Descript lets you export videos directly to your YouTube channels. Hobbyist and Free plans may export videos up to 1 hour. Creator, Business, and Enterprise plans may export videos up to 3 hours. Exceeding the length limitation will prevent the video from being exported directly to YouTube. Descript can export to standard YouTube, but it does not support direct exporting to YouTube Shorts. To upload a YouTube Short, you need to export the video using the Descript (web link) destination and download it first.
Using YouTube as an export destination is only available on the web version of Descript.
Please note that Brand accounts and shared access channels are not officially supported, so their availability cannot be guaranteed. This means that only YouTube channel owners can publish videos on their channels.
- Free users can export videos up to 720p.
- Hobbyist users can export videos up to 1080p
- Creator, Business, and Enterprise users can export videos up to 4k.
Please note that you must set your video resolution under the Web link option (see step 3 below) and make sure your composition has the correct aspect ratio and video settings.
Exporting your video
- Select Export.
- Select the desired resolution you want YouTube to export in under the Descript (web link) destination before switching the destination to YouTube in the dropdown.
- Select YouTube from the dropdown menu.
- Customize your video settings.
- You will need to sign into your Google account. Note that you have to sign in each time you export to YouTube. Currently, it is the only way for us to verify the channel you want to post to.
- Select Sign in to Youtube and a webpage will open that asks to grant Descript access
- Select Allow.
- If you have multiple YouTube channels under the email, you'll then be asked to choose your channel. You'll then be prompted to open Descript.
- Open the app.
- Select Export.
Exporting to YouTube will also export privately to Descript
When you export directly to YouTube, will also create a standalone share page. Learn more about share pages in Descript.
YouTube exporting settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Access | Set the YouTube privacy setting of your video |
| Title (next to thumbnail) | Title of your Descript exported page |
| Title | The title of your video |
| Description | Info that shows below your video |
| Category | Select a category so viewers can find your video more easily |
| Tags | Add descriptive keywords to help with search |
Title length limit when exporting to YouTube
Please note that Youtube's title have a maximum length of 100 characters and must contain all valid UTF-8 characters except < and >. If your video title exceeds that character limit or invalid characters, your export will fail.
Note: Thumbnail choices made in Descript will only apply to the Descript share page. Thumbnails are not sent to YouTube during the exporting process. To set a thumbnail for your video on YouTube, you will need to upload it manually through YouTube's platform.
Create video chapters
Any markers in your composition will automatically be converted to video chapters when you export directly on YouTube. Learn about adding markers to your content.
Reset Google access permissions
If you would like to remove Descript's access permissions, you can do so from your Google account settings. Learn more about Managing third-party access to your Google account.