Auto-Publish YouTube Shorts to TikTok
Every hour, it checks your YouTube Shorts playlist for new videos, downloads them, and automatically posts or drafts them on TikTok.
What it does
You get your latest YouTube Shorts on TikTok automatically every hour without lifting a finger. This process checks your playlist, downloads the new videos, and posts or drafts them directly to your account while keeping everything up to date.
Step by step
- Configure the n8n HTTP Request node to poll the specific YouTube Shorts playlist RSS feed URL on a fixed hourly schedule.
- Set up an n8n Data Table with a unique key field for video IDs to filter out previously processed entries during each execution cycle.
- Map the downloaded video file stream from the RapidAPI response directly into the multipart/form-data body of the TikTok Content Posting API request.
Where the LLM does the work
- Generate engaging, platform-specific captions and hashtags for the TikTok upload based on the original YouTube video title or description.
- Analyze the downloaded video metadata to determine if it meets TikTok's community guidelines before attempting the final upload step.
Watch out for
TikTok requires specific aspect ratios so you must add a video processing node to crop or pad vertical videos to 9:16 resolution.
YouTube RSS feeds often delay updates by several hours so implement a retry mechanism with exponential backoff for missing new items.
Tools that fit
YouTube RSS Feed API Polling for new Shorts in a playlist
RapidAPI YouTube Media Downloader Service Downloading video files as MP4
The agent brief
Everything your agent needs, including the gotchas. Copy it and go.
You are helping me build the following AI agent workflow. ## Goal Auto-Publish YouTube Shorts to TikTok: Every hour, it checks your YouTube Shorts playlist for new videos, downloads them, and automatically posts or drafts them on TikTok. ## Specification - What it does: You get your latest YouTube Shorts on TikTok automatically every hour without lifting a finger. This process checks your playlist, downloads the new videos, and posts or drafts them directly to your account while keeping everything up to date. - Trigger: On a schedule (Scheduled · every hour) - Autonomy: Fully hands-off - Expected setup effort: about an afternoon - Tools/services involved: - n8n: Workflow orchestration and data table deduplication - YouTube RSS Feed: Polling for new Shorts in a playlist - RapidAPI YouTube Media Downloader: Downloading video files as MP4 - TikTok Content Posting API: Uploading and publishing videos ## Known pitfalls, handle each one explicitly in your implementation 1. TikTok requires specific aspect ratios so you must add a video processing node to crop or pad vertical videos to 9:16 resolution. 2. YouTube RSS feeds often delay updates by several hours so implement a retry mechanism with exponential backoff for missing new items. ## Reference implementation https://n8n.io/workflows/16171 (workflow template) Fetch and inspect this before building. If it matches my stack, adapt it; if not, rebuild the pattern with my tools. ## Process requirements 1. Before building: ask me which of the listed tools I actually use and what my platform is (n8n / Make / code / other). Do not assume. 2. Adapt the pattern to my answers; do not force the reference stack. 3. Address every pitfall above; tell me how you handled each. 4. Provide a test plan I can run before letting this touch real data. 5. Ask before any step that sends messages, modifies data, or spends money. Source: https://usecasesforagents.com/use-case/auto-publish-youtube-shorts-to-tiktok/ via usecasesforagents.com
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a different Automation Platform than n8n?
Yes. n8n is only the example automation platform in this recipe. The same flow works with Home Assistant. Swap the automation platform connection and keep the rest of the setup as written.
Want this running in your business?
This is what I do. I design and build AI agents like this one, and keep them running. If you want it set up for your team instead of doing it yourself, get in touch.
Who it's for
Built for marketers who'd rather brief an agent than start from a blank doc.