Automatically Upload Your Time Lapse videos From OctoPrint to Youtube

Update October 14, 2020: Although the stuff in this article might still work, I figured out a better way. Check it out.

Update April 2, 2020: So webcams are almost impossible to find right now during the COVID-19 pandemic because everyone is teleworking. And the ones you can find are being price gouged. However, WyzeCams are still normal price and Wyze recently released firmware that converts them to webcams. I wrote a post on how you can do that.

For a few months now, I’ve been looking for a way to upload videos from OctoPrint (This link is to my previous write-up on OctoPrint and its plugins. Please check it out.) to YouTube automatically. I was optimistic when I learned about the OctoPrint-Dropbox-Timelapse plugin, and Zapier, I was optimistic that they would be able to do what I wanted. However, I was not able to get it working. But the OctoPrint-Dropbox plugin had a recent update, and all of a sudden, it all just started working. So I figured there might be others that wanted this, so i did a write-up on it.

Here’s my YouTube channel showing my last uploads.

Here’s what you will need:

• OctoPrint
• A compatible webcam(I use the Logitech C920. But the C270 is a good cheaper alternative). Keep in mind that due to everyone working from home, these webcams are ridiculously expensive. However, Wyze did recently release a firmware that allows you to use it as a USB webcam. However, I don’t know if that will work with the RPi. If anyone does know, please let me know. I might try it out sometime this week.

The Dropbox Plugin

The first thing you need to do is install the plugin. That’s easy. Just go to the Plugin Manager and search for ‘Dropbox’ and install the plugin.

Then, just follow the instructions on the settings page for the plugin to get the API key for Dropbox and enter it into the settings.

Zapier

Zapier is an automation service like IFTTT. However, it was the only one that I could find that can automatically upload a video to Dropbox.

1. Go the Zapier and create an account.
2. Click the + to create a new ‘Zap’.
3. Select ‘Dropbox’ for ‘When this happens’
4. It will ask you to connect to the Dropbox account you will be using for this.
5. For the Trigger, select ‘New File in Folder’.
6. For the folder, use the one you used when you generate the App API Key for the plugin.
7. For ‘Do this’, select YouTube, and sign into your account.
8. You can then customize the video settings, like the description and title, and whether to make the video public or private.

And that’s it. Next time OctoPrint or the OctoLapse plugin generate a time-lapse, you should see a video on YouTube a few minutes later.

Let me know if you have any comments or questions.