video2podcast

Convert bookmarked videos from YouTube, X (Twitter), and other sites into a podcast RSS feed hosted on Cloudflare R2. Use when the user says things like "add...

video-podcast

Turn any video URL into a podcast episode. Publishes a valid RSS feed to Cloudflare R2 that can be subscribed to in Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and any podcast app.

Supports YouTube, X (Twitter), and the ~1,000 other sites that yt-dlp supports.

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First-time Setup

1. Install dependencies

# Python packages
pip3 install yt-dlp boto3

# ffmpeg (required for audio conversion)
brew install ffmpeg        # macOS
sudo apt install ffmpeg    # Linux

2. Create a Cloudflare R2 bucket

1. Sign up at cloudflare.com (free tier is sufficient)
2. Go to R2 Object Storage → Create bucket
3. Name it anything — e.g. podcast-feed
4. Enable Public access on the bucket (R2 → bucket → Settings → Public Access → Enable)
5. Note the r2.dev public URL shown (e.g. https://pub-abc123.r2.dev)

3. Create an R2 API token

1. R2 → Manage R2 API Tokens → Create token
2. Set permissions: Object Read & Write on your bucket
3. Note the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key
4. Note your Account ID from the dashboard top-right

4. Configure the skill

Run the interactive setup:

python3 /path/to/skills/video-podcast/scripts/video_podcast.py setup

Or add these to ~/.openclaw/.env manually:

VIDPOD_R2_ACCESS_KEY=your_access_key_id
VIDPOD_R2_SECRET=your_secret_access_key
VIDPOD_R2_ENDPOINT=https://<account_id>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com
VIDPOD_R2_BUCKET=podcast-feed
VIDPOD_PUBLIC_BASE=https://pub-<hash>.r2.dev

# Optional
VIDPOD_FEED_TITLE=My Video Podcast
VIDPOD_FEED_AUTHOR=Your Name

5. Add a cover image (optional but recommended)

Podcast apps display a 1400×1400px JPEG as artwork. Upload one to your bucket:

# Using AWS CLI (if installed)
aws s3 cp cover.jpg s3://podcast-feed/cover.jpg \
  --endpoint-url https://<account_id>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com \
  --content-type image/jpeg

# Or via the Cloudflare R2 dashboard — drag and drop cover.jpg into the bucket

The image must be named cover.jpg in the root of your bucket.

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Usage

Add a single video

python3 video_podcast.py add "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=..."
python3 video_podcast.py add "https://x.com/user/status/123456789"
python3 video_podcast.py add "https://vimeo.com/..."

Sync a YouTube playlist

Add all videos from a playlist that aren't already in the feed:

python3 video_podcast.py sync-youtube PLxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The playlist ID is the part after list= in the YouTube URL.

List episodes

python3 video_podcast.py list

Get the RSS feed URL

python3 video_podcast.py feed

Remove an episode

python3 video_podcast.py remove "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=..."

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How It Works

1. yt-dlp fetches the best available audio stream from the source URL — no browser automation, no screen capture.
2. ffmpeg converts the audio to MP3 (VBR ~130kbps).
3. The MP3 is uploaded to your Cloudflare R2 bucket with a 7-day public cache header.
4. feed.xml is rebuilt and uploaded with no-cache headers so podcast apps always see the latest version.
5. Your podcast app polls the feed URL periodically and downloads new episodes automatically.

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Storage & State

Location	Purpose
~/.openclaw/video-podcast-state.json	Episode list + processed URL GUIDs (deduplication)
R2 <guid>.mp3	Audio files (public, 7-day cache)
R2 feed.xml	Podcast RSS feed (public, no-cache)
R2 cover.jpg	Podcast artwork (optional)

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Supported Sources

Any URL that yt-dlp supports, including:

• YouTube — videos and playlists
• X (Twitter) — public video tweets
• Vimeo, SoundCloud, Twitch clips, Reddit videos
• Full list of 1,000+ supported sites

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Troubleshooting

ffmpeg not found

brew install ffmpeg   # macOS
sudo apt install ffmpeg  # Linux

SSL errors with R2 Make sure you're using Python 3.10+ with OpenSSL 3.x. On macOS the system Python (/usr/bin/python3) uses LibreSSL which may not work. Install Python via Homebrew:

brew install python@3.13

Age-restricted YouTube videos yt-dlp needs your browser cookies:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "https://youtube.com/watch?v=..."

Then run add again — yt-dlp caches the cookies.

X/Twitter videos fail Public tweets work without auth. Private accounts require cookies:

yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome "https://x.com/user/status/..."

Episode not appearing in podcast app Most podcast apps cache the feed for 1–24 hours. Force a refresh in the app, or check the feed directly: python3 video_podcast.py feed

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OpenClaw Agent Usage

When used via the OpenClaw agent, trigger phrases include:

• "Add this to my podcast feed: [URL]"
• "Add this video to my podcast"
• "Sync my podcast from playlist [ID]"
• "What's in my podcast feed?"
• "Remove [URL] from my podcast"

The agent will run the appropriate subcommand and report back the result.