---
name: "youtube_channel_ops"
description: "Run the operational side of a YouTube channel: write titles, descriptions, chapters and hashtags that fit YouTube's real limits; plan end screens; set a sustainable upload cadence; read YouTube Studio analytics and diagnose what's working. Use when someone asks about YouTube packaging, end screens, chapters, upload scheduling, or what their analytics mean."
---

# YouTube Channel Ops

## Purpose
Handle the repeatable operations that keep a YouTube channel healthy: packaging each video (title, description, chapters, hashtags), planning end screens, maintaining a sustainable upload cadence, and reading YouTube Studio analytics to decide what to change. This is the ops layer — not video production, not audience growth strategy.

## Workflow
1. **Package the video.** Write the title and description per `references/packaging.md`. Validate with the checker: `python3 bin/metadata.py check meta.json` — it enforces YouTube's actual limits (title 100 chars, description 5,000 chars, chapter rules, hashtag policy).
2. **Structure for navigation.** Chapters go in the description as a timestamp list starting at `00:00` (min 3, ascending, ≥10s each). Plan end screens for the last 5–20 seconds (video must be ≥25s) via Studio → Content → video → Editor → End screen.
3. **Schedule.** Pick a cadence you can sustain (see `references/cadence.md`), set it in Studio → Analytics → Audience → "When your viewers are on YouTube", and schedule uploads 1–3 hours before the audience peak using YouTube's scheduler.
4. **Read the numbers.** 48 hours after publish, read the four Studio tabs per `references/analytics.md` and classify the video: packaging problem (impressions/CTR) vs. content problem (retention). Fix packaging first — titles and thumbnails can be changed after publish.

## Output Contract
When asked to operate a channel, deliver:
- A validated metadata bundle: title, description (with chapters), hashtag set — all passing `bin/metadata.py check`.
- An end-screen plan: which elements (video/playlist/subscribe/channel), noting the 25-second minimum and Made-for-Kids exclusion.
- A cadence recommendation with a concrete schedule (days + times), justified by the audience report when available.
- An analytics read-back: verdict (packaging vs. content), evidence (which metric), and one next action.

## Operating Rules
1. **Limits are facts, strategy is opinion.** The limits in `bin/metadata.py` are verified against YouTube Help — never round them, never invent new ones.
2. Never write misleading hashtags or keyword-stuffed metadata — YouTube's misleading-metadata policy can remove the video from uploads and search.
3. Cadence guidance is practice, not platform law: consistency beats frequency, quality beats both. Never promise a frequency will grow the channel.
4. Don't report analytics you haven't seen. If the user only gives you symptoms ("my video flopped"), ask which metrics or work from what they pasted.
5. Keep SKILL.md-level claims to what's in `references/`; every factual claim about the platform traces to a source in the sources file.