YouTube alerts
Post a message in Discord whenever a YouTube channel uploads a new video, with your own custom text, role pings and a video preview.
On this page
YouTube alerts keep your community in the loop. Add a YouTube channel, pick where alerts go, and Buddy posts a message (with the video link and preview) every time that channel uploads. It works for your own channel, your favourite creators, or a whole list of channels you follow.
Before you start#
- Have the YouTube channel ID ready (it starts with
UC). See Find the channel ID. - Free servers can follow up to 5 YouTube channels. Premium raises the limit (see Premium).
- If your alert channel isn't in the list, run
/setupin Discord, choose Update Channels and Roles for Website, then refresh the dashboard.
Set it up#
It's under Automation & alerts in the sidebar.
In YouTube channels, choose Post notifications in, then click Add YouTube notification. A new row appears in the table.
Click the pencil on the new row to open Edit YouTube notification.
Give it a Name (just a label for you, like the creator's name) and paste the channel ID into YouTube channel ID or URL.
Click Save notification, then Back to YouTube notifications.
In Notification message, write the text Buddy posts for new videos and click Save message. This one message is used for every YouTube channel on your server.
To follow more channels, repeat steps 2 to 5. Delete a notification with its bin icon.
Find the channel ID#
Go to the channel's page on YouTube.
Under the header image, click ...more in the description.
Scroll down, click Share channel, then Copy channel ID.
Paste it into YouTube channel ID or URL and save.
Paste the channel ID (UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) or a link in the form
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Handle links like
youtube.com/@creator (and /c/ or /user/ links) don't contain the ID, so Buddy can't use
them. Saving one shows an error asking for the channel ID instead of saving an empty one.
How alerts work#
- Buddy checks each YouTube channel's feed about every 5 minutes.
- The first check after you add a channel only remembers the latest video. Nothing is posted, so you don't get an alert for an old upload.
- After that, every new upload is posted once. Buddy keeps track of what it already posted, so old videos are never re-posted.
- If several videos come out between checks, Buddy posts up to 3 at a time, oldest first.
- Video titles and channel names can't ping anyone. Only pings you put in your message (like
{everyone}or{role:...}) notify people.
Settings explained#
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Post notifications in | The Discord channel where alerts for this YouTube channel are posted. | None |
| Name | A label so you can tell your notifications apart. Not shown in Discord. | Empty |
| YouTube channel ID or URL | The channel to watch. Use the UC... ID or a /channel/UC... link. Anything else is rejected with an error. | Empty |
| Message (Notification message) | The text posted for each new video, shared by all your YouTube notifications. Up to 1024 characters. | See below |
If you leave Message empty, Buddy posts:
**{author}** uploaded a new YouTube video!
**{title}**!
{url}Placeholders#
| Placeholder | Becomes |
|---|---|
{author} | The YouTube channel's name |
{title} | The video title |
{url} | The video link. Include it so Discord shows the video preview |
{everyone} | An @everyone ping |
{role:ROLE_ID} | A ping for a role, e.g. {role:123456789012345678} |
{user:USER_ID} | A ping for a member |
Instead of {everyone}, create a "YouTube Pings" role members can opt into (for example with
button roles) and use {role:ROLE_ID}.
Examples#
A message that pings an opt-in role:
{role:123456789012345678} 🎬 **{author}** just dropped a new video!
**{title}**
{url}What members see:
@YouTube Pings 🎬 Pixel Farmer just dropped a new video!
Building the ultimate farm in 24 hours
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123XYZ00
Post alerts in an announcement channel and add it to Auto-publish channels on the Announcements page, and servers that follow it get the alert as well.
Premium#
| Free | Premium | |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube channels per server | 5 | Higher, depending on your plan |
When you reach the limit, the Add YouTube notification form is replaced with a note. Delete one or upgrade to add more. See Premium.
Troubleshooting#
A new video came out but nothing was posted#
- Wait up to 5 minutes (plus however long YouTube takes to update its feed).
- If you just added the channel, the first check only records the latest video. The next upload is the first one posted.
- Open the notification and check the YouTube channel ID or URL. It must be the
UC...ID, not an@handlelink. - Check Buddy has View Channel and Send Messages in the alert channel. A missing Send Messages permission is noted on the dashboard Error Log.
The alert has no video preview#
Make sure your message includes {url}, and that Buddy has Embed Links in the channel.
@everyone doesn't ping#
Buddy needs the Mention Everyone permission in the alert channel, and your message must
contain {everyone} (or @everyone).
I can't add another YouTube channel#
You've reached your plan's limit. Delete one you no longer need, or upgrade to Premium.