Allow video to upload by just video name

Uploading YouTube Videos by Name: A Simpler Approach

Currently, the youtube-uploader-mcp tool requires you to provide the full path to your video file when uploading. This can be inconvenient, especially if you have a large number of videos and prefer a more streamlined workflow. This article will guide you through how to modify the tool to allow uploading videos by simply specifying the video name, assuming the script knows where to look for the video files.

Understanding the Problem: Full Paths vs. Relative Paths

The existing implementation of youtube-uploader-mcp relies on the full path to the video file. A full path is the complete location of the file on your system, starting from the root directory (e.g., /Users/YourName/Videos/MyVideo.mp4 on macOS or C:\Users\YourName\Videos\MyVideo.mp4 on Windows). This approach can be cumbersome because you always need to remember or look up the complete path for each video you want to upload.

A more user-friendly approach is to allow users to specify just the video name (e.g., MyVideo.mp4). The script would then need to be configured to know where to look for these videos, typically by setting a default video directory.

Root Cause: Hardcoded Path Requirement

The root cause is that the script's code expects a full path and directly uses it to access the video file. It doesn't have any logic to search for the video based on just the name within a specified directory. The code directly uses the provided string as a file path without any pre-processing or validation to check if it's a relative path or a full path.

Solution: Implementing Video Name Based Uploads

To enable uploading videos by name, you'll need to modify the script to accept a video name, construct the full path using a default video directory, and then use the constructed path to upload the video. Here's a step-by-step guide:

Identify the Relevant Code: Locate the section of the youtube-uploader-mcp script that handles video file path processing. This is likely where the code reads the video file path from the command-line arguments or a configuration file.
Define a Default Video Directory: Add a configuration option or a variable in the script to store the default video directory. This directory will be used to construct the full path when only the video name is provided. For example:


import os

DEFAULT_VIDEO_DIR = "/path/to/your/videos"  # Change this to your video directory

def upload_video(video_path):
    # ... existing code ...
    pass

Modify the Path Handling Logic: Update the code to check if the provided video path is a full path or just a name. If it's just a name, construct the full path by combining the default video directory with the video name. Here's an example:


import os

DEFAULT_VIDEO_DIR = "/path/to/your/videos"

def upload_video(video_path):
    if os.path.isfile(video_path):
        full_video_path = video_path  # It's a full path
    else:
        full_video_path = os.path.join(DEFAULT_VIDEO_DIR, video_path)  # Construct the full path

    if not os.path.isfile(full_video_path):
        print(f"Error: Video file not found at {full_video_path}")
        return

    # ... rest of your upload logic using full_video_path ...

Test the Changes: Test the modified script by providing both the full path and just the video name. Ensure that both methods work correctly.

Practical Tips and Considerations

Error Handling: Implement robust error handling to gracefully handle cases where the video file is not found in the default directory. Provide informative error messages to the user.
Configuration Options: Consider adding a configuration option to allow users to specify the default video directory through a configuration file or command-line argument. This makes the script more flexible and adaptable to different user setups.
Path Validation: Implement path validation to ensure that the provided video path is a valid file path. This can prevent unexpected errors and improve the script's reliability.
Security: Be mindful of security implications when constructing file paths from user input. Sanitize the input to prevent potential path traversal vulnerabilities.

By implementing these changes, you can significantly improve the usability of the youtube-uploader-mcp tool by allowing users to upload videos by simply specifying the video name.