N8n workflow for converting YouTube channels or playlists into podcasts

Convert_YouTube_to_podcast.json

{
  "name": "Convert YouTube to podcast",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {
        "path": "/youtube/channel/:channel/feed.rss",
        "responseMode": "responseNode",
        "options": {}
      },
      "id": "8ba9b21e-ea9e-4ae3-8b68-d479944e39d4",
      "name": "Request channel feed",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [
        620,
        320
      ],
      "webhookId": "b6638375-24f1-4835-8011-fbb400bcc9c9"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "url": "=https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id={{ $json.params.channel }}",
        "options": {}
      },
      "id": "ccca9d86-d527-4aad-b935-389f91f02637",
      "name": "Fetch channel feed",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "typeVersion": 4.2,
      "position": [
        840,
        320
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "url": "=https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?playlist_id={{ $json.params.playlist }}",
        "options": {}
      },
      "id": "ab51edb5-7aae-4cbc-a431-46e7f71361c3",
      "name": "Fetch playlist feed",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "typeVersion": 4.2,
      "position": [
        840,
        120
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "path": "/youtube/playlist/:playlist/feed.rss",
        "responseMode": "responseNode",
        "options": {}
      },
      "id": "06e40cc9-9eb7-4355-852a-01949c299d4b",
      "name": "Request playlist feed",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [
        620,
        120
      ],
      "webhookId": "fde5d4ab-9a21-4310-a56c-84befc8b51fb"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "url": "={{ $json.feed.author.uri }}",
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "typeVersion": 4.2,
      "position": [
        1280,
        220
      ],
      "id": "75e37501-709c-4c1e-b523-16fa75150219",
      "name": "Fetch channel info"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "operation": "extractHtmlContent",
        "extractionValues": {
          "values": [
            {
              "key": "image",
              "cssSelector": "meta[property=\"og:image\"]",
              "returnValue": "attribute",
              "attribute": "content"
            },
            {
              "key": "description",
              "cssSelector": "meta[property=\"og:description\"]",
              "returnValue": "attribute",
              "attribute": "content"
            }
          ]
        },
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.html",
      "typeVersion": 1.2,
      "position": [
        1500,
        220
      ],
      "id": "a556d6a9-66e0-4e2d-b924-9f148ccca851",
      "name": "Extract channel info"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "mode": "jsonToxml",
        "dataPropertyName": "rss",
        "options": {
          "attrkey": "__attr__"
        }
      },
      "id": "82c1dd84-de37-476f-98ed-74857ecb4d84",
      "name": "JSON to RSS",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.xml",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        1940,
        220
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "options": {
          "attrkey": "__attr__",
          "mergeAttrs": false
        }
      },
      "id": "d61d745c-12ee-403f-9857-06723df81ef5",
      "name": "Parse feed",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.xml",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        1060,
        220
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "jsCode": "let feed = $('Parse feed').first().json.feed;\nlet channelInfo = $('Extract channel info').first().json;\nlet webhookUrl = $('Request playlist feed').isExecuted ?\n  $('Request playlist feed').first().json.webhookUrl :\n  $('Request channel feed').first().json.webhookUrl;\n\nlet webhookBaseUrl = webhookUrl.replace(/(\\/webhook(-test)?)\\/.+/, \"$1\");\nlet actualWebhookUrl = webhookUrl\n  .replace(\":playlist\", feed['yt:playlistId'])\n  .replace(\":channel\", feed['yt:channelId']);\n\nlet rss = {\n  __attr__: {\n    version: \"2.0\",\n    \"xmlns:itunes\": \"http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd\",\n    \"xmlns:podcast\": \"https://podcastindex.org/namespace/1.0\",\n    \"xmlns:atom\": \"http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom\",\n    \"xmlns:content\": \"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/\"\n  },\n  channel: {\n    title: feed.title,\n    description: channelInfo.description,\n    author: feed.author,\n    link: feed.author.uri,\n    \"atom:link\": {\n      __attr__: {\n        href: actualWebhookUrl,\n        rel: \"self\",\n        type: \"application/rss+xml\"\n      }\n    },\n    language: \"en\",\n    \"itunes:author\": feed.author.name,\n    \"itunes:type\": \"episodic\",\n    \"itunes:explicit\": \"No\",\n    \"itunes:image\": {\n      __attr__: {\n        href: channelInfo.image\n      }\n    },\n    item: feed.entry.map(entry => ({\n      guid: {\n        __attr__: {\n          isPermaLink: false\n        },\n        _: entry.id\n      },\n      title: entry.title,\n      description: entry['media:group']['media:description'],\n      pubDate: entry.published,\n      link: entry.link.__attr__.href,\n      enclosure: {\n        __attr__: {\n          url: `${webhookBaseUrl}/824dcae0-76b7-4157-8eb8-4baedc17600f/youtube/video/${entry['yt:videoId']}/audio.mp3`,\n          length: 100000000,\n          type: \"audio/mpeg\"\n        }\n      },\n      \"itunes:episodeType\": \"full\",\n      \"itunes:explicit\": \"No\",\n      \"itunes:image\": {\n        __attr__: {\n          href: entry['media:group']['media:thumbnail'].__attr__.url\n        }\n      }\n    }))\n  }\n};\n\nreturn [{ rss }];"
      },
      "id": "b1ce4807-091c-4e2a-b060-7b084e299f0e",
      "name": "Generate RSS",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [
        1720,
        220
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "path": "/youtube/video/:videoId/audio.mp3",
        "responseMode": "responseNode",
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [
        620,
        580
      ],
      "id": "24d88958-6842-4df1-a4e5-b5f9d305bfbb",
      "name": "Request episode audio",
      "webhookId": "824dcae0-76b7-4157-8eb8-4baedc17600f"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "command": "if [ ! -f /data/bin/ffmpeg/ffmpeg ]; then\n  mkdir -p /data/bin\n  cd /data/bin\n  wget https://johnvansickle.com/ffmpeg/releases/ffmpeg-release-amd64-static.tar.xz\n  tar xzfJ *.tar.xz\n  rm *.tar.xz\n  mv ffmpeg-*-amd64-static ffmpeg\nfi"
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.executeCommand",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        840,
        840
      ],
      "id": "064cda60-049c-43ff-b71d-8474a0241db1",
      "name": "Install FFmpeg"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "command": "=if [ ! -f /data/youtube-audio/{{ $json.params.videoId }}.mp3 ]; then\n  mkdir -p /data/youtube-audio\n  cd /data/youtube-audio\n  /data/bin/yt-dlp --ffmpeg-location /data/bin/ffmpeg -o '%(id)s.%(ext)s' -f bestaudio --quiet --extract-audio --audio-format mp3 -- \"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v={{ $json.params.videoId }}\"\nfi"
      },
      "id": "2b6ef338-3405-4611-b469-d4ee17c96c1c",
      "name": "Download audio",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.executeCommand",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        840,
        580
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {},
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        620,
        840
      ],
      "id": "713dd1e5-0e6e-4608-a412-f32f2c784283",
      "name": "Install dependencies"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "fileSelector": "=/data/youtube-audio/{{ $('Request episode audio').item.json.params.videoId }}.mp3",
        "options": {}
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.readWriteFile",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        1060,
        580
      ],
      "id": "8659a502-de5f-43af-b8ef-7bee9023d944",
      "name": "Load audio file",
      "alwaysOutputData": false
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "command": "if [ -f /data/bin/yt-dlp ]; then\n  /data/bin/yt-dlp -U\nelse\n  mkdir -p /data/bin\n  wget -O /data/bin/yt-dlp \"https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp_linux\"\n  chmod +x /data/bin/yt-dlp\nfi"
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.executeCommand",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        1060,
        940
      ],
      "id": "a0017158-44a7-4fab-8065-eb631be5ca21",
      "name": "Update yt-dlp"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "rule": {
          "interval": [
            {
              "field": "weeks"
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1.2,
      "position": [
        840,
        1040
      ],
      "id": "2fc098b4-697d-42c5-a772-756dcc7b38ed",
      "name": "Update yt-dlp on a schedule"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "respondWith": "text",
        "responseBody": "={{ $json.rss }}",
        "options": {
          "responseHeaders": {
            "entries": [
              {
                "name": "content-type",
                "value": "application/rss+xml"
              },
              {
                "name": "cache-control",
                "value": "public, max-age=3600"
              }
            ]
          }
        }
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.respondToWebhook",
      "typeVersion": 1.1,
      "position": [
        2160,
        220
      ],
      "id": "c1d126b2-0069-4432-9ed6-c29d304ffee3",
      "name": "Return RSS feed"
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "respondWith": "binary",
        "options": {
          "responseHeaders": {
            "entries": [
              {
                "name": "cache-control",
                "value": "public, max-age=86400"
              }
            ]
          }
        }
      },
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.respondToWebhook",
      "typeVersion": 1.1,
      "position": [
        1280,
        580
      ],
      "id": "1782d436-47d6-4a8f-9860-9c5dde550f67",
      "name": "Return audio file"
    }
  ],
  "pinData": {},
  "connections": {
    "Fetch channel feed": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Parse feed",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Request channel feed": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Fetch channel feed",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Request playlist feed": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Fetch playlist feed",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Fetch playlist feed": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Parse feed",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Fetch channel info": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Extract channel info",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Extract channel info": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Generate RSS",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "JSON to RSS": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Return RSS feed",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Parse feed": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Fetch channel info",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Generate RSS": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "JSON to RSS",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Request episode audio": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Download audio",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Download audio": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Load audio file",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Install FFmpeg": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Update yt-dlp",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Install dependencies": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Install FFmpeg",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Load audio file": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Return audio file",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Update yt-dlp on a schedule": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Update yt-dlp",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    }
  },
  "active": true,
  "settings": {
    "executionOrder": "v1"
  },
  "versionId": "836af500-30ee-401a-b8ef-30903abb536f",
  "meta": {
    "templateCredsSetupCompleted": true,
    "instanceId": "ad45f341659c6e3c759843b4eeb160f3184915669c1330680fb1c5e3d601e663"
  },
  "id": "4MFLuR9xEMJ7wZU4",
  "tags": []
}

Please note that this workflow will download binaries for FFmpeg and yt-dlp from the Internet. This isn't the safest or most secure approach. You may want to modify this to use a system-wide installation of FFmpeg and yt-dlp which is managed outside of this workflow. If you're running n8n in Docker, that means you'll probably need to build a custom Docker image.