What This Workflow Does #
The Short Video Maker workflow is an automated n8n workflow built to generate, produce, and publish short-form vertical videos with minimal manual work. It is designed for creators, brands, and businesses that want a repeatable system for turning content ideas into finished videos ready for publishing on YouTube. The workflow itself is built in n8n, while the supporting services handle storage, AI generation, rendering, and publishing.
Core Workflow Stages #
This workflow runs in three connected stages:
- Idea Generation
The workflow generates new video ideas and stores them in Google Sheets for later use. - Video Creation
It selects one saved idea, generates the creative assets for that idea, creates the final short video, and saves the results back into the tracking sheet. - Publishing
It selects the first completed video that is still marked as unpublished, uploads it to YouTube using the saved title and caption, then updates the publishing status and published date in Google Sheets.
Services Used #
This workflow depends on several external services. Each service has a specific role in the automation.
| Service | Purpose in the Workflow | Official Link |
|---|---|---|
| n8n | Runs the workflow automation and connects all services | n8n |
| OpenAI API Platform | Generates ideas, image prompts, narration text, audio, and images | OpenAI API Platform |
| Google Sheets | Stores ideas, production status, publishing status, and final metadata | Google Sheets |
| Google Drive | Stores generated images, voice files, and final videos | Google Drive |
| Cloudinary | Hosts the generated voice file publicly for rendering | Cloudinary |
| JSON2Video | Renders the final short video from images and audio | JSON2Video |
| YouTube | Publishes the finished video | YouTube |
What the Workflow Produces #
At a high level, this workflow is built to produce a complete short-video pipeline:
- generate a backlog of video ideas
- turn one idea into a complete short video
- save the video and metadata
- publish the finished result automatically
The workflow tracks each content item through structured fields in Google Sheets, including:
- Idea
- Production Status
- Title
- Caption
- Cover Image
- Video URL
- Posting Status
- Published Date
These fields allow the workflow to know:
- which ideas are still waiting to be produced
- which videos are already finished
- which finished videos are still waiting to be published
Who This Workflow Is For #
This workflow is best suited for users who want a semi-automated or fully automated short-video content pipeline and are comfortable connecting external services, credentials, prompts, and storage locations inside n8n. It is especially useful for teams or creators who want consistency, speed, and scalability instead of handling every content step manually.
What to Expect Before Setup #
This workflow is not a one-click standalone file. To use it correctly, the user will need to:
- import the workflow into n8n
- connect the required services
- prepare the tracking sheet and storage folder
- configure the rendering template
- test each workflow section before activation
Summary #
In simple terms, Short Video Maker is a three-part automation system that helps users go from idea to published short video using n8n, AI generation, cloud storage, video rendering, and YouTube publishing. It reduces manual work while keeping the production process structured and repeatable.
