Add YouTube Videos to Playlists

Playlists group related videos so viewers can find the next useful lesson. For example, a product tutorial can belong to both Getting started and Product tips. Choose those playlists when preparing the video in Postly; Postly uploads the video once, then adds it to each selected playlist.

Playlist selection is optional. Leave it empty to publish normally. You can select up to 50 playlists per channel. Playlist choices do not change the video's privacy setting or publishing schedule.

Choose playlists in the dashboard

Select the YouTube channel you want to publish to and attach your video.
Open that channel's YouTube Settings and enter the video title.
Expand Playlists (optional) and check the playlists you want.
Search the loaded playlist names, or choose Load more playlists to retrieve another page. Use Refresh playlists after creating or renaming a playlist in YouTube Studio.
Save your settings, review the post, and publish or schedule it.

Choices belong to the selected channel. When publishing to several YouTube channels, configure each channel separately. A saved playlist that has not loaded yet stays selected until you remove it.

Bulk CSV: choose after uploading

Upload your CSV, then use YouTube: Playlists (optional) in the review table. Choose the row's specific YouTube channels first, then select playlists by name for each channel. Save the selection before creating the posts. You do not need to look up or type playlist IDs into the CSV.

Other edits to the row preserve its playlist choices. If you change the destination channel, review its playlist selection again.

Bulk Google Sheets

Use the current Postly Sheets integration and run Setup Template to repair an existing template and add the optional youtube_playlist_ids column while preserving existing rows.

Select the post row and choose its workspace and one specific YouTube channel.
Open the Postly menu and choose Choose YouTube playlists for selected row.
Check playlists by name, load more pages if necessary, then choose Save playlists.
The helper writes stable playlist IDs into the row. Continue with the normal validation and publishing workflow.

For different YouTube channels, use separate sheet rows so playlist IDs cannot accidentally target another channel. Leave the playlist cell blank for no playlist assignment. Renaming a playlist does not change its saved ID.

The chooser requires an updated Apps Script deployment. If the menu is missing, reopen the sheet and check that you are using the current Postly integration. A template repair adds columns; it does not update an old independent copy of Apps Script.

API access

List playlists for the destination channel:

GET /v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/youtube/{channel_id}/playlists
X-API-Key: YOUR_POSTLY_API_KEY

The response's data.playlists contains id, title, and privacy. If data.next_page_token is present, repeat the request with ?page_token=... until it is absent.

Include the selected IDs in the YouTube entry of your normal create or update post request:

{
  "platform_posts": [{
    "identifier": "youtube",
    "channel_id": "YOUR_YOUTUBE_CHANNEL_ID",
    "settings": {
      "identifier": "youtube",
      "title": "How to set up your first project",
      "playlist_ids": ["YOUR_FIRST_PLAYLIST_ID", "YOUR_SECOND_PLAYLIST_ID"]
    }
  }]
}

This is an excerpt, not a complete publishing request. Supply the normal workspace, target channel, video media, and schedule fields. Omit playlist_ids or send an empty array to make no playlist additions. For multiple YouTube channels, use separate platform_posts entries with each channel's own channel_id and playlist IDs.

List requests require workspace read access; creating or updating posts retains the existing publishing permissions and review safeguards.

MCP assistants

Ask your assistant to call postly.list_youtube_playlists with the workspace and channel IDs, follow any next_page_token, and show the playlist names. After you choose, the assistant can include the returned IDs in platform_posts[].settings.playlist_ids using the normal post creation or update tool. Playlist selection does not authorize publication by itself.

If the video uploads but a playlist addition fails

A successful upload remains successful. Postly records each playlist addition separately and notifies you when an addition needs attention. Open the saved post's YouTube settings and use Check / retry playlist assignment, or check the playlist in YouTube Studio.

API clients can request a playlist-only recovery:

POST /v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/youtube/{channel_id}/posts/{post_id}/playlists/retry
X-API-Key: YOUR_POSTLY_API_KEY

MCP assistants can use postly.retry_youtube_playlists after you authorize the retry. Results list playlist_id and status: added, failed, unavailable, or uncertain. Recovery checks existing membership and never uploads the video again. An uncertain previous insertion is checked but not sent again automatically; review that playlist in YouTube Studio if uncertainty remains.

A playlist may have been deleted, belong to another channel, be full, or reject the video. YouTube also restricts series playlist membership and system playlists such as the automatic uploads list. Reconnecting can restore missing permissions, but does not fix every playlist error. Each playlist addition uses YouTube API quota separately.