AutomationFlowsSocial Media › Automated Youtube Subscription Notifications with RSS and Email

Automated Youtube Subscription Notifications with RSS and Email

BySweenu @sweenu on n8n.io

You are in the bad habit of always checking your feed to see if there are new videos? This workflow will help you get rid of this habit by delivering an email notification for each new video posted from the channels you are subscribed to. No need to check your feed again: no…

Cron / scheduled trigger★★★★☆ complexity18 nodesYouTubeRSS Feed ReadHTTP RequestEmail SendStop And Error
Social Media Trigger: Cron / scheduled Nodes: 18 Complexity: ★★★★☆ Added:

This workflow corresponds to n8n.io template #3216 — we link there as the canonical source.

This workflow follows the Emailsend → HTTP Request recipe pattern — see all workflows that pair these two integrations.

The workflow JSON

Copy or download the full n8n JSON below. Paste it into a new n8n workflow, add your credentials, activate. Full import guide →

Download .json
{
  "meta": {
    "templateCredsSetupCompleted": true
  },
  "nodes": [
    {
      "id": "a5292068-5ace-4372-9869-46100ae81b8f",
      "name": "Get video details",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.youTube",
      "notes": "Make a call to the YouTube API so that we have the thumbnail for the email and the duration to filter out shorts.",
      "position": [
        1000,
        -60
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "part": [
          "contentDetails",
          "snippet",
          "id"
        ],
        "options": {},
        "videoId": "={{ $json.id.replace(\"yt:video:\", \"\") }}",
        "resource": "video",
        "operation": "get"
      },
      "credentials": {
        "youTubeOAuth2Api": {
          "name": "<your credential>"
        }
      },
      "typeVersion": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "b9eb34aa-90c4-492a-a33e-37a32812fa32",
      "name": "Schedule Trigger",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger",
      "position": [
        -840,
        -160
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "rule": {
          "interval": [
            {
              "field": "hours",
              "hoursInterval": 1,
              "triggerAtMinute": 47
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "typeVersion": 1.2
    },
    {
      "id": "8f0dbe74-53e5-4b14-86f6-eb0f502c8471",
      "name": "Filter out shorts",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.if",
      "notes": "Sometime, some live broadcasts that are then posted as regular videos do not have a duration. That is why we check if `duration` is present in `contentDetails`.",
      "position": [
        1180,
        -60
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "options": {},
        "conditions": {
          "options": {
            "version": 1,
            "leftValue": "",
            "caseSensitive": true,
            "typeValidation": "strict"
          },
          "combinator": "or",
          "conditions": [
            {
              "id": "5342ecc0-d764-4bef-8161-d1f571fcb931",
              "operator": {
                "type": "string",
                "operation": "notExists",
                "singleValue": true
              },
              "leftValue": "={{ $json.contentDetails.duration }}",
              "rightValue": "\"duration\""
            },
            {
              "id": "b82e3373-a28b-49bd-afa0-4f48cafe2bfe",
              "operator": {
                "type": "number",
                "operation": "gt"
              },
              "leftValue": "={{ Duration.fromISO($json.contentDetails.duration).as('seconds') }}",
              "rightValue": 61
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "notesInFlow": false,
      "typeVersion": 2
    },
    {
      "id": "14d54ed0-f5c0-4992-af56-0af2d8973963",
      "name": "Sticky Note",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
      "position": [
        -900,
        -340
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "color": 7,
        "width": 220,
        "height": 460,
        "content": "### Default frequency: every hour\nChanging it here is enough if you want to check for new videos at a higher or lower frequency. You don't have to edit anything else."
      },
      "typeVersion": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "c4acbb10-1f57-4934-a324-f26d0532767c",
      "name": "Sticky Note1",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
      "position": [
        -660,
        -340
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "color": 5,
        "width": 880,
        "height": 460,
        "content": "### Get my subscriptions from the YouTube Data v3 API\nYou can expect to use 1 quota per 50 subscriptions per run, which is well within the 10 000/req a day allowed by default."
      },
      "typeVersion": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "4ae2d2f3-53b5-4431-90d8-06e41a6950e2",
      "name": "Sticky Note2",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
      "position": [
        480,
        -160
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "color": 4,
        "width": 440,
        "height": 280,
        "content": "### Get the 15 latest videos of each channel with RSS\nUsing the YouTube API instead would cost too many quotas to make it viable."
      },
      "typeVersion": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "48894d79-7e59-49fc-beb5-445fb5ca2ff6",
      "name": "Sticky Note3",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
      "position": [
        940,
        -160
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "color": 3,
        "width": 400,
        "height": 280,
        "content": "### Call YouTube's API for more data\nWe need the thumbnails for the email and the duration to filter out shorts."
      },
      "typeVersion": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "e3da3f97-138c-481e-a763-9a3c9e402928",
      "name": "Sticky Note4",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
      "position": [
        1360,
        -160
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "color": 6,
        "width": 260,
        "height": 280,
        "content": "### Configure your email here\nTo go to the video from the email, simply click on the thumbnail."
      },
      "typeVersion": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "0d092c3d-b2e1-4468-a044-c6cf0f37672b",
      "name": "Get latest 15 videos of each channel",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.rssFeedRead",
      "notes": "YouTube provides an RSS feed for each channel with the 15 latest videos.\nWe use this instead of the YouTube Data v3 API, as search requests cost a lot of \"quota points\" and would easily put us over the daily limit with just one workflow run.",
      "position": [
        540,
        -60
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "url": "=https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id={{ $json.snippet.resourceId.channelId }}",
        "options": {}
      },
      "typeVersion": 1.1
    },
    {
      "id": "34823384-d8a5-415a-87ff-203d65aa9a75",
      "name": "Get my subscriptions",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "notes": "Get subscriptions from YouTube Data v3 API",
      "position": [
        -600,
        -160
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "url": "https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/subscriptions",
        "options": {
          "pagination": {
            "pagination": {
              "parameters": {
                "parameters": [
                  {
                    "name": "pageToken",
                    "value": "={{ $response.body.nextPageToken }}"
                  }
                ]
              },
              "completeExpression": "={{ !('nextPageToken' in $response.body) }}",
              "paginationCompleteWhen": "other"
            }
          }
        },
        "sendQuery": true,
        "authentication": "predefinedCredentialType",
        "queryParameters": {
          "parameters": [
            {
              "name": "mine",
              "value": "true"
            },
            {
              "name": "part",
              "value": "snippet,contentDetails"
            },
            {
              "name": "maxResults",
              "value": "50"
            }
          ]
        },
        "nodeCredentialType": "youTubeOAuth2Api"
      },
      "credentials": {
        "youTubeOAuth2Api": {
          "name": "<your credential>"
        }
      },
      "notesInFlow": true,
      "typeVersion": 4.2
    },
    {
      "id": "534e38f3-ac40-4194-8821-5926ee581605",
      "name": "Check for errors",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.if",
      "position": [
        -400,
        -160
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "options": {},
        "conditions": {
          "options": {
            "version": 2,
            "leftValue": "",
            "caseSensitive": true,
            "typeValidation": "strict"
          },
          "combinator": "and",
          "conditions": [
            {
              "id": "5972ff90-aa5a-470c-aa96-87138eb60565",
              "operator": {
                "type": "object",
                "operation": "exists",
                "singleValue": true
              },
              "leftValue": "={{ $json.error }}",
              "rightValue": "error"
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "typeVersion": 2.2
    },
    {
      "id": "2d872c0f-30b9-4ffc-aba0-6644bf05d7bb",
      "name": "Only keep channels with unwatched videos",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.filter",
      "notes": "It's not a perfect indicator for new videos but helps reduce the amount of channels to process.",
      "position": [
        40,
        -60
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "options": {},
        "conditions": {
          "options": {
            "version": 2,
            "leftValue": "",
            "caseSensitive": true,
            "typeValidation": "strict"
          },
          "combinator": "and",
          "conditions": [
            {
              "id": "4734ee8c-1655-47be-bd45-a9527aee2833",
              "operator": {
                "type": "number",
                "operation": "gt"
              },
              "leftValue": "={{ $json.contentDetails.newItemCount }}",
              "rightValue": 0
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "typeVersion": 2.2
    },
    {
      "id": "c7bd97ec-47c1-40b4-955d-bf89d3cde330",
      "name": "Keep only videos published since last run",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.filter",
      "notes": "We dynamically figure out the last run's execution time through the settings of the \"Schedule Trigger\" node.",
      "position": [
        740,
        -60
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "options": {},
        "conditions": {
          "options": {
            "version": 2,
            "leftValue": "",
            "caseSensitive": true,
            "typeValidation": "strict"
          },
          "combinator": "and",
          "conditions": [
            {
              "id": "65d905a2-c89e-41f3-a2cf-0d1a76c48d8e",
              "operator": {
                "type": "dateTime",
                "operation": "after"
              },
              "leftValue": "={{ $json.pubDate.toDateTime() }}",
              "rightValue": "={{ \n  $('Schedule Trigger').item.json.timestamp.toDateTime().minus(\n    $('Schedule Trigger').params.rule.interval[0].hoursInterval,\n    $('Schedule Trigger').params.rule.interval[0].field\n  ).toISO()\n}}"
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "typeVersion": 2.2
    },
    {
      "id": "72341b1f-a391-4210-b3ca-4e74ae1f2e1b",
      "name": "Send an email for each new video",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.emailSend",
      "notes": "The expression in the HTML for the thumbnail simply selects the last element of the thumbnails array so that we get the best possible resolution thumbnail available.",
      "position": [
        1440,
        -60
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "html": "=<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">{{ $json.snippet.title }}</h1>\n<a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v={{ $json.id }}\">\n  <img src=\"{{ $json.snippet.thumbnails[Object.keys($json.snippet.thumbnails)[Object.keys($json.snippet.thumbnails).length - 1]].url }}\" alt=\"Watch on YouTube\" style=\"width:100%; height:auto; max-width:640px; display:block; margin: 10px auto;\">\n</a>",
        "options": {
          "appendAttribution": false
        },
        "subject": "={{ $json.snippet.channelTitle }}",
        "toEmail": "My Name <user@example.com>",
        "fromEmail": "YouTube <user@example.com>"
      },
      "credentials": {
        "smtp": {
          "name": "<your credential>"
        }
      },
      "notesInFlow": false,
      "typeVersion": 2.1
    },
    {
      "id": "b82cfbd5-71e3-418f-9b6d-6d0ec007733a",
      "name": "If the HTTP request failed, throw the error",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stopAndError",
      "position": [
        -180,
        -260
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "errorMessage": "=Status code: {{ $json.error.code }}\nMessage: {{ $json.error.message }}"
      },
      "typeVersion": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "e89eca92-896f-46b5-8a4b-149d51682faa",
      "name": "Split out subscriptions to process individually",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.splitOut",
      "position": [
        -180,
        -60
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "options": {},
        "fieldToSplitOut": "items"
      },
      "typeVersion": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "0e00fda6-1489-4c1a-8205-22e620a554c5",
      "name": "Sticky Note5",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
      "position": [
        240,
        -240
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "width": 220,
        "height": 360,
        "content": "## Manually filter out channels\nTo find the channel ID of a channel, click on the description \u2192 Share channel \u2192 Copy channel ID"
      },
      "typeVersion": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "bcc2e57c-23b2-42b7-81ab-cdd88b70b8a3",
      "name": "Filter out channels",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.filter",
      "notes": "Optional step",
      "position": [
        300,
        -60
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "options": {},
        "conditions": {
          "options": {
            "version": 2,
            "leftValue": "",
            "caseSensitive": true,
            "typeValidation": "strict"
          },
          "combinator": "and",
          "conditions": [
            {
              "id": "b27b14a9-c86c-4ebd-8a0f-4e7db722796e",
              "operator": {
                "type": "array",
                "operation": "notContains",
                "rightType": "any"
              },
              "leftValue": "={{[\n  \"exampleChannelId1\",\n  \"exampleChannelId2\"\n]}}",
              "rightValue": "={{ $json.snippet.resourceId.channelId }}"
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "notesInFlow": true,
      "typeVersion": 2.2
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "Check for errors": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "If the HTTP request failed, throw the error",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ],
        [
          {
            "node": "Split out subscriptions to process individually",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Schedule Trigger": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Get my subscriptions",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Filter out shorts": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Send an email for each new video",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ],
        []
      ]
    },
    "Get video details": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Filter out shorts",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Filter out channels": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Get latest 15 videos of each channel",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Get my subscriptions": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Check for errors",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Send an email for each new video": {
      "main": [
        []
      ]
    },
    "Get latest 15 videos of each channel": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Keep only videos published since last run",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Only keep channels with unwatched videos": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Filter out channels",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Keep only videos published since last run": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Get video details",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Split out subscriptions to process individually": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Only keep channels with unwatched videos",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    }
  }
}

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About this workflow

You are in the bad habit of always checking your feed to see if there are new videos? This workflow will help you get rid of this habit by delivering an email notification for each new video posted from the channels you are subscribed to. No need to check your feed again: no…

Source: https://n8n.io/workflows/3216/ — original creator credit. Request a take-down →

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