How can I convert my YouTube transcript Python script into an n8n HTTP node with proper OAuth configuration?

Below is an overview of what you need to do to replicate your Python script’s functionality using n8n’s HTTP Request node with OAuth credentials for YouTube:

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1. Decide on the API & Scope

Although your Python script uses the youtube_transcript_api without needing authentication, when accessing YouTube endpoints via an HTTP node in n8n you must use proper OAuth authentication for the YouTube Data API. In this case, you’ll typically need a scope like:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.readonly

This scope gives you read-only access to YouTube account data, which is often sufficient for retrieving captions or transcript data via Google’s APIs.

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2. Set Up a Google Cloud Project

Follow these steps:

• Create a Google Cloud Project:
  Log in to your Google Cloud Console and create a new project (or use an existing one).

• Enable the YouTube Data API:
  Go to the APIs Library in your project and enable “YouTube Data API v3.” This step is crucial for interacting with YouTube endpoints.

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3. Configure the OAuth Consent Screen

If you haven’t configured OAuth before in your project:

1. In the Google Cloud Console, navigate to APIs & Services > OAuth consent screen.
2. Choose the user type (External is most common unless you are restricting access to your organization).
3. Fill in the required details (App name, support email, and developer contact).
4. Under Authorized domains, add your n8n Cloud domain (or the domain of your self-hosted instance).
5. Click through to save the configuration.

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4. Create OAuth Client Credentials

Now, create your OAuth client credentials:

1. In the Console, go to APIs & Services > Credentials.
2. Click on + CREATE CREDENTIALS > OAuth client ID.
3. Choose Web application as the Application type.
4. Give the client a name you can recognize.
5. Add the OAuth Redirect URI from n8n:
   In your n8n instance’s OAuth credential setup (when creating a new Google OAuth credential), you will see a unique OAuth Redirect URI. Copy this URL and paste it into the Authorized redirect URIs field in Google Cloud Console.
6. Finish creation and note the Client ID and Client Secret.

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5. Configure the n8n Credential

In your n8n instance:

1. Navigate to the credentials section and create or edit your Google OAuth credential (use “OAuth2 generic” if you need to add scopes manually, or “OAuth2 single service” if you’re only working with one service node).

2. Paste in the Client ID and Client Secret that you obtained.

3. Add the required scope for YouTube (for example, paste the following into the scope field):

   https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.readonly
   

4. Save the credentials and select Sign in with Google in n8n to complete authentication. This will trigger an OAuth popup where you grant access and obtain a token.

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6. Configure the HTTP Request Node

Once your credentials are working, set up your HTTP Request node to perform the API call:

1. Resource URL:
   Instead of calling the transcript API like in the Python script (which scraped captions), call the YouTube Data API endpoint that returns caption details. For example, if you’re retrieving captions you might use an endpoint similar to:

   https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/captions
   

   (Note: The exact endpoint will depend on how you plan to retrieve the transcript. You might need to first list captions for a video and then download the caption track.)

2. Method & Query Parameters:
   Make sure to set the query parameters and HTTP method (GET or POST) as required by the API.

3. Authentication:
   Under the HTTP node’s authentication settings, select the Google OAuth credentials you just set up. This automatically attaches the required tokens.

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7. Testing the Workflow

• Run the workflow:
  When triggered, the HTTP Request node will use the OAuth token to make authorized API calls.
• Parse the Response:
  Extract the transcript information from the response JSON.
• Further Processing:
  As in your Python script, you may loop through the transcript array to build your output.

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Final Notes

• Different from the Python Approach:
  Your original Python script uses a library that “scrapes” the transcript data without authentication. When using n8n’s HTTP node with Google’s API, proper OAuth authentication is required along with enabling the YouTube Data API.

• Documentation References:
  For more detailed step-by-step guides on setting up Google OAuth2 credentials in n8n, refer to the official n8n documentation sections on Google OAuth2 single service or Google OAuth2 generic.

This setup should give you the foundation to mimic the Python script functionality in an n8n workflow while adhering to Google’s OAuth requirements. If you run into specific errors, check the OAuth redirect URI configuration, API enabling, and scope settings in both Google Cloud Console and n8n.