Automatically Turn Any YouTube Video into Ready-to-Post TikTok Clips (Free n8n Workflow + Video Guide + Download)

This step-by-step guide shows you how to automatically convert any YouTube video into short TikTok-optimized clips using a 100% no-code n8n workflow. In just minutes, the video is trimmed, labeled, branded, and ready to post — no manual editing required.

You can copy and paste the ready-to-use workflow, test it for free, and adapt it to your content strategy — without writing a single line of code.

Demo of the free n8n workflow that downloads a YouTube video, cuts it into short TikTok-ready clips, adds branding + titles, and automatically posts each clip on TikTok.

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What This n8n Automation Lets You Do to Automatically Turn a YouTube Video into Ready-to-Post TikTok Clips

Spending hours cutting your YouTube videos and uploading them one by one? With this n8n automation, that’s over.

This workflow automatically downloads any YouTube video, splits it into optimized short clips (duration, vertical format, animated text), and posts them on TikTok in minutes.

Just copy-paste the ready-to-use scenario, enter your video URL, and let the magic happen: download, cut, add branded title, and upload to TikTok — all 100% automated, no coding needed.

Results: consistent posting, strong branding, zero manual editing… and hours saved every week to focus on content creation.

To make it easy, the workflow is fully documented: each step comes with an inline note inside n8n so you clearly understand how the video is processed and published.

You also get a full video tutorial and a step-by-step guide that walks you through installation, API keys, and customization (clip duration, text, branding…). Use it as-is or adapt it to your TikTok workflow in 2 clicks.

Goal: help you auto-post on TikTok for free, while staying flexible enough to add Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts if needed.

Video Tutorial – Turn Any YouTube Video into Auto TikTok Clips with n8n

n8n Workflow Breakdown: Step-by-Step Guide with Screenshots (YouTube → TikTok Auto-Clipping)

This video shows the Linux terminal where FFmpeg and FFprobe are installed — two key dependencies required for the n8n workflow to automatically clip YouTube videos and publish them on TikTok.

Requirements: Self-hosted n8n, FFmpeg, and API Keys

Before running the YouTube → TikTok Auto-Clips automation, make sure you have:

A self-hosted n8n instance (Docker/VPS) with terminal access.
FFmpeg & FFprobe installed inside your n8n container.
Tip: ask ChatGPT “Install FFmpeg in n8n Docker” or contact us if you get stuck.
An Apify account with a token for the YouTube Video Downloader actor.
An Upload-Post account (or other upload service) with an API key to publish clips.
Write access to /tmp (this is where clips are generated before upload).

That’s it! Download the workflow, plug in your API keys, and let n8n turn any YouTube video into TikTok-ready clips – automatically.

Demonstration of the n8n Manual Trigger node: click “Execute Workflow” to manually test the automation that downloads a YouTube video, slices it into TikTok clips, and uploads them to the platform — no coding needed.

Step 1: Launch the Workflow (Manual Trigger)

Start with a Manual Trigger to run the scenario step-by-step and validate each part before automating it fully.

Settings:

Trigger Type: Manual Trigger
Usage: Click “Execute Workflow” to start the test manually

The Set – YouTube URL node lets you input the video link you want to process. This URL is passed to the Apify scraper to download the original video before cutting and posting to TikTok.

Step 2: Set the YouTube Video URL

This step lets you define the URL of the YouTube video you want to convert into TikTok clips. The value entered here will be passed to the Apify actor to trigger the download process.

Settings:

Node type: Set
Field name: youtubeURL
Value: the full URL of the YouTube video to process

➡️ You can edit this manually for testing or make it dynamic (e.g. via a form or external API).

This step shows how to configure the HTTP Request – Start Run node in n8n to trigger the YouTube video download via the Apify API. Headers, token, and JSON payload are set to launch the scraping process before the video gets clipped and posted on TikTok.

Step 3: Start YouTube Scraping (HTTP Request)

Trigger the YouTube Video Downloader actor from Apify using a POST request and your API token.

Parameters:

Endpoint: /acts/epctex~youtube-video-downloader/runs
Method: POST – JSON body (URL + 720p quality)
Header: Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_TOKEN>

Demonstration of the automated monitoring loop using n8n: the HTTP Request – Check Status node monitors Apify’s execution, the IF node checks for a SUCCEEDED status, and the Wait node loops every 2 seconds until the YouTube video is ready.

Step 4: Check if the run is completed (If + Wait)

A loop of HTTP Request → If → Wait continuously checks the Apify run status every 2 seconds until it returns SUCCEEDED.

Wait: 2 seconds
Condition: data.status == "SUCCEEDED"

The HTTP Request – Get MP4 Link node queries the Apify API to retrieve the direct video file URL, which is then immediately saved locally (/tmp/video.mp4) for FFmpeg to process into TikTok-ready clips.

Step 5: Download the MP4 File (HTTP Request + Write File)

Fetch the binary stream and save it to /tmp/video.mp4 using the Read/Write File node in n8n.

HTTP Request: GET {{downloadUrl}} – “Send Binary Data” ON
Write File: /tmp/video.mp4

This step shows the Execute Command – FFprobe node running ffprobe -show_entries format=duration to determine the exact duration of the video. The output (stdout) is used by the script to calculate how many TikTok clips need to be generated.

Step 6: Measure Duration with FFprobe

ffprobe returns the total video length (in seconds), used to calculate how many clips to generate.

Command: ffprobe … /tmp/video.mp4
Output: CSV value → parsed by the Code node

The Code node dynamically creates a list of clip metadata, each segment lasting 59 seconds: start time, end time, label (Part 1, Part 2…), and filename. This metadata drives FFmpeg to automatically cut the YouTube video into TikTok-ready clips.

Step 7: Generate the Clip List (Code Node)

A JavaScript script generates one item per clip: start, end, label (“Part n”), and fileName.

Variable: CLIP_LEN = 59 seconds (editable)
Output: JSON array used for automatic slicing

This step runs the Execute Command – FFmpeg node to slice the video into segments, automatically overlay the text “Part X – hackceleration.com”, and then loop through each clip using Split In Batches to prepare for TikTok upload.

Step 8: Slice and brand each clip with FFmpeg

ffmpeg splits the main video into clips and overlays a green banner (#1EA4B8) with yellow text (#FDBB29) saying “Part n – hackceleration.com”.

Loop: Split in Batches → one clip at a time
Command: -ss {{start}} -to {{end}} … drawtext …

This sequence shows the final HTTP Request node: each generated clip is sent to the Upload-Post API and automatically published on TikTok with a dynamic title like Part X. Fully automated, no manual action required!

Step 9: Auto-upload each clip to TikTok

The final HTTP Request node pushes every generated clip to the Upload-Post API and publishes it automatically to TikTok with a dynamic title like Part X. No manual action needed — publishing runs on autopilot.

Target: Upload-Post API endpoint
Title format: “Part X” (dynamic per clip)

Why Automatically Turning a YouTube Video into TikTok Clips Supercharges Your Content Strategy

Publishing multiple impactful clips from a single video multiplies your touchpoints: each short becomes a chance to grab attention on TikTok without manual editing.

The n8n automation detects video length, cuts, brands, and posts everything for you. Result: your TikTok feed stays active without spending hours in a video editor.

No more repetition: every “Part n” clip is ready to go with your branding, your link, and an optimized title, which boosts visual consistency and turns each viewer into a potential lead.

In one click, you turn a long YouTube video into a viral-ready short series. It’s the perfect growth lever to boost organic reach, test multiple hooks, and recycle your YouTube content… for free.