultaneously
• Local AI Support - Works with Ollama for cost-effective generation
• Flexible Models - Supports GPT-4, GPT-4o-mini, and local models

🎯 Use Case

Perfect for content creators who want to:

• Build a YouTube Shorts channel automatically
• Repurpose Reddit content into video format
• Create engaging short-form content at scale
• Monetize viral Reddit posts
• Save time on video editing and production
• Maintain consistent upload schedules

🏗️ Architecture

Three Content Pipelines

Pipeline 1: r/Jokes

RSS Feed → Map Fields → Aggregate → AI Agent → Wait Loop → Check Status → Download → Upload to YouTube

Pipeline 2: r/LifeProTips

RSS Feed → Map Fields → Aggregate → AI Agent → Wait Loop → Check Status → Download → Upload to YouTube

Pipeline 3: r/Stories

RSS Feed → Map Fields → Aggregate → AI Agent → Wait Loop → Check Status → Download → Upload to YouTube

Custom Video Generation

Configure → Get Music Tags → Generate Content → Pick Music → Start Generation → Wait Loop → Check Status → Download → Upload

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

1. Docker installed on your system
2. n8n instance (local or cloud)
3. Pexels API Key - Get here
4. OpenAI API Key - Get here
5. YouTube OAuth credentials
6. Reddit RSS access (no auth needed)

Step 1: Run MCP Server

# Run the short-video-maker MCP server
docker run -it --rm \
  --name short-video-maker \
  -p 3123:3123 \
  -e LOG_LEVEL=debug \
  -e PEXELS_API_KEY=your_pexels_api_key \
  gyoridavid/short-video-maker:latest-tiny

# Server will be available at http://localhost:3123

Step 2: Import Workflow

# In n8n:
# 1. Go to Workflows → Import from File
# 2. Upload "youtube_shorts_with_mcp_server.json"
# 3. All nodes will be imported

Step 3: Configure Credentials

Set up authentication for:

Step 4: Update Server URL

// In "Configure" node (for custom generation)
SERVER_URL: "http://host.docker.internal:3123"

// In MCP Client nodes
sseEndpoint: "http://host.docker.internal:3123/mcp/sse"

Note: If not using Docker Desktop, replace host.docker.internal with:

• localhost for local setup
• Your server IP for remote setup

Step 5: Enable n8n Binary Data Mode

# Add to your n8n environment variables
N8N_DEFAULT_BINARY_DATA_MODE=filesystem

# This prevents 400 errors when uploading to YouTube

Step 6: Test the Workflow

# 1. Click "Test workflow" button
# 2. Workflow fetches top Reddit posts
# 3. AI generates video scripts
# 4. MCP server creates videos
# 5. Videos are uploaded to YouTube

📊 Workflow Structure

Reddit Content Workflows

Each Reddit source follows this pattern:

1. Get Top Posts

• Fetches weekly top posts via RSS
• No authentication required
• Returns titles and content

2. Map Fields

• Extracts title and content
• Removes "submitted by" text
• Formats for AI processing

3. Aggregate

• Combines all posts into single array
• Prepares for batch processing

4. Generate Video (AI Agent)

• Uses GPT-4 or GPT-4o-mini
• Connects to MCP server via tools
• Adapts content for video format
• Returns video ID and title

5. Wait Loop

• Pauses execution (webhook-based)
• Allows video generation to complete
• Configurable wait time

6. Check Status

• Polls MCP server for video status
• Returns current generation state

7. If Ready

• Checks if status === "ready"
• True: Downloads video
• False: Loops back to Wait

8. Download & Upload

• Downloads generated video
• Uploads to YouTube with metadata
• Sets category and region

Custom Video Generation

1. Configure

• Sets MCP server URL
• Centralizes configuration

2. Get Music Tags

• Fetches available music tags from server
• Used for background music selection

3. Generate Content

• AI creates video scenes
• Each scene has text and search terms
• Returns structured JSON

4. Pick Music

• AI selects appropriate music tag
• Based on video content and available tags

5. Start Generation

• POSTs to MCP server API
• Includes scenes and config
• Returns video ID

6. Wait & Check Loop

• Similar to Reddit workflows
• Monitors generation progress

7. Download & Upload

• Same as Reddit workflows

🎨 Customization

Change Reddit Sources

// In RSS Feed Read nodes
url: "https://www.reddit.com/r/YourSubreddit/top/.rss?t=week"

// Available time filters: hour, day, week, month, year, all

Modify Post Selection

// In "Generate video" node prompt
{{ $json.data[8].title }}  // Change index [0-24] for different posts

// Get multiple posts
{{ $json.data.slice(0, 5) }}  // First 5 posts

Adjust AI Models

// For OpenAI
model: "gpt-4o-mini"        // Fast and cheap
model: "gpt-4-turbo"        // Balanced
model: "gpt-4"              // Best quality

// For Ollama (local)
model: "mistral-small3.1:24b-instruct-2503-q8_0"
model: "llama3:70b"

Customize Video Prompts

// In AI Agent nodes
text: `<Instruction>
Turn the following joke into a video. 
Make it engaging and easy to understand.
Add humor and timing.
</Instruction>

<Joke>
{{ $json.data[8].contentSnippet }}
</Joke>`

Change Video Configuration

// In "Start generating the video" node
{
  "scenes": [...],
  "config": {
    "paddingBack": 1500,    // Silence at end (ms)
    "music": "upbeat",      // Music tag
    "voiceSpeed": 1.0,      // TTS speed
    "subtitleStyle": "bold" // Subtitle formatting
  }
}

Modify YouTube Settings

// In YouTube upload nodes
title: "{{ $json.output.videoTitle }}"
regionCode: "US"           // Change region
categoryId: "24"           // 24 = Entertainment
privacy: "public"          // public, unlisted, private

Adjust Wait Times

// In Wait nodes
// Default uses webhook callback
// For fixed time:
waitTime: 60  // seconds
resumeAfter: 60

🛠️ MCP Server Details

Endpoints

Video Generation API

Request:

{
  "scenes": [
    {
      "text": "Here's an interesting fact...",
      "searchTerms": ["space", "galaxy", "stars"]
    }
  ],
  "config": {
    "paddingBack": 1500,
    "music": "ambient"
  }
}

Response:

{
  "videoId": "abc123",
  "status": "processing"
}

Status Response

{
  "status": "processing" | "ready" | "failed",
  "progress": 45,
  "eta": 120
}

🐛 Troubleshooting

YouTube Upload Failures (400 Error)

# Solution: Enable filesystem binary mode
N8N_DEFAULT_BINARY_DATA_MODE=filesystem

# In Docker Compose:
environment:
  - N8N_DEFAULT_BINARY_DATA_MODE=filesystem

YouTube API Quota Limits

# YouTube limits daily API uploads
# Free tier: 6 videos per day
# Solution: Disable YouTube nodes for testing
# Or: Apply for quota increase

MCP Server Connection Failed

# Check server is running:
docker ps | grep short-video-maker

# Check logs:
docker logs short-video-maker

# Test endpoint:
curl http://localhost:3123/api/music-tags

Video Generation Stuck

# Check status manually:
curl http://localhost:3123/api/short-video/VIDEO_ID/status

# Restart MCP server:
docker restart short-video-maker

# Check Pexels API key is valid

AI Agent Not Finding MCP Tools

// Verify MCP Client node configuration:
sseEndpoint: "http://host.docker.internal:3123/mcp/sse"
include: "selected"
includeTools: ["create-short-video"]

Docker Desktop Host Access Issues

# Linux: Use host network mode
docker run --network host ...

# Or: Use container IP
docker inspect short-video-maker | grep IPAddress

📈 Performance Optimization

Reduce AI Costs

// Use GPT-4o-mini instead of GPT-4
model: "gpt-4o-mini"  // ~10x cheaper

// Use Ollama for free local inference
model: "mistral-small3.1:24b-instruct-2503-q8_0"

Faster Video Generation

// Use smaller video resolution in MCP server
// Reduce scene count per video
scenes: [...].slice(0, 2)  // Only 2 scenes

// Use shorter text per scene

Batch Processing

// Process multiple posts in parallel
// Split into separate workflow executions
// Use n8n's batch processing features

🔒 Security Considerations

• Store all API keys securely in n8n credentials
• Never commit credentials to version control
• Use environment variables for sensitive data
• Restrict MCP server access (firewall rules)
• Monitor YouTube API quota usage
• Review generated content before uploading
• Comply with Reddit's API terms of service
• Respect YouTube's community guidelines

💰 Cost Estimation

Per Video (approximate)

GPT-4o-mini (script): $0.001-0.005
Pexels API: Free (with attribution)
MCP Server: Free (self-hosted)
YouTube Upload: Free
Total: ~$0.001-0.005 per video

GPT-4 (higher quality): $0.01-0.05 per video

Monthly (100 videos)

With GPT-4o-mini: $0.10-0.50/month
With GPT-4: $1-5/month
With Ollama: $0/month (electricity only)

📝 YouTube Upload Limitations

• Daily Quota: 6 videos per day (default)
• File Size: Max 256 GB per video
• Duration: Shorts must be ≤60 seconds
• API Limits: 10,000 quota units/day
• Upload = 1,600 units per video

💡 Content Ideas

Subreddit Sources

• r/Jokes - Funny short jokes
• r/LifeProTips - Useful life advice
• r/Stories - Short narratives
• r/explainlikeimfive - Simple explanations
• r/todayilearned - Interesting facts
• r/ShowerThoughts - Mind-bending thoughts
• r/technicallythetruth - Clever observations
• r/clevercomebacks - Witty responses

Video Styles

• Joke format with punchline timing
• Life hack demonstrations
• Story narration with suspense
• Educational fact delivery
• Motivational quote videos
• Fun fact compilations

🌐 MCP Server Resources

• GitHub: short-video-maker
• npm: short-video-maker
• Docker Hub: gyoridavid/short-video-maker
• Documentation: Available in GitHub repo

📊 Workflow Metrics to Track

• Videos generated per day
• YouTube upload success rate
• Average video generation time
• AI token usage and costs
• MCP server uptime
• Video view counts
• Subscriber growth
• API quota remaining

🎓 Learning Resources

• MCP Protocol Docs
• n8n AI Documentation
• YouTube Data API
• Pexels API Docs
• Reddit RSS Feeds

📄 License

This workflow is open source and available under the .

🤝 Contributing

Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome!

1. Fork the project
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add multiple subreddit support')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

👨‍💻 Author

Redoanuzzaman

• GitHub: @redoanuzzaman
• Email: redoanuzzaman707@gmail.com
• Website: redoan.dev

🙏 Acknowledgments

• gyoridavid for the short-video-maker MCP server
• n8n community for workflow automation tools
• OpenAI for GPT models
• Pexels for free stock footage
• Reddit for content source

💖 Show Your Support

Give a ⭐️ if this workflow helps you create amazing YouTube Shorts!

📞 Support

Need help?

1. Check MCP Server Issues
2. Visit n8n Community Forum
3. Review YouTube API Docs
4. Open an issue in this repository

Made with 🎬 and AI automation

Last Updated: October 2025